Trial session for former Auschwitz guard cancelled due to 93-year-old defendant's poor health

BERLIN – A German court has cancelled another session in the trial of a 93-year-old former Auschwitz death camp guard due to the former SS sergeant's poor health, and has scheduled new dates through the end of November to accommodate shorter hearings.

The Lueneburg state court said Tuesday that Oskar Groening's trial needed to be extended in order to hear all the evidence while limiting the sessions to three hours at a time. Judges canceled Wednesday's session after hearing testimony Tuesday from an expert witness.

Two other sessions have already been canceled due to Groening's health since the trial began last month.

Groening is charged with 300,000 counts of accessory to murder on allegations he helped the death camp function in his job sorting cash and valuables seized from Jews