The State of Israel vs. John Ivan Demjanjuk

Describes the stages of the Demjanjuk Trial in Jerusalem 1987. John Iwan Demjanjuk, a Ukranian born American citizen, was accused of collaborating with the Nazis at the Treblinka death camp. Demjanjuk, called "Ivan the Terrible" by the prisoners because of his cruelty, was in charge of the gas chambers in the camp. He abused and shot prisoners to death. The defence claimed that it was a case of mistaken identiy and that John Denjanjuk was not "Ivan the Terrible" from Treblinka and that the prisoners' memories were unreliable after such a long time. The defence claimed that the identity papers were forged by Russian security services. In April 1988 Demjanjuk was found guilty and given a life sentence. After an appeal to the Supreme Court by the defence, Demjanjuk was released due to reasonable doubt about his identity.