IAgain and again the survivors and their lawyers asked the accused to speak. Had asked for words of regret at the unimaginable horror. Had referred to the historical importance of this trial, which may be the last of its kind, and called on the defendant to use the time she has left. So that everyone else understood the unimaginable. But the defendant remained silent.
Only at the very end of this long process, after her defense attorney had made his plea, did she briefly comment: “I’m sorry about everything that happened,” said 97-year-old Irmgard F. in a quiet but clear voice on Tuesday the district court of Itzehoe. “I regret that I was in Stutthof at the time. I can not say more.”