Upcoming Netflix Docuseries Focuses on Story of Nazi Guard John Demjanjuk

by JNS.org

John Demjanjuk in Israel’s Supreme Court in Jerusalem. Photo: Flash 90.

– A new Netflix docuseries centers on the story of a retired Ukrainian-American autoworker in Cleveland who was accused of being “Ivan the Terrible,” one of the Holocaust’s most notorious SS guards.

In the 1980s, a group of Holocaust survivors claimed that John Demjanjuk, a family man and respected member of his community, had allegedly tortured and killed nearly 1 million Jewish prisoners as a Nazi death-camp guard in the Treblinka extermination camp during World War II. While he did serve as a guard, it remained questionable as to whether he was that guard.

He was arrested and extradited to Israel, where he stood trial for crimes against humanity.

He died at a senior home in Germany on March 17, 2012 at the age of 91.

The docuseries, “The Devil Next Door” examines whether Demjanjuk really was “Ivan the Terrible” or if it was a case of mistaken identity, as well as covers the media frenzy around his case. The series includes raw footage from Demjanjuk’s trial, in which he claimed he was innocent, and shows Holocaust survivors testifying on the stand.

The trailer was released on Wednesday. Its five episodes hit Netflix on Nov. 4.