at the age of 18, irmgard furchner worked as a typist. 6500 prisoners were killed in this camp which as a memorial to them. prosecution says that for two years, furchner held the leaders conduct 11,000 murders. she denies it. the case is unprecedented because furchner was a civilian worker. here is the prosecution. >> the aim of the investigations until now was to clarify the question how far the defendant contributed to the running of the camp and to what degree this can be penalized under criminal law. we needed to clarify to what degree she was vital in keeping the camp running and supporting the daily business there. ros: i have been speaking to the journalist in berlin. he explains how this woman was able to leave her nursing home. >> that is a question on a lot of people's minds. it was reported that authorities and reporters, court staff were sitting in the courtroom waiting for thiserson to appear, wondering where she was. apparently, she got in a taxi from the nursing home she was in, heading toward hamburg, which is the closest city to her, and was able to get about 10 kilo

irmgard furchner left a care home near hamburg in a taxi hours before she was due to be taken to courto get to this moment, but this morning the elderly woman accused of complicity in mass murder didn't turn up for her trial. irmgard furchner, seen here as a young woman, had called a cab from her care home and disappeared before she was later arrested. it's a lifetime since she worked as a secretary at stutthof concentration camp. her lawyers argue she didn't know what really happened there. today, visitors are left to imagine the cruelty, the inhumanity, of the place. 65,000 people were murdered here — hanged, gassed, shot or simply left to succumb to the brutal conditions. i am convinced that she knew everything. because every order from the chief commander of the concentration camp went over her desk or she wrote it. justice has caught up with a number of low—ranking nazis in recent years. 0scar groening, a guard at auschwitz, was convicted six years ago after a previous court allowed prosecutors to charge people like him and like former guard reinhold hanning. neither man ordered o

. >> reporter: it took more than 75 years to get irmgard furchner from the nazi death camp to the courtroom. she was 18 when she worked as a secretary to the commandant of the stutthof concentration camp where more than 60,000 people were killed. her attorneys say she rejects the notion that she's personally responsible for anything kn crime, and she's been anything but cooperative, saying she'll refuse to comment, and at one point, this 96-year-old, in a wheelchair, tried to make a run for it. the case reflects the race against time a in the hunt for nazi suspects as those responsible for the horrors of the holocaust succumb to old age. but germany has been accused of bad faith for not acting sooner. of the 110 suspects identified for nazi crimes in the u.s. since 1973, only five were later prosecuted in germany. the deportation earlier this year of freidrich karl berger from tennessee at 95 may be the last. the department of justice tells cbs news they are not actively seeking any more suspects for nazi crimes. >> we didn't hear from perpetrators for so many years, and so i think it's imp

. >> reporter: took more than 75 years to get irmgard furchner from the nazi death camp to the courtroom. she was 18 when she worked at stutthof. she rejects she's personally responsible for any crime and she's anything but cooperative, refused to comment and 96-year-old in wheelchair tried to make a run for it. . reflects the race against time in search for nazi suspects as those in the horrors of the holo holocaust succumb to old age. those identified in u.s. since 1973, only five were later prosecuted in germany. deportation of friedrich karl berger from tennessee may be the last. tey're not actively seeking any more suspects for nazi crimes. >> we didn't hear from perpetrators for many years so it's important we do. >> reporter: ben cohen's great-grandmother was murdered at stutthof. >> how do we prevent them from happening again if we don't understand how they happened in the first place. >> reporter: the search continues. charlie d'agata, cbs news outsid hamburg, germany. > stempornt history's sake. >>> price for shipping ups is going up as clerk: hello, how can i? sore throat pain

this is irmgard furchner — who is 96 — arriving in court in itze—hoe.risoners while she was working as a typist when she was 18 — at the stutt—hof camp in poland. 65,000 prisoners died there. prosecutors allege that for 2 years — she knew key details of what went on at the camp. she denies the charges. luisa von richthofen is a reporter for deutsche welle and was in the court room. tells more about the proceeding she witnessed today.— witnessed today. hello. this was a very particular _ witnessed today. hello. this was a very particular day _ witnessed today. hello. this was a very particular day because - witnessed today. hello. this was a very particular day because she - witnessed today. hello. this was a | very particular day because she had evaded several times and said she was not keen onjoining evaded several times and said she was not keen on joining the trial as long as there were journalists there. it is a question of whether she would join today and she did and she would join today and she did and she remained silent almost the entire two hou