The crimes of Heinrich Boere, 88, cried out for justice even at the unrepentant killer's advanced age.

Yesterday, justice came.

A German court at long last convicted the Nazi, who in 1940 volunteered to serve on an SS execution squad in Holland and spent the rest of World War II systematically hunting down civilians suspected of hiding Jews or aiding the Dutch resistance.

Boere was remorseless. He was just following orders, he said.

Wrong, said the court. He confessed to three murders and is morally accountable for scores more. And he should have been put to death years ago, having been convicted by a Dutch court in absentia in 1949 but never punished.

There aren't many Nazi slugs left to feel such justice, but every last one must - and soon.

Next on the list is John Demjanjuk, the 89-year-old ex-guard at the Sobibor death camp.

After decades of freedom in Ohio, Demjanjuk is on trial in another German court for his role in 29,000 murders.

Despite his unfathomable acts, he wanted to be left to die in peace. He wanted his wrinkles and wheelchair and thick glasses to evoke sympathy and make us forget.

We do not forget. The justice system works in this lifetime - and culpability for monstrous crimes is never erased.

It is the job of those who believe in justice to make evildoers pay. Then, after death, they get to pay a second time.

nydailynews.com