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History tours: Third Reich, WW2WW2 category: Nazi hunters :: Latest WWII news reviews.
See also 'Most wanted Nazis', 'Nazi Memorabilia', 'Rings & relics of nazi leaders', 'Aribert Heim', 'How nazis escaped', 'Nazi Guards', 'WW2 tour', 'Nazi Helmets', 'John Demjanjuk'.
The success and regrets of Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff bbc.co.uk :: 2010-01-28
Asked if a photographer can take a few shots, Zuroff replies: "So long as it's just pictures. There are people who want to take other kinds of shots at me." The biggest obstacle to prosecution of Nazi war criminals is not finding them, but lack of political will. He compares a serial killer with a war criminal: The serial killer is a threat to the public and will be chased, but the latter may have been a good citizen ever since the war. "The real name that I should have is not Nazi hunter, but truth warrior. It wasn't Germany and Austria against the Jews, it was Europe against the Jews."
Heinrich Boere, a member of Nazi SS death squad, admits killing 3 Dutch civilians in 1944 bbc.co.uk :: 2009-12-09
A member of the Nazi SS has admitted in court that he killed 3 Dutch civilians in 1944, but said he was following orders. Wheelchair-bound Heinrich Boere told he had killed a bicycle-shop owner, a pharmacist and a resistance member as part of an SS death squad. "I knew that if I didn't carry out my orders I would be breaking my oath and would be shot myself. At no time in 1944 did I act with the feeling that I was committing a crime. Today... I naturally see things from a different perspective." He joined the Waffen SS at 18, and after seeing combat on the eastern front, he ended up back in the Netherlands as part of the SS Silbertanne (Silver Pine) death squad.
Nazi War Criminal Klaas F. eludes German justice system, enjoys a peaceful old age spiegel.de :: 2009-11-28
The suspected Nazi war criminal Klaas F. is enjoying a quiet life in Bavaria. While some ex Nazis are facing trial, the 87-year-old Waffen-SS volunteer has sneaked through the cracks in the German justice system. Neighbor said Klaas F. and his wife were nice people, they kept themselves but were very decent. "He can tell you the rest himself." But Klaas F. remained silent. He must have his reasons, one of them may be that Klaas F. ranks number 5 on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of the 10 most wanted Nazis. In 1947, F. was sentenced by a Dutch court to life in prison for several murders. But he escaped with a gang of fellow inmates and fled into Germany.
Interview with Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff jewishpress.com :: 2009-11-20
Nazi hunting. Sounds glamorous, until you read "Operation Last Chance" by Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff. In the book he recounts painstaking efforts in finding aging Nazis around the world and persuading reluctant local governments to act. (Q) Some of the war criminals are over 90 years old. Why track down people for crimes committed over 60 years ago? (A) The passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the killers. We don't think people deserve a medal simply because they reach an old age. (Q) The least cooperative country? (A) Austria has not successfully prosecuted a Nazi war criminal in more than 30 years. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE]
Simon Wiesenthal caught fewer war criminals than he claimed and fabricated his Holocaust story timesonline.co.uk :: 2009-07-19
Simon Wiesenthal's name is synonymous with Nazi hunting, but journalist Guy Walters - about to publish his book "Hunting Evil" - claims the Nazi hunter caught fewer war criminals than he claimed and made up much of his Holocaust story. Wiesenthal lied repeatedly about his supposed hunt for Eichmann as well as his other Nazi-hunting feats - not to mention his outrageous stories about his war years and false claims about his academic career. The famous story of his amazing escape in 1941 seems to be a complete fiction - and he never was in 13 Nazi camps, only in 6. He miraculously survived with just 200 calories a day - and made it through the death marches with infected leg.
German authorities investigating SS suspect in World War II massacre expatica.com :: 2008-12-18
German authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia have raided the residence of a member of the SS suspected of participating in a massacre in Austria in March 1945. They are now assessing seized documents as part of their probe into his involvement in the massacre in the village of Deutsch Schuetzen. The man, identified only as Adolf S., is suspected of being one of three SS men who killed 60 Hungarian-Jewish slave laborers. Dortmund prosecutor Ulrich Maass has found several witnesses to the massacre who were still alive, including members of the Hitler Youth.
Nazi hunters fault Australia, Hungary for failing to investigate Nazi war criminals eurojewcong.org :: 2008-12-12
Australia, Hungary, Lithuania, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine are failing to investigate and prosecute Nazi war criminals mostly due to a lack of political will, states the annual (April 2007 - March 2008) report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The report said Australia admitted at least several hundred Nazi war criminals and collaborators but has failed to take successful legal action against a single one. The report also criticised Norway, Sweden and Syria, saying they refuse in principle to investigate and prosecute suspected Nazi war criminals because of legal or ideological limitations.
Combating Nazi crime oblivion: German Central Office turns 50 dw-world.de :: 2008-12-01
In 1958, most Germans thought that they had dealt with their Nazi past. West Germany was on its way to the "economic miracle" and wanted to stop thinking about the past. But in connection with a probe about the murder of Jews in Lithuania, the public's interest was rekindled. People saw that many culprits had gotten away. This led to the founding of the "central office" in Ludwigsburg on Dec. 1, 1958. During the first 12 months, the central office initiated 400 cases, and so far 7,367 cases have been investigated. "The chances for a trial diminish with every year... not only because the accused get older, but also the witnesses," explained Kurt Schrimm.
Student tracks down a Waffen SS man, suspected of Nazi war crimes telegraph.co.uk :: 2008-10-22
The member of the Waffen SS, whose name cannot be disclosed, is accused of taking part in the murder of 60 Jewish slave workers in 1945. The massacre happened in Deutsch Schuetzen in Austria and the victims were buried in a mass grave, which was discovered in 1995. The name of the man first occurred in a trial in 1946, where witnesses claimed he took part in the massacre, but he was not charged. Andreas Foster, 27, a student in Vienna, was researching the case for a project and got documents on the man from German archives. In later research two members of the Hitler Youth, who were convicted for their part in the massacre in 1946, confirmed they knew the man.
Now more historian than Nazi hunter, Kurt Schrimm keeps pursuing justice chicagotribune.com :: 2008-10-15
The last Nazi war criminals and witnesses to their inhumanities are dying of old age. But the German office charged with preparing prosecutions of Nazi crimes has seldom been busier. "25 years ago we thought our work would be coming to an end now," said Kurt Schrimm, of Germany's central office for the investigation of "National Socialist Crimes." With witnesses dying out, most of the tips are from documents. In the mid-1990s, Italian officials discovered a room full of Nazi war crime files - handed to the Italians for use in prosecutions but instead was locked away. Now the "Closet of Shame" is a major source of new prosecutions.
Journalist Gustavo Sanchez tracked Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon in 1983 guardianweekly.co.uk :: 2008-09-11 :: How & where nazis escaped after the war
After World War II many leading Nazis fled to South America. One of them was the head of the Gestapo in Lyon, a man responsible for the deportation of Jews to Auschwitz and the torture of members of the French Resistance. Hiding in Bolivia, Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyon, changed his name to Klaus Altmann and made himself useful to drug lords and dictators. American intelligence officials helped Barbie, who was a kind of counter-intelligence official, to become established in Bolivia as part of their battle against communism. Bolivian journalist Gustavo Sanchez tells what happened when he tracked Barbie down in 1983.
Jonathan Silvers: Investigating Nazi war criminals for "Elusive Justice" -doc bbc :: 2008-01-25 :: Nazi hunters
At first sight Vladas Zajanckauskas looks like an American patriarch in his 90s. But Eli Rosenbaum claims that he was part of Nazi Germany's extermination squads (the Einsatzgruppen), and was "a thrice-promoted, non-commissioned officer (NCO) at a school of mass murder". Zajanckauskas denies he was part of the squads or that he took part in the wipeout of the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Ben Ferencz, the last living U.S. Nuremberg prosecutor, recites the Einsatzgruppen orders: "You will kill every Jewish man, woman and child... You do the same for the gypsies... for communist officials or anyone you suspect may pose a present or future threat to the Third Reich."
Nazi Hunters raise reward for information from $10,000 to $25,000 spiegel :: 2008-01-15
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has increased its reward for information resulting to the capture of Nazi war criminals from $10,000 to $25,000 under its "Operation Last Chance" campaign. "The cash offer has proven very successful because without it we wouldn't have got one-hundredth of the attention that we got and it's the media attention that ultimately yields the information." Zuroff said there were "at least dozens" of Nazi war criminals still alive in South America, but named Austria a "paradise for Nazi war criminals. Austria has the worst record. If you compare the number of people involved, the potential for prosecution and what's been done."
Germany continues to shelter a former SS officer wanted for murder telegraph.co.uk :: 2007-11-29
The Daily Telegraph has tracked down ex SS-Obersturmfuehrer Søren Kam to the suburbs of Kempten im Allgäu, 75 miles from Munich. He is the highest decorated Nazi Dane after being awarded the Knight’s Cross for his leadership of Danish SS men against the resistance of his countrymen. He is number 8th on the list of 10 most wanted Nazi war criminals up by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre. But in Bavaria Kam, a man who met Adolf Hitler, lives openly. Kam has been charged by the Danish government for the murder in 1943 of anti-Nazi Carl Henrik Clemmensen. But Kam is protected: Munich courts threw out efforts to deport him back to Denmark.
10 prominent cases cracked by American Nazi hunters statesman :: 2007-10-22 :: Nazi hunters
Elfriede Rinkel: A female guard and dog-handler at the Ravensbrueck camp in Nazi Germany. -- Otto von Bolschwing: An SS officer who proposed an anti-Jewish pogrom to Adolf Eichmann. Worked for the CIA after WWII. -- Viorel Trifa: As leader of the student wing of the Romanian fascist Iron Guard. In America, he became archbishop of the Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of North America. --- Arthur L.H. Rudolph: Operations director of the Mittelwerk underground V-2 missile factory, at the Dora-Mittelbau. In the US, he worked on Army missile projects, and at NASA he was project director of the Saturn V rocket program.
The unsung Nazi hunter - Stalag Luft III and Frank McKenna blackpoolgazette.co.uk :: 2007-03-01
On the moonless night of March 24, 1944, 79 Allied officers tunnelled their way out of the German POW camp, Stalag Luft III at Sagan. Immortalised in the film The Great Escape, the reality was quite different. Of the escapees, all bar 3 were soon recaptured, and, of these, 50 were murdered by the Gestapo on the orders of Adolf Hitler. The fact that the murderers were brought to book, owed much to Frank McKenna. His greatest coup was to track down the murderer of Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, organiser of the escape. Gestapo official Emil Schulz was found and extradited in the course of a single day in 1946.
I Have Never Forgotten You - The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal reuters :: 2007-02-12
Simon Wiesenthal spent over half a century tracking down Nazi war criminals in a quest to deliver justice. Now a film looks back on his journey from concentration camp survivor to world-renowned super-sleuth, examining the controversial man behind the headlines. Cut from thousands of hours of archive footage and interviews, "I Have Never Forgotten You - The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal" describes the personal suffering that motivated Wiesenthal to dedicate his life to the pursuit of his Nazi tormentors. The film also documents how Wiesenthal worked in pursuit of Adolf Eichmann.
Nazi Hunter Criticizes Serbia Officials sfgate :: 2007-01-25
A Nazi hunter criticized Serbian authorities for failing to seek the extradition of 3 men with suspected links to atrocities during World War II. Efraim Zuroff said Serbian authorities have done little to bring to justice Croats Ivo Rojnica and Milivoj Asner, and Hungarian Sandor Kepiro. "Sadly, we have heard a lot of nice words, but there was no concrete action." Rojnica, 92, maybe hiding in Argentina, and Asner, 91, is living in Austria. Both men served in Croatia's World War 2 Nazi puppet regime.
Italy convicts 10 former members of the Nazi SS of massacre bbc :: 2007-01-15
Italy has sentenced 10 members of the 16th SS Division to life imprisonment for their role in the worst World War 2 massacre on Italian soil. The defendants, all in their 80s and believed to live in Germany, were tried in absentia. Between 29 Sept and 5 Oct, 1944, retreating Nazi troops carrying out reprisals for the local support given to resistance fighters killed civilians. The number of those killed in Marzabotto is put at more than 700, and some records say as many as 1,800 were killed by the SS forces as they swept the area in pursuit of partisans.
Intelligence officer who captured Nazi officers, including Hitler's staff sptimes :: 2007-01-14
Ernest Drucker struggles to create order out of memories he would rather forget. But about the U.S. soldier who was part of World War II's D-day invasion and became a counterintelligence officer who captured Nazi officers, incl. members of Adolf Hitler's personal staff. He is writing a book, trying to get it all down. With a staff of 10 men, he traveled the country chasing Hitler. "We captured many of Hitler's personal staff. We thought maybe we could catch him, too. We really chased him, but he escaped to Berlin." His mementos, include pictures confiscated from Hitler's staff photographer and a cue card for a speech that Hitler wrote on - worth $10,000.
Indefatigable Nazi Hunter Elliot Welles dies nytimes :: 2006-12-04
Elliot Welles spent the years after World War 2 as a hunter of Nazis, starting with the man who murdered his mother. For more than two decades he directed the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League’s task force on Nazi war criminals. Though he preferred to work out of the limelight, he was one of the key forces in identifying Nazis who had settled in the US. He was known for his work on the case of Boleslav Maikovskis, who had been charged with ordering the arrests that led to the execution of 200 Latvian villagers. Among the other cases was that of Josef Schwammberger, a Nazi labor camp commander who hid for 40 years in Argentina.
100 Nazis uncovered by Nazi-hunting office in US tvnz :: 2006-10-23
Painstaking scouring of historical records and an occasional lucky break have helped the US solve some of the coldest cases of the Hitler's Nazi Regime and find more than 100 Nazi collaborators. The US cannot prosecute the cases, mainly because the events took place on foreign territory. But it can assist in the extradition of Nazis. "We found in the former Soviet Union and other communist countries a veritable treasure trove of evidence," said Eli Rosenbaum, director of the US Nazi-hunting Office.
Nazi hunters id gendarmerie officer of Novi Sad massacre in 1942 iht :: 2006-09-30
The past caught up with Sandor Kepiro when Wiesenthal Center identified him as a person twice found guilty in atrocities committed by Hungarian forces during World War II. In wartime he was found guilty along with 14 other Hungarian Army and gendarmerie officers of taking part in the 1942 Novi Sad massacre, which took place over 3 days during which thousands were rounded up and shot by machine gun. Their bodies were then dumped into the frozen Danube waters, which had to be broken up by cannon fire. Although found guilty he was liberated by Hungary's fascist regime in 1944 and fled to Argentina.
WW2 accused hounded to death by Nazi hunters and media? warcrimes.info :: 2006-07-13
A Melbourne man accused of war crimes during World War II was an innocent man hounded to death by Nazi hunters and the media, his son said. Lajos Polgar admitted he was a youth leader in the Arrow Cross party in Hungary, and he also worked as a secretary to a senior leader of the government, which ruled under German occupation from October 1944 to January 1945. The party was allied to the Nazis. Leading Nazi hunter Dr Efraim Zuroff had been investigating Mr Polgar's past - he was disappointed that Mr Polgar died before he was thoroughly investigated. "It's very frustrating, to put it mildly."
Footsteps and motives of Nazi Hunters strausnews :: 2006-05-21
Two experiences after the war moved Wiesenthal to become a Nazi hunter, Efraim Zuroff said. After liberation, the Americans left in place a Polish prisoner that the Germans had given authority within the camp. The Polish camp boss, however, treated the Jews as harshly as ever. Seeing Wiesenthal, he said more with disappointment than surprise: "Simon, you’re still alive?" Soon he was contacted to retrieve some books and return them to their rightful place. An inscription in one of the books read: "If anyone finds this book, please give it to ... They are coming now to kill us. Do not forget our murderers."
The world’s most famous living Nazi hunter - Serge Klarsfeld cjnews :: 2006-03-23
Serge Klarsfeld is probably the world’s most famous living Nazi hunter, credited with having brought to justice war criminals ranging from Maurice Papon to Klaus Barbie; convinced the president of France, Jacques Chirac, to acknowledge his country’s complicity in the deaths of some 80,000 Jews. Klarsfeld and his equally motivated wife, Beate, a German convert to Judaism, are best known for their quest in tracking down "desk murderers" – French and German officials who signed orders to arrest and deport Jews in France during the German occupation.
Torture files uncovered - of the fascist Hungarian Arrow Cross thecouriermail :: 2006-02-18
Court papers detailing torture, rape and murder at the headquarters of a Nazi-aligned regime allegedly commanded by a Melbourne pensioner have been uncovered in Holocaust archives in Jerusalem. The testimonies of Holocaust survivors tortured in the basement of the Budapest headquarters of the fascist Hungarian Arrow Cross party back up the new evidence revealed this week. Included in the evidence sent to Budapest by the Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Centre are several additional testimonies of survivors who gave evidence in the post-war trials of Arrow Cross officials.
Yard reopens inquiry into former Nazi soldiers still alive in Britain guardian :: 2006-02-04
Scotland Yard has relaunched its search for war criminals almost seven years after its specialist Nazi-hunting unit was disbanded. The team is focusing on former members of a division of the Waffen SS which was recruited by the Nazis in the Ukraine and brought to Britain en masse to provide farm labour after the war. Home Office officials believe several hundred former members of the unit may still be living in the UK. The Guardian has identified and located more than a dozen survivors of the Galizien division. Most still live in small clusters in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia, a short distance from the PoW camps where they arrived almost six decades ago.
Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal dies at 96 BBC :: 2005-09-29
Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal has died aged 96. He was credited with helping to bring over 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice in the decades after the genocide of the Jews in the Second World War. They included Adolf Eichmann, Hermine Ryan and Franz Stangl (commandant of the Treblinka and Sobibor Nazi death camps). Wiesenthal, who grew up in Ukraine, was a prisoner in the Mauthausen death camp when it was liberated by US troops in May 1945, but dozens of his family members (including his mother, stepfather and stepbrother) perished in the Holocaust.
See also:
'Most wanted Nazis'
'Nazi Memorabilia'
'Rings & relics of nazi leaders'
'Aribert Heim'
'How nazis escaped'
'Nazi Guards'
'WW2 tour'
'Nazi Helmets'
'John Demjanjuk'.