Assemblyman Dov Hikind from Brooklyn is furious that there
are still Nazi war criminals living legally and illegally in the United States
and he's doing something about it.
This month is the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht; the
murderous pogrom unleashed in Germany and Austria that saw 91 Jews killed and
over 30,000 arrested.
And on the eve of the anniversary, Assemblyman Hikind is
launching a campaign to bring the remaining Nazi war criminals in America to
justice.
"People have the nerve to say, They are old now-why
bother?” he said. “But what of the hundreds and thousands of innocent victims
that were personally tortured and murdered by these criminals? Do we have no
obligation to their memories?"
In July, the Associated Press reviewed U.S. Justice
Department data and reported that at least 10 suspected Nazi war criminals
ordered deported by the U.S. never left the country-and at least four are
living here today.
"Shockingly, these criminals have remained eligible for
public benefits such as Social Security until they exhausted appeals,"
said Assemblyman Hikind. "They came here illegally, lied on their
registration and naturalization papers, and even after they were caught they
were able to take advantage of the system and receive tax-payer benefits. Does
it get any more outrageous than that?"
All of the illegal Nazis have been stripped of citizenship
and ordered deported. Nevertheless, they have been able to carry on and live
out their lives in familiar surroundings. One of the reasons attributed to the
illegal Nazis remaining in the U.S. is that their countries of origin do not
want them back.
This is currently the case of Vladas Zajanckauskas in Sutton,
Massachusetts; Theodor Szehinskyj in West Chester, Pennsylvania; John Kalymon
in Troy, Michigan; and Jakiw Palij in Queens, New York.
"A Nazi murderer living in Queens," said
Assemblyman Hikind. "Is this a bad joke? If it is, we aren't
laughing."
While the U.S. can deport these men over evidence of
involvement in Nazi war crimes, they cannot put them on trial because their
crimes took place outside of the U.S. The responsibility to prosecute is thrust
on the countries where the crimes were committed.
"As far as I'm concerned, this farce has gone on too
long," said Assemblyman Hikind. "We don't want these murderers living
among us, among the descendants of the men, women and children their tortured.
That is beyond adding insult to injury-it is a mockery.
It is our obligation to
root out the evil from among us. If their native countries don't want these
Nazi murderers back, then put them on a boat and send them off. They have no
right to enjoy the freedoms they denied others."
This Sunday, members of the community rallied in front of
the home of Nazi War Criminal Jakiw Palij in Jackson Heights, NY to demand
justice.
Palij worked in a concentration camp as a guard where he
oversaw the murder of thousands of people.
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