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“NAZI SS MEMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E169 on Feb. 5, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NAZI SS MEMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES
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HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN
of new york
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 5, 1997
Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring a very serious and troubling affair to the attention of my colleagues. Several news reports, over the last couple of days, have uncovered an incredible story: The German Government is giving pensions to over 3,000 former members of the Nazi Waffen SS Corps, living in the United States. Not extraordinary in and of itself, because these men receive their pensions as a result of their military service during World War II, yet the question that begs answering is: How many of these individuals might be war criminals? The outrage in this matter, is that the German Government may never have bothered to check.
At this same time, there are many Holocaust survivors--Catholics, Jews, and others living in the United States and elsewhere in the world--who have received very little in the way of compensation, and even scores of surviving victims who do not receive anything from the German Government. After the horrors and suffering they were forced to endure during the war, how can we allow this additional measure of indignation?
Apparently, many of these former SS members were able to enter the United States, and eventually gain citizenship, by falsifying their identities and lying about their wartime activities. Many of them, however, have been living in the United States for years now, some boldly with the same names, the same identities, the same blood on their hands.
Mr. Speaker, there is no excuse for that, and it is simply unacceptable. Yesterday, I sent letters to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, President Clinton, and Attorney General Janet Reno, asking that they obtain the names of these Nazi pensioners, and release them to the proper American Government agencies, in order to fully investigate the possibility of war criminals in our midst. There must be a full accounting. Yes, many of them are old, frail men, who have lived peacefully in their respective neighborhoods for decades. Did they show the same respect for the millions in Europe who also were old, frail, and living their lives peacefully? I think we all know the answer to that question.
Thanks to the hard work of the Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations, as well as some other prominent organizations, we are beginning to uncover a trail of Nazi war criminals among us. In fact, the OSI is finding and prosecuting Nazis at the rate of one per month. It is imperative therefore, that we have all the necessary information at our disposal, so that we can continue to bring these murderers to justice. They have eluded the authorities, and the moral outrage of their deeds, for over 50 years now, but we will no longer allow that to continue. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in this endeavor, so that we may finally honor the memories of the Nazis' victims. Everyday, more and more Holocaust survivors leave this Earth, while their former tormentors continue to live on, having never been held accountable for the horrible deeds of the past. It's simply time to act now. Therefore, I call on the Government of Germany to work with us in addressing and resolving this issue once and for all--for the survivors, for the victims, and for the future. They need to do the right thing.
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