[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 13 (Wednesday, February 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  NAZI SS MEMBERS IN THE UNITED STATES

                                 ______
                                 

                         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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