Nazi Hunter -- An Account of the Global Pursuit of Nazi War Criminals

Author: Gratchov
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Those deprived of their American nationality for concealing their service in concentration camps, participation in the massacre of peaceful civilians, and committing other crimes also include Yogias Kumpf, Arikianantas Daliad, Adam Friedrich, and others. In recent years, the workload of the Special Investigations Bureau has significantly expanded. For example, in 1994, the office submitted 7 new indictments to various federal courts at all levels, which was the most in the past 10 years. The main reason for this is the change in the social system in Eastern and Central European countries, allowing the staff of the Special Investigations Bureau to utilize previously restricted archival materials. Overall, these archival materials encompass the comprehensive wartime Axis files. In recent years, a large amount of new material has unexpectedly become available to the staff of the Special Investigations Bureau, and like their colleagues in Germany, the UK, and other countries, they continue to race against time to maximize the use of these archival documents. These documents enable the Special Investigations Bureau to prepare more thoroughly for prosecuting Nazi suspects and have also led to the discovery of many new suspects residing in the United States. In 1996, the large-scale cross-departmental initiative to investigate the fate of gold and other treasures looted by the Nazis under the leadership of President Clinton expanded the scope of the Special Investigations Bureau's work. Even without this initiative, the work of the Special Investigations Bureau at the time was already substantial. Led by Deputy Secretary of State Stuart Eizenstat, the Special Investigations Bureau participated in the implementation of this initiative as the main representative of the Department of Justice. During the course of this initiative, the Special Investigations Bureau made significant breakthroughs, uncovering evidence that had long been inaccessible. This evidence showed that the gold looted by the Nazis from victims: 1) was transferred to Switzerland during the war; 2) was included in the batch of gold transported by the U.S. occupation forces to post-war Germany and handed over to the Tripartite Gold Commission for management, and subsequently allocated within the Central Bank of Europe. It was the Special Investigations Bureau that discovered documents seized from the Germans, which showed that the Nazis had formulated and implemented a plan to transfer looted Jewish treasures to Switzerland. These treasures (explicitly referred to as "Jewish treasures" in the documents) were shipped to the German embassy in Bern in diplomatic mail, and subsequently used by German intelligence agencies to obtain advanced technology for the German fascist army. Additionally, the Special Investigations Bureau successfully located archival documents from the German bank's precious metals department, which had been believed lost for nearly 50 years. In September 1997, the Special Investigations Bureau's task force on the investigation of looted assets was awarded the Honor Medal by the Deputy Attorney General. A cross-departmental report was published in May 1997 and received almost unanimous praise from all sides, particularly the chapters handled by the Special Investigations Bureau—such as the crucial evidence proving that gold confiscated by the Nazis was transferred to Switzerland and used by the Allies after the war to establish "gold funds." In 1946, the U.S. executive authorities were questioned by Congress regarding negotiations with Switzerland to return looted gold after the war, to which the U.S. executive authorities responded. The report specifically details these responses, which also hold significant importance. The second cross-departmental report was released in June 1998, primarily covering the actions of countries such as Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Argentina during and after the war, as well as how the wartime Croatia government, supported by the Nazis, transferred gold to Vatican City. At a press conference on June 2, 1998, Deputy Secretary of State Eizenstat described the work of the Special Investigations Bureau as "innovative and outstanding." In October 1998, after the implementation of the Exposure of Nazi War Crimes Act (P.L. 105-246), the Special Investigations Bureau took on the heavy burden of conducting large-scale investigations within the framework of the newly established cross-departmental Nazi War Criminal Records Interagency Working Group. They needed to locate, declassify, and make public secret files related to Nazi criminals and the assets looted from Holocaust victims. As of the publication of this book, this work is still ongoing. In 1997, the direct expenses for the Special Investigations Bureau's program were nearly $3,371,000. As of March 25, 1998, the Special Investigations Bureau had a total of 29 full-time staff members, including 11 lawyers and 8 historians. Despite the increasing workload, the office is gradually reducing its staff. In January 1983, the Special Investigations Bureau had a staff of 51, including 22 lawyers. Although the workload of the Special Investigations Bureau is growing, it is clear that in the near future, the program to pursue and punish WWII criminals will gradually fade into history due to the natural decline in the number of suspects and witnesses. P18-19