APNewsBreak: Germany shelves Nazi crimes probe of US man

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By DAVID RISING

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have shelved their Nazi war crimes investigation of a retired Minnesota carpenter whom The Associated Press exposed as a former commander in an SS-led unit, saying Friday that the 96-year-old is not fit for trial.

The decision came more than two years after the AP published a story establishing that Michael Karkoc commanded a unit in the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion accused of burning villages filled with women and children, based on wartime documents, testimony from other members of the unit and Karkoc's own Ukrainian-language memoir.

Efraim Zuroff, the head Nazi hunter for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, questioned why the U.S. Department of Justice itself had not initiated deportation proceedings against Karkoc after the evidence was revealed.

"They should have been aware of his presence in the United States a long time ago, and if they were aware and did not take any action, that's very unfortunate, and I would say atypical, but it's obviously a failure," he said by telephone from Lithuania.

FULL story at link. Video: http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=92351&siteSection=bigstory_hom_non_non_dynamic_wire_ap&videoId=29469507



FILE- In this May 22, 1990, file photo, Michael Karkoc whom The Associated Press exposed as a former commander in an SS-led unit is shown in Lauderdale, Minnesota. German prosecutors say Friday, July 31, 2015, they’ve shelved their Nazi war crimes investigation of Karkov, saying the 96-year-old is not fit for trial. (Chris Polydoroff/The St. Paul Pioneer Press via AP, File)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/af290d1348cb45909940bdd894f60f82/apnewsbreak-germany-shelves-nazi-crimes-probe-us-man

[beergood]

1. ive read (on the internet) that the US

sheltered Nazis, in exchange for their knowledge. i wonder if this is why we never prosecuted him?

[Omaha Steve]

2. Welcome to the DU!

Could be. But it doesn't look like he knew rockets, weapons, etc.

[beergood]

3. thanks

[Plucketeer]

4. This guy was likely

a secret advisor to the Bush - Cheney regime!

[NCjack]

5. He probably gave up his list of Nazi sympathizers that could be used against

the Soviet Union.

[beergood]

6. makes sense

[salib]

7. Our justice system has become more and more morally bankrupt

[metalbot]

8. Can you point to a period in time where our justice system was more moral than now?

I ask a similar question to right wing Christians who lament the "decline in morals" of American society.

I'm not sure where you would point to in our history that the justice system was somehow more fair or balanced than it is today. We have better communication and information, which brings injustices to light, but I'm not convinced that we're backsliding.