The United States deported a 95-year-old former Nazi German concentration camp guard back to Germany on Feb. 19, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said, “We are committed to ensuring that the United States does not become a haven for human rights violators and war criminals.” Photo not related to this article.
A 95-year-old former Nazi concentration camp guard arrived in Germany the same day after being deported from the United States, German police said Saturday (Feb. 20).
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) informed Friday (19) of the deportation of Friedrich Karl Berger, a former Nazi concentration camp guard who served as a guard at the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg in 1945 and participated in “Nazi-initiated persecution” at Neuengamme near Hamburg in 1945.
“We are committed to ensuring that the United States does not become a haven for human rights abusers and war criminals,” acting ICE Director Tae Johnson said in a statement, “and we will never stop hunting down those who persecute others.”
“No matter the length of Time, (American justice) will pursue justice and relentlessly hunt down those who participated in one of the greatest atrocities in history.” Johnson said.
Berger has German citizenship and has lived in the U.S. state of Tennessee since 1959.
A U.S. court ordered Berg’s deportation last March. The judge found that the camp where Berg was working housed a large number of Russian, Dutch and Polish civilians and that guards required prisoners to work outdoors “until exhaustion and death” in “brutal” winter weather conditions.
Berger himself admitted that his job was to guard the prisoners and prevent them from escaping during the day and on their way to and from the site. He remained on guard duty when Allied forces entered Germany and prisoners began to be evacuated to the main camp.
Berg received a pension from the German government based on his work in Germany, which “included his wartime services.
Berg then sought an appeal, and in November the appeals board upheld a previous decision that Berg could be deported under the Holtzmann Amendment to the 1978 Immigration and Nationality Act.
The amendment allows for the deportation of anyone involved in Nazi persecution or acts of genocide.
Since 1979, the Justice Department has won 109 cases against Nazi persecutors.
“The deportation of Berg demonstrates the commitment of the Justice Department and its law enforcement agencies to ensure that the United States is not a safe haven for those involved in Nazi Crimes Against Humanity and other human rights abuses.” Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson said in a statement.
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