Statement of JWV, Department of MN, on Michael Karkoc’s Alleged War Crimes
Summer 2013
Statement
of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Department of Minnesota, on
the Occasion of the Accusation of False Immigration Status and War Crime Past
by the Associated Press, Against Mr. Michael Karkoc, Resident of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, Age 94
On the 13th of June, 2013, the
Associated Press, through local, national, and international news outlets,
released a story, alleging that Mr. Michael Karkoc, age 94, resident of
Minneapolis, Minnesota, concealed past conduct on his part as a commander of
a Nazi SS unit that caused the deliberate murder of hundreds of innocent
civilians, including children, in Poland and the Ukraine during the Second
World War. These acts include brutal suppression by mass murder of
civilians in the uprising against Nazi occupation in Warsaw, Poland, in 1944.
This horrific story reminds us, as veterans of
the Armed Forces of the United States with due reverence for our lives and
learning as Jews, of the twin obligations of remembrance and observance,
which our American and Jewish traditions both teach, of our history, our
traditions, and our faith in the rule of law.
We remember the innocent men, women, and
children who lost their lives in the merciless maw of the Fascist war machine
from 1933 to 1945 – “Ha-Shoah” – in Hebrew. We remember those for whom
no family member survived to say Kaddish for them. We remember those
who did survive, and who did establish lives, in the United States, Canada,
Israel, and the rest of the world, as living testaments against Fascism, and
as testaments in favor of life and love over death, destruction, and
despair. We remember those who sacrificed so much to liberate those who
survived, including the remnant amongst our department and the rest of the
nation who survive to tell the story today.
We observe, as Americans and Jews, fundamental
principles – even sacred principles – of law. First, we recognize the
presumption of innocence. Mr. Karkoc, as a resident of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, enjoys this presumption in American jurisprudence, as he would in
any nation which, like the United States, has lawfully adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Should the facts show that he unlawfully
concealed a bloodstained, war crime-riddled past in his immigration
application, Mr. Karkoc must face accountability under the law, as the law
requires of anyone, for his actions.
Second, we recognize, and require the
fulfillment of, the fundamental principles that are the hallmark of the
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, enacted into American law after World War II,
in the shadow of Auschwitz. These principles, as U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Robert Jackson and chief American prosecutor at Nuremberg so
eloquently delivered, state: (a) war of aggression is the supreme war crime,
from which all other war crimes flow; (b) those who perpetrate wars of
aggression, those who lie to start wars of aggression, and those who conceal
resulting war crimes, must meet exacting accountability, without regard to
time, place, station, or office in life, under the law. These Nuremberg
Principles are part of the rule of law which our members have fought to
affirm, and for which some of our comrades have given the last full measure
of devotion, to affirm. The Jewish War Veterans of the United States of
America, Department of Minnesota, demands remembrance and observance of these
principles in the matter of Mr. Karkoc, and any other alleged war criminals,
already identified or not yet identified, awaiting trial or not yet facing
prosecution.
Respectfully,
Peter J. Nickitas
Department Commander, Jewish War Veterans,
Department of MN
About Jewish War Veterans of the United
States of America
Founded in 1896, the Jewish
War Veterans of the United States of America is the oldest active
veterans’ organization in America. JWV is dedicated to upholding America’s
democratic traditions and fighting bigotry, prejudice, injustice, and
discrimination of all kinds. As a national organization, JWV represents the
voice of America’s Jewish veterans on issues related to veterans’ benefits,
foreign policy, and national security. JWV also commits itself to the
assistance of oppressed Jews worldwide.
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