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Denmark Pursues ‘Highest Decorated Nazi Dane’
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Denmark has indicted 86-year-old former Nazi SS officer Søren Kam. But Munich courts refused to extradite Kam, a German citizen.
30-Second Summary
Kam is wanted for the 1943 murder of anti-Nazi Danish newspaper editor Carl Henrik Clemmensen.
However, Munich courts have denied Denmark’s request for deportation, ruling that Kam was acting in self-defense. Unlike murder, manslaughter or “accidental death” is covered by a statute of limitations in Germany, according to London’s The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph also writes that Kam was awarded the Knight’s Cross during World War II, making him the “highest decorated Nazi Dane.”
The Danes are now looking into new charges against Kam. Allegedly, he was involved in the deportation of hundreds of Danish Jews to concentration camps. A BBC audio interview with Kam made available online in February records him denying the new allegations. He says, “Neither before or during the war, I never did anything to the Jews.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an organization dedicated to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, is lobbying the Danish government to continue its pursuit of Kam. He features prominently in a campaign launched by the center in 2002 called “Operation Last Chance,” which seeks to bring Nazi war criminals to justice before they die from old age.
The Kam case coincides with the investigation of John Demjanjuk, who faces deportation from the United States. Fifteen years ago, Demjanjuk was accused of being the infamous camp guard Ivan the Terrible. Acquitted of those charges after a long process, he is currently under investigation for different war crimes committed under another identity.
However, Munich courts have denied Denmark’s request for deportation, ruling that Kam was acting in self-defense. Unlike murder, manslaughter or “accidental death” is covered by a statute of limitations in Germany, according to London’s The Daily Telegraph.
The Telegraph also writes that Kam was awarded the Knight’s Cross during World War II, making him the “highest decorated Nazi Dane.”
The Danes are now looking into new charges against Kam. Allegedly, he was involved in the deportation of hundreds of Danish Jews to concentration camps. A BBC audio interview with Kam made available online in February records him denying the new allegations. He says, “Neither before or during the war, I never did anything to the Jews.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an organization dedicated to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, is lobbying the Danish government to continue its pursuit of Kam. He features prominently in a campaign launched by the center in 2002 called “Operation Last Chance,” which seeks to bring Nazi war criminals to justice before they die from old age.
The Kam case coincides with the investigation of John Demjanjuk, who faces deportation from the United States. Fifteen years ago, Demjanjuk was accused of being the infamous camp guard Ivan the Terrible. Acquitted of those charges after a long process, he is currently under investigation for different war crimes committed under another identity.
Headline Links: ‘Former SS Officer Sheltering in Germany’
The Daily Telegraph reports on the attempt by the Danish government to have Søren Kam, a former SS officer, sent to Denmark from Germany to face war crimes charges. Kam ranks number eight on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list of 10 "most wanted Nazi war criminals” for his role in sending “hundreds of Jews to Nazi concentration camps.”
Source: The Telegraph
The BBC broadcast an audio feature in February 2008 that includes an interview with Kam, who was believed dead well into the 1960s. When questioned about the killing of Clemmensen, he replies, “It was an accident, it was a misunderstanding, that led me and the other two men to shoot.” On the subject of the accusations made by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, he says, “They are just out to ruin me because they hate me… Neither before or during the war I never did anything to the Jews.”
Source: The BBC
Background Information: Demjanjuk and Operation Last Chance
Operation Last Chance
A Jan. 14, 2008 article from Der Spiegel reported that the Simon Wiesenthal Center had increased the reward from $10,000 to $25,000 for “information leading to the capture of Nazi war criminals.” In what is called “Operation Last Chance,” the Center, directed by Efraim Zuroff, seeks to bring Nazi war criminals to court before they before they die of old age. The operation began in 2002, and the reward money has only been paid out once.
Source: Der Spiegel
‘Nazi Hunters Run Against Time’
The Washington Times reported on Jan. 17, 2008, that the Nazi hunters from the Simon Wiesenthal Center are “frustrated that some European governments have not shown the same sense of urgency” that they feel. Director Zuroff says that Austria has become "a paradise for war criminals," while Germany seems to have stopped trying to bring them to justice.
Source: The Washington Times
The Charges Against ‘Ivan the Terrible’
On Feb. 4, 2008, findingDulcinea examined the case of alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk. Demjanjuk was extradited from the United States to Israel in 1986, but when evidence failed to prove that he was the infamous “Ivan the Terrible,” he was sent back. Now, he faces a new set of Nazi war criminal charges for crimes he allegedly committed under a different identity.
Source: findingDulcinea
Reference: The Simon Wiesenthal Center
On April 15, 2007, the Simon Wiesenthal Center released its “seventh Annual Status Report on the Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals.” The center rates the diligence of world nations in their efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to justice, and provides a list, located on the bottom of the page, of the “Most Wanted Nazi War Criminals.” Søren Kam is number eight on the list.
Source: The Simon Wiesenthal Center
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