| John Demjanjuk Trial 2009
The Honourable Angela Merkel Dear Chancellor Merkel: This open letter to you and to the German people has been prompted by the rather plaintive plea of the Human Rights Committee of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) asking you to ensure that the prosecution of John Demjanjuk in a German court “not turn into a show trial intended to spill blame for the Holocaust on non-Germans, and we appeal to you to make a public statement to this effect.” This letter dated 15 July 2009 is archived at the UWC website at The history of the John Demjanjuk case is replete with geopolitical intrigue, judicial misconduct, disinformation and outright deceit. There is a direct connection to the KGB and the on-going Soviet efforts to discredit the Ukrainian Diaspora — its promotion of Ukrainian independence, its steadfast anti-Communism and the eyewitness accounts of the genocidal policies of the Soviet regime. Criminality of the OSI Contrary to the official policy of the United States towards the Soviet Union at that time, this unfortunate meeting facilitated the use of Soviet-supplied evidence in future OSI prosecutions and placed American justice at the mercy of KGB manipulation. That the OGPU/NKVD/KGB utilized torture to obtain false confessions from targeted individuals is a historical fact. From the time of Lenin through the Holodomor, the Great Terror, World War Two, the Ukrainian Partisan Army Insurgency and even the Dissident era from the 1960s intimidation, threats and torture were utilized by the repressive organs of the Soviet Union. Even in the 1990s, when naive Canadian judges travelled to Ukraine to interview eyewitnesses under the direction of and preparation by former-KGB personnel, several of these witnesses later recanted their testimony after recounting their “preparation” and expressed surprise and disgust that Canadian authorities would side with their tormentors. By the time that John Demjanjuk was exonerated of the charges against him by the Israeli Supreme Court on 29 July 1993, it had become obvious that:
It is small wonder that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently ruled that the OSI was guilty of prosecutorial misconduct constituting fraud on the court in obtaining the 1981 denaturalization of Mr. Demjanjuk and his 1986 extradition to Israel. Obviously, any pronouncements and conclusions from these tainted proceedings cannot be utilized by the German courts and any evidence supplied by the OSI must be treated as suspect. The German courts must not legitimize the criminality of the OSI. Trawniki ID 1393 card The 1981 denaturalization trial started with only photostatic copies of the card available. Unexpectedly, the Soviets allowed experts for the prosecution and defense to examine it at their Embassy and made it available to Judge Battisti for one morning session. For the Jerusalem trial, the card was allegedly delivered by Armand Hammer and three other similar cards appeared mysteriously mid-trial. No expert has ever authenticated the Demjanjuk signature (in green, iron-free ink). Julius Grant, expert witness for the defense at the Jerusalem trial, categorically stated that the signature was forged. A large number of people have examined copies of these cards and have detected an enormous number of discrepancies, which indicate that the card is fraudulent — there is no date and DIN number, the format is wrong, the stamps are wrong, obsolete type is used, some letters are hand-made, the German grammar and spelling is atrocious. Various other similar cards have appeared that differ from the original. Even the prosecution in the second 2001 Demjanjuk denaturalization trial admitted that there were at least two sets of these cards. One of the main problems with these cards is that there is no chain of custody. No one seems to know where they came from, where they were, what was done to them and by whom and when. During World War Two there were countless false and forged documents created by various spy agencies, by criminal organizations, by individuals trying to survive. This is exemplified by the famous Red Orchestra led by Leopold Trepper, which infiltrated German organizations to provide information to Soviet intelligence on the German war effort. The Jewish underground operatives were masters at providing false documents for their members. The logical procedure to unravel the origin and validity or non-validity of these documents would be for the German courts to make coloured, high-resolution digital photographs of them, post them on a government web site and invite independent experts to examine them. Doubtless, a large number of discrepancies would be detected and many of them resolved. Legal standing for affected groups This would include the Ukrainian World Congress, which must ensure that past and present Soviet/Russian efforts directed at the suppression of Ukrainian independence and discrediting the Ukrainian Diaspora as anti-semitic nationalists and Nazi collaborators are exposed. The Ukrainophobia expressed in previous Demjanjuk trials must not be repeated in German courts. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) also has a vested interest at being represented at the Munich trial. The initial 1981 Demjanjuk denaturalization trial spilled over into Canada with wild claims of thousands of “Nazi war criminals” living in Canada, the establishment of the Deschenes Commission, passage of retroactive legislation to allow prosecution of alleged war criminals in criminal courts, creation of Canada’s War Crimes Unit, failure to convict Imre Finta, abandonment of the criminal process and its replacement with the civil denaturalization and deportation process exactly as with John Demjanjuk in the United States. All these developments relate to the upcoming trial in Munich. In addition, many other countries in Eastern Europe would be well-advised to seek standing at the Munich trial. Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians and other nationalities were also targeted by the KGB-sponsored “Nazi collaborator” campaign. As with Ukraine, the present Putin/Medvedev regime in Moscow continues to challenge the legitimacy of these countries and refuses to acknowledge the Stalinist crimes inflicted upon their citizens. It would be in the interests of German and world society, if the German government would encourage and assist (both administratively and financially) these various organizations and countries to obtain legal standing at the Munich trial. German taxpayers have paid billions of Deutschmarks to Holocaust survivors and toward prosecution of Nazis within Germany. This has resulted in a distorted view of the realities of World War Two — the Jewish perspective is reinforced, while the perspective of others is downplayed or suppressed. One would hope that all aspects of crimes during WW2 could be examined. German victimhood The reality is that throughout the twentieth century Germans were as much victims as victimizers. But does the world recognize this? Do Germans mourn the victims of the firebombing of Dresden and Hamburg? Or the massacre of surrendering German soldiers in Munich by the Americans? Or the POW death pits organized by General Eisenhower? Or the genocidal ethnic cleansing of Germans from the Danzig/Gdansk area? Or the rape of some two million German women by the oncoming Red Army as it invaded Germany? Or the torture of German personnel to encourage their confessions for the Nurnberg War Crimes Trials? Have German courts examined these atrocities? Has anyone been charged? Holodomor World Geopolitics The John Demjanjuk case, stretching for almost 35 years now, is the most politicized case in the history of mankind. He has become a pawn in the intrigues of the power elites in the world today. He is the litmus test to indicate who holds the real power. Israel uses this case as a tool to promote and publicize the Holocaust and to combat “Holocaust revisionists”; to elicit sympathy and money from individuals and governments; to influence and control the judicial systems within various countries; and to prevent criticism of Israelâs ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. The justice system of the United States as represented by the OSI has a vested interest to legitimize its criminal handling of the Demjanjuk case. The Russian Federation will continue to justify its genocidal anti-Ukrainian policies of the past with the hopes of re-incorporating Ukraine within its empire, while at the same time dangling the image of endless gas supplies to Germany. Once again, as at the time of the Holodomor, the prospect of lucrative business dealings with Russia will likely overcome any German qualms about human rights and human lives. And once again, Germany appears willing to sell its soul to appease the United States/Israel on one side and the Russian Federation on the other side. Mr. Demjanjuk and Ukraine are to be the sacrificial lambs. To all the people, who have been involved in the persecution of Mr. Demjanjuk, I would like to remind them of the following quotation in the past, present and future tenses: “As you do unto John Demjanjuk, so shall it be done unto you.” Respectfully yours William Zuzak, Ph.D., P.Eng. (retired) This letter shall be archived at: |
Olha Samborska
