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Ohioan Charged in 29K Nazi Camp Deaths

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 11, 2009 1:03 PM CDT

(Newser) – A retired Ohio autoworker born in Ukraine is facing charges in the murder of 29,000 Jews during World War II, the AP reports. German authorities allege John Demjanjuk was a guard at the Sobibor concentration camp in Poland between March and September 1943. Demjanjuk, 88, maintains his innocence. He says he fought with the Russian army and was captured by the Germans in 1942.

Demjanjuk, who emigrated to the US in 1952, was extradited to Israel in 1986 and spent 7 years in prison there. He was released when authorities realized he was not the former Nazi guard they thought he was. The Germans say they cooperated with the US Justice Department to confirm Demjanjuk’s identity but were unsure if the US would deport him.

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A World War II-era military service pass for John Demjanjuk. (AP Photo)

John Demjanjuk is freed from Israeli custody as he climbs the steps to board his flight from Ben Gurion Airport, outside Tel Aviv, to New York in 1993. (AP Photo)

John Demjanjuk in 2005. (AP Photo)

John Demjanjuk in 2006. (AP Photo)

Accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk. (AP Photo)

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Whatever the Germans decide to do, we will continue to fight for justice in this sad case as there has never been any credible evidence of his personal involvement in even one murder, let alone thousands.
- John Demjanjuk Jr.

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