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Bellevue man served with WWII Nazi death squad, U.S. says | Seattle Times Newspape...
Peter Egner talked freely to his friends about his service as a conscript in the German army during World War II, and even showed them the jagged scar on his hip — the wound that Egner said ended his military service.
"He was a [WWII] veteran, like I was a veteran," said Russell Wilson, 81, his longtime neighbor in West Linn, Ore.
But federal Nazi hunters say the 86-year-old Egner, of Bellevue, has lived a lie all these years, and Tuesday moved to revoke his U.S. citizenship, claiming he was a member of a Nazi death squad responsible for the murders of more than 17,000 Serbian Jews and others as the German Wehrmacht marched east on the Soviet Union.
A complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle alleges that Egner was not a conscript, but instead served as a guard and interpreter with the notorious Nazi-run Security Police and Security Service (SPSS) in Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia) from 1941 through the fall of 1943, when he was wounded. During that time, the complaint stated, his unit participated in the roundup and systematic killings of tens of thousands of Serbian Jews, Gypsies and political dissidents.
Reached Tuesday by The Associated Press by telephone at the Silver Glen retirement cooperative in Bellevue, Egner confirmed his identity but said he was unaware of the complaint. Asked about his alleged service with the Nazis, he said: "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm sorry. Bye."
Robert Gibbs, a Seattle immigration attorney representing Egner, acknowledged that his client served in the SPSS but said he has denied being involved in atrocities.
Gibbs said the complaint is "carefully worded and very generic. It doesn't say Mr. Egner did anything, and it provides only the most tenuous connection with anyone who did.
"We don't know what they have," Gibbs said. "But it seems to me if they're coming after this old man, then they must be at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to war criminals."
The Department of Justice's Office of Special Investigations, which is responsible for finding war criminals on U.S. soil, identified Egner's participation through Nazi documents, the complaint says.
"The Nazi unit in which Peter Egner is alleged to have participated was responsible for countless deaths and unimaginable suffering," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich in a news release issued from Washington, D.C.
Court documents allege that during the first nine months that Egner was a member of the SPSS, the unit operated as the Belgrade Einsatzgruppe, a special mobile unit charged with early efforts to systematically murder Jews as part of Hitler's Final Solution.
"The organization played a leading role in the Nazis' mass murder of 6,280 Jewish women and children" at the Semlin concentration camp near Belgrade, according to an affidavit filed by Elizabeth White, the Office of Special Investigation's (OSI) chief historian and deputy director.
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All were asphyxiated or suffocated by carbon monoxide in the back of a special mobile gas van while being driven to burial pits, according to the court documents. The process went on daily for almost two months, according to the documents.
During the fall of 1941, the complaint says, Egner's unit killed 11,164 Serbian civilians, most of them Jewish men, but the dead also included suspected Communists and Gypsies. Peter Egner talked freely to his friends about his service as a conscript in the German army during World War II, and even showed them... more -
World War II bomb forces evacuation in Japan
About 5,400 residents were evacuated in Osaka in western Japan and flights at nearby airports were rerouted Sunday as army experts disposed of a large unexploded bomb believed to have been dropped by the U.S. military during World War II, authorities said.
An explosives disposal unit from Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force safely defused the rusty one-ton bomb in the crowded residential area during a 50-minute operation, local army spokesman Shoji Matsumoto said.
Nearby highways and roads were closed, and city buses, boats and flights in and out of nearby airports were rerouted, city officials said in a statement.
The bomb -- about 6 feet long -- was found by workers at a construction site last month, Matsumoto said.
Although the war ended more than 60 years ago, unexploded bombs still turn up regularly in Japan, where U.S. forces conducted extensive air raids against major cities.
A similar bomb was found in the outskirts of Tokyo in May, forcing 16,000 residents to evacuate for a disposal operation. Another one was unearthed in Osaka three years ago. About 5,400 residents were evacuated in Osaka in western Japan and flights at nearby airports were rerouted Sunday as army experts dis... more -
Germany opens Nazi crimes archive to public
Germany has opened the world's largest collection of documents on Nazi crimes and their victims to the public.
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V-J Day Kiss kept secret
A sailor's loose lips in Times Square on V-J Day launched a long-lasting mystery. Ernest Dubay says he is the one in the famous photograph, but kept his identity a secret until after the death of his wife, whom he was dating at the end of World War II.
It was about 5 p.m. on Aug. 14, 1945, when he arrived. In two hours the news zipper wrapping the New York Times building would flash the five words he'd waited to hear:
"OFFICIAL - TRUMAN ANNOUNCES JAPANESE SURRENDER."
Dubay doesn't remember that part. But he remembers another moment as sharply as if it was captured on camera - because, he says, it was.
"I started walking toward the building with the news going around. I saw this girl in a white uniform and I grabbed her and I kissed her." A sailor's loose lips in Times Square on V-J Day launched a long-lasting mystery. Ernest Dubay says he is the one in the famous photog... more -
Okinawa, Japan 25: WW2 Peace Memorial
Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. The Battle of Okinawa in WW2 devasted the island. Over 100,000 Okinawan civilians were killed in the fighting. Today a very fitting peace memorial sits in southern Okinawa. Visit http://StrayCompass.com for more great travel videos. The Battle of Okinawa in WW2 devasted the island. Over 100,000 Okinawan ci... more
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D-Day Anniversary
The largest 24-hour invasion of all time took place on June 6, 1944 when the Allied Powers stormed the coast of Normandy with a series of airborne and amphibious assaults. Close to 200,000 Allied soldiers and personnel contributed to a vital victory over Nazi forces. Their triumph on that day is now considered one of the most significant battles of World War II. The largest 24-hour invasion of all time took place on June 6, 1944 when the Allied Powers stormed the coast of Normandy with a series... more
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WWII bomb defused near London Olympics site
An army bomb disposal team is working to dismantle a huge unexploded World War Two bomb unearthed this week near the future Olympic Park in London.
The 2,200-pound German explosive was discovered on Monday by contractors clearing the site. It measures four feet by two feet - the largest discovered in the capital since the mid-70s. At one point it even started ticking.
Bombs are uncovered two or three times a year in London, which bore the brunt of the Blitz aerial bombardment. An army bomb disposal team is working to dismantle a huge unexploded World War Two bomb unearthed this week near the future Olympic Pa... more -
Pearl Harbor a national monument?
"President Bush has asked his defense and interior secretaries to look into designating Pearl Harbor and other historic World War II sites in the Pacific a national monument.
A May 29 presidential memo to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said such status could offer the sites additional protection.
"These objects of historical and scientific interest may tell the broader story of the war, the sacrifices made by America and its allies, and the heroism and determination that laid the groundwork for victory in the Pacific and triumph in World War II," Bush said.
The letter, posted on the White House Web site, doesn't say what specific places Bush has in mind aside from Pearl Harbor.
Parts of the naval base are already under some form of protection or have historic designation.
The USS Arizona, an underwater grave for over 1,100 sailors and Marines unable to escape the ship before it sank during the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack, is currently part of the USS Arizona Memorial run by the National Park Service.
Ford Island, where several of the Navy's battleships were moored during the attack, is a National Historic Landmark.
The island, located at the center of Pearl Harbor, is home to historic airplane hangers that survived the aerial assault. A red and white striped airplane control tower on Ford Island delivered the first radio broadcast of the attack.
Next door to Pearl Harbor, the top Air Force commander in the Pacific today has his headquarters in a building that served as barracks for Army airmen in 1941. Bullet holes left by Japanese machine guns are still visible on the outside of the structure's concrete walls.
Outside Hawaii, crucial battles were fought at Midway, Wake and Guam islands. All are still U.S. territory.
Today, Midway is mainly a wildlife bird refuge and key node in the island chain making up the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument that Bush established in 2006. The former naval base, where the U.S. defeated Japan in June 1942 to turn the tide of World War II in the Pacific, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
Many areas — particularly Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base, and Guam — that would likely be eligible for inclusion in the monument are still actively used today by the U.S. military.
Making them part of a monument could complicate daily operations for the services. But Bush's memo told Gates and Kempthorne that national monument classification shouldn't interfere with the military's business.
"Please consider in your assessment that any proposed actions should not limit the Department of Defense from carrying out the mission of the various branches of the military," Bush said.
The Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president the authority to make national monuments of "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest." The president doesn't need Congressional approval to do designate monuments.
Other national monuments include the Statue of Liberty, designated by Calvin Coolidge in 1924, and the Grand Canyon, made a national monument by Herbert Hoover in 1932".
By Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press Writer
With all this negative talk about Bush I thought it would be nice to add something to make it a little balanced. Maybe. "President Bush has asked his defense and interior secretaries to look into designating Pearl Harbor and other historic World War II s... more -
German City
Pictures from the Second World War, made unknown airmen were found in one of American libraries.
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Zeitgeist - The Movie
Have you ever wondered where Christianity really came from? Did you know that George W. Bush's Grandfather laundered Nazi money during WWII? Zeitgeist , shown here in it's entirety, will illuminate the blind and affirm the visionary. Winner of the 2007 Artist Film Festival, Hollywood, California, Best Feature Documentary, Zeitgeist will rock your world. Enjoy and spread the word! Have you ever wondered where Christianity really came from? Did you know that George W. Bush's Grandfather laundered Nazi money durin... more
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What your grandmother knows about stopping global warming
If you want to live a more eco-friendly life, try asking your grandparents. The wartime conservation efforts of WWII could offer solutions for greener living. If you want to live a more eco-friendly life, try asking your grandparents. The wartime conservation efforts of WWII could offer solut... more
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Food Fight
An abridged history of American-centric warfare, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict.
For the official cheat sheet (breakdown of the foodstuffs), visit: http://homepage.mac.com/stefannadelman/foodfight/cheat.... An abridged history of American-centric warfare, from WWII to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict. ... more -
Escape From a Death Camp
The last survivor of Treblinka, the Nazi death camp of WWII, tells his heart-breaking story.
These stories have been told and re-told by many Holocaust survivors over the years, but this particular rendering is visceral, raw and very real. It reminds us that genocide, torture and ethnic cleansing are horrible injustices regardless of when they happen, or who they happen to.
One common catch phrase I heard growing up immersed in Jewish culture is "Never Again"; referring of course to the Holocaust and that it should never happen again. Well, the reality is that it has, it does and it will. Maybe the Jews are not the victims this time around, but there are victims. Hundreds of thousands of them, and it still goes on.
The last survivor of Treblinka, the Nazi death camp of WWII, tells his heart-breaking story. ... more -
Saving Private Ryan, Team Fortress 2 Style
Ever ask yourself what "Saving Private Ryan" would be like if WW2 was more like TF2? Wonder no more.
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Letters from the Dead
How do we talk about parts of human history that are so incredibly traumatic that we want to avoid it, but we must teach others about it? How do we learn from our dark places?
Jonathan Yuen's 2000 memorial website of the nuclear bombing of Japan to end WWII touches these difficult places. He presents this material at a pace determined by the person browsing it, allowing that information to unfold in a way like a book, but not (it is the web, after all).
Yuen's website, a thesis project, allows us to read the terrible poetry of annihilation that can come from war. How do we talk about parts of human history that are so incredibly traumatic that we want to avoid it, but we must teach others about ... more -
Doktoro Esperanto
There are only a thousand native Esperanto speakers (children who grew up speaking Esperanto as a first language) in the world, maybe less, but it so happens that one of them is a billionaire. There are only a thousand native Esperanto speakers (children who grew up speaking Esperanto as a first language) in the world, maybe ... more
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Iran's Unlikely TV Hit
Every Monday night at 10 oclock, Iranians by the millions tune into Channel One to watch the most expensive show ever aired on the Islamic republics state-owned television. Its elaborate 1940s costumes and European locations are a far cry from the typical Iranian TV fare of scarf-clad women and gray-suited men.
But the most surprising thing about the wildly popular show is that it is a heart-wrenching tale of European Jews during World War II.
The hour-long drama, Zero Degree Turn, centers on a love story between an Iranian-Palestinian Muslim man and a French Jewish woman. Over the course of the 22 episodes, the hero saves his love from Nazi detention camps, and Iranian diplomats in France forge passports for the woman and her family to sneak on to airplanes carrying Iranian Jews to their homeland.
On the surface, the message of the lavish, state-funded production appears sharply at odds with that sent out by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called the Holocaust a myth.
In fact, the governments spending on the show underscores the subtle and often sophisticated way in which the Iranian state uses its TV empire to send out political messages. The aim of the show, according to many inside and outside the country, is to draw a clear distinction between the governments views about Judaism which is accepted across Iranian society and its stance on Israel which the leadership denounces every chance it gets.
Every Monday night at 10 oclock, Iranians by the millions tune into Channel One to watch the most expensive show ever aired on th... more -
Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts demo
I somehow missed this in my earlier web-dredging, but theres now a Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts demo available for your downloading pleasure. The WWII RTS beast weighs in at a hormonal 1.92gb, or 137 Peggles. The demo contains the tutorial and the first two levels. And by the way, if youve ever played an RTS and not suffered from the experience, then you should play Company Of Heroes. I mean seriously: try it now, its one of the better ones. I somehow missed this in my earlier web-dredging, but theres now a Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts demo available for your downloa... more
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Paper cranes of the Children's Peace Monument
Here are some photos from the Hiroshima Peace Park in Japan, the paper cranes all over the place are amazing and chilling.
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Japanese war time incident removed from the history books.
As the US approached the islands of Okinawa in 1945, the Japanese Imperial Army encouraged residents to kill themselves as an alternative to the impending doom the Americans were to bring.
Many residents took the Imperial Army seriously, which resulted in mass suicides throughout the islands. When the Americans arrived, the residents were left alone.
Controversy has erupted recently. Japanese text books have taken out mention of this event. A 100,000 person protest has gotten the government to pay attention, and has made them reconsider their stance.
As the US approached the islands of Okinawa in 1945, the Japanese Imperial Army encouraged residents to kill themselves as an alternat... more
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