Trump Deports Last-Known Nazi Collaborator in the U.S.

WWII Nazi Collaborator Jakiw Palij deported to Germany

Jakiw Palij, one of the last surviving Nazi collaborators resident in the U.S., was deported to Germany in the early hours of August 21.[/tweetit] He was a former camp guard and played an important role in the slaughter of almost 6,000 Jews under his watch. The 95-year-old was deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. He came to the United States under false pretenses in 1949 and became a U.S. citizen in 1957. He hid his Nazi past with success during that time. The deportation order was originally issued in 2004, but moving him out of the U.S. was a difficult task as he is not a German citizen. He was born in Polish territory which is now Ukraine. Both these two countries explicitly stated their unwillingness to take him back and pointed fingers towards Germany, saying that it is the latter's responsibility on what to do with him.

Trump Deports Last-Known Nazi Collaborator in the U.S.[/tweetthis]

Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany, told the media that the Trump administration had made Palij's removal a priority. President Donald Trump was especially keen on deporting the Nazi from American soil. He also praised the new German Government for bringing “new energy” into deportation proceedings. Grenell, a Trump nominee, credited President Trump about this success, saying that it is an excellent day to see such a person like Palij finally kicked out of the United States.

Deporting Jakiw Palij is not going to bring back my grandmother, grandfather, aunts and uncles — all killed by Nazis. I know I'm supposed to want #justice here, but I just don't see the point, at this point.

— Laura Zam (@laurazam) August 21, 2018

Palij confessed to officials of the Department of Justice in 2003 about his training at an SS camp in what was then German-occupied Poland. As per historical court documents, the men who specifically underwent training at the Trawniki training camp supervised by the Nazis carried out the murderous regime's nefarious plans to slaughter Polish Jews. Palij was an armed guard at the nearby Trawniki Labor Camp, where he infamously played an important role in slaughtering about 6,000 Jews. The event was one of the biggest massacres ever to happen during the 1943 Holocaust. In his deposition after the Second World War, the Nazi war criminal claimed to have worked on a farm and a factory.

Palij's connection with the criminal Nazi regime did not end after the culmination of the Second World War. He maintained contact-and even friendships- with other former Nazi guards who entered the United States by sheer lying and false documents.

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