Turning the pages back... July 29, 1993 (07/26/98)

Turning the pages back...

July 29, 1993

Five years ago on July 29 the Supreme Court of Israel unanimously acquitted John Demjanjuk of all war crimes charges and ordered the 73-year-old former Clevelander set free. The five-judge panel said Mr. Demjanjuk was not "Ivan the Terrible," thus supporting his steadfast claim that he was a victim of mistaken identity, and overturned his 1988 death sentence.

The court said there was "reasonable doubt" that Mr. Demjanjuk was "Ivan" due to new evidence that implicated another man, Ivan Marchenko, as the brutal watchman. Mr. Demjanjuk also was acquitted of all other charges, including allegations that he was a guard at other Nazi camps. The court ruled that these were not the main charges and that Mr. Demjanjuk had not had a chance to defend himself against those accusations. However, the court did find the controversial Trawniki ID card to be authentic and determined that Mr. Demjanjuk belonged to a Nazi guard unit "whose purpose was murder." Nonetheless, the court rejected the option of ordering a new trial, since that would mean "an additional extension of the hearings beyond an acceptable limit."

Reacting to the decision, John Demjanjuk Jr. said he was "glad to see that they [the judges] actually had the courage to stop the injustice." He commented angrily, however, on the court's determination that his father had been a Nazi camp guard: "This nonsense should stop right now. Our family has been through hell ... It would be unthinkable to say that now, after 16 years of proving his innocence, he should be left with a label that has never been tried in a court of law."

Having been stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1981, Mr. Demjanjuk was a stateless person, thus, it was unclear where would go. His family insisted he would come home to Seven Hills, Ohio. "The U.S. has a moral obligation to restore his citizenship and to allow him to return," said his son.

On August 3, five days after the acquittal in Israel, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati held a hearing on whether Mr. Demjanjuk should be allowed to re-enter the U.S. Ten minutes after it heard arguments, the court ruled that Mr. Demjanjuk must be allowed to return. But there were several challenges to the ruling.

Finally on September 1, the Justice Department announced it was dropping its fight to keep John Demjanjuk out of the U.S. Mr. Demjanjuk returned to the United States on September 22 amid extremely tight security. His return to the U.S. followed the Israeli Supreme Court's ruling on September 19 rejecting all appeals for a new trial against the man once thought to be "Ivan the Terrible" of Treblinka.

Sources: "Demjanjuk acquitted; Israeli Supreme Court decision is unanimous," The Ukrainian Weekly, August 1, 1993, Vol. LXI, No. 31; "A year of victories for John Demjanjuk," 1993: The Year in Review, The Ukrainian Weekly, December 26, 1993, Vol. LXI, No. 52.