U.S. SAID TO HAVE SMUGGLED NAZI WAR CRIMINALS INTO COUNTRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100140076-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 76
• Publication Date: May 17, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

J li
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/04: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100140076-5
ON PAGE.-A
1.7 May 1982
us S
hu,"Vu"Smu
gg e:
azi War?crirninaIs
' yi n
,
s . Washington (AP) -State 'Depart-
.ment officials smuggled hundreds of
Nazi war criminals into the, United
States and offered them citizenship'.:
and jobs in exchange for Soviet intel-
ligence information, Representative':'
Barney Frank (D, Mass.) said yester-;
-day.
Mr. Frank, a member o'f the House
immigration subcommittee, said he
'.was told of the clandestine operation
by John Loftus, a former prosecutor.41
with the Justice Department's Office
of Special Investigation, the unit {
charged, with investigating Nazis liv-'
ing in the United States. `;
Mr. Loftus, a Boston lawyer, ap1
peared on the CBS program 60;
Minutes" yesterday and detailed thei
operation of the State Department's,
Office of Policy Coordination,, which
he'said 'as.res onsible,?for bringing
Nazi collaborators into' the United
tom. "More than... 300 Byelorussian
Nazis are;'living -'in America. today;.
-and "some, are -still working :for- the
government,". Mr. Loftus charged. .
ii:- ,He said the FBI, the~Army and,the
State:Departinent`:cooperated in;en;
n listing Nazi help to spy on the Soviets:;
"They; knew. that the. entire ,Nazi
government', off. Byelorussia-the
president, *the' vice presidents, cabinet;
ministers,-governors.and-mayors, po-
lice chiefs-were all living in Ameri,
ca," Mr:.Loftus said. "The FBI; Army.
?,Counter ,Intelligence Army n
Intelligence,1theDepa ,rtment oI=S Foreig tate,
-they;l.new. and-theyy recruited therm
because they were Nazis <
G Justice,~Department. spokesman,
Dean St; Dennis; said. esteraa . that
"the departnnent* is aware "of thealle
,'gationsand is.looking into them"" but'
would not elaborate. The"State !'De-;
'apartment declined. to comment and:
.an :Army spokesman,. -Lt:' Col. 'Bill
:,Highlander, said -:he had "no' knowl
-edge:of it at;all.;,.~An FBI:spokesman
.a similar response ; `, r F
Offering Nazis ;sanctuary, -in the.
.United ..States would have 'contra%
:vened the orders of Presidents Frank;
1in,'?D..: Roosevelt- -and-. Harr . $
Truman, but Mr:;Loftus?said theepro-;?
4.gram operated secretly;=.:.
had' one uni ,;of?,they govern;
,;ment out' trying toprosecute~'the
;..Nazis and other units ofitheF govern.1
~,,meht trying to:"seeret~.the;inforination
Oirntry ,4
W,e.:later'. esfablisbed . that;,the'ifiles -: Stankevich died in Queens, N.Y-,
pertaining to ,the; Nazi immigration- before Mr. Loftus's office could begun
fromt he-courts ,, from the' CIA and`, prosecuting him for his alleged war
.from the local agents of the Immigra_.-I crimes, according to Ivir. Loftus.
~?1
tiop Service," he said in the interview. t
-After-the war, ' the State Depart-`
ment set up a Nazi recruitment pro
-
gram run'by the late Frank Wisner,:3
the :.post-war chief"of operations for;7
the ' Central Intelligence ;Agency; ac= i
cording to Mr,; Loftus However,. he
said classified information "indicated
,that a' , number .of these programs,
were approved at'the highest levels."
Mr;Loftus said Allan'J;.Ryan, Jr:;'
who: headed the; Justice; Department:;
unit, sent atop secret report In Octo-;".
her, 19'806 ".to', then-Attorney General
Benjamin H: Civiletti alerting him to
'the operation: Mr. Loftus also deliv=.
.ered classified .-information on the
sullject-:to'.Mr.? Frank. Neither Mr.l
Ryan : nor ;Mr. C-vlett ~eould Abe:
reached immediately for comment' s
jj ;.. I was skeptical wheri'John first,.'
told me the story," Mr. Frank said in,
d:
a,
telephone interview" from " Boston:
"But' now, I'm convinced': they;are
overwhelmingly true,':he?added
Mr` Frank called .the Nazi recruit--
'ment"the most-appalling mixture of
moral insensitivityand incompetence
I have seen." He called on Congress to I
investigate. the matter: .
Mr. 'Loftus and Mr.;1Frank said
.various intelligence'agencies;compet- I
ed with,: each - other ;, to recruit the
Nazis for espionage work?;
The *- Byelorussians , ~.convinced
OPC and 'the military intelligence .to ,
fund their operations,'that they could
provide the Americans'with a secret
army behind the' Iron . Curtain;. ?- Mr.
Lottus'said; _.. -
"It?,was worse than a botch," ivlr:
Loftuisaid of the program, which in-
cluded dropping parachute hit teams.
Into The Soviet Union. "Many of the
Byelorussians were later identified as
having been double agents."
Mr. Loftus said some of the Byelo-;J
':;.rusaians are ,working for quasi-gov-_'
erninental agencies such as Radio
Free. Europe-Radio Liberty.,
=
Mr. Loftus said Stanislau Stanke
vich commanded the murders of Jews
in': Byelorussia: He said Stankevich
-was.later -Tecruited- by Radio Free
Europe and l became a United States
citizen. .
11 i Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/06/04: CIA-RDP90-01208R000100140076-5