Justice Dept Seeks to Oust Nazi

The U.S. Department of Justice will seek to revoke the citizenship of a New Jersey man it says served as an armed guard at Nazi slave labor camps during World War II.

According to a complaint filed Wednesday, Andrew Kuras, 80, of Mays Landing, was a guard at three different slave labor camps in German-occupied Poland during the war. Investigators say he lied about his background when he applied for American citizenship after the war.

Some 20,000 prisoners in two of those camps were shot to death during a 36-hour period in November 1943, according to the complaint.

"There is no statute of limitations in my mind on bringing justice to the victims of the Holocaust," U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said in announcing the filing.

According to the government, Kuras was part of a secret project called "Operation Reinhard", which was responsible for dispossessing, imprisoning and killing a total of 1.7 million Jewish adults and children.

"He was a part of one of the greatest atrocities the world has ever known," Christie said.

Kuras came to the United States in 1951 under the provisions of a law that allowed "displaced persons" to immigrate.

The complaint alleges that during an interview with the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps, Kuras falsely stated that he was a farmer in Poland until 1943 and a farmer in Germany until 1945.

He became a citizen in 1962. By law, United States citizenship can be revoked if it was illegally obtained.

John J. Finnegan III, Kuras' attorney, said he had not yet received a copy of the complaint and therefore was unable to comment. Finnegan said he hoped to meet with Kuras later Wednesday.

Because it is a civil case, Kuras remains free and has the rights of any U.S. citizen. But if his citizenship is revoked, he could be deported and face criminal charges in Europe or possibly in Israel, authorities said.

Since 1979, 70 former Nazis have been stripped of their U.S. citizenship, and 57 have been removed from the country. This is the ninth such case brought in New Jersey.

Article continues below

---

advertisement

---

Author: 6 ABC-AP