Feodor Fedorenko was deported Friday from the United States to the Soviet Union for lying about his Nazi past as a prison guard at the Treb linka concentration camp when he entered the U.S. in 1949.
The 77-year-old retired construction worker who lived in Philadelphia, was due to arrive in the Soviet Union yesterday where he could face war crimes charges. Officials for the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) indicated they were uncertain what the Soviets would do with Fedorenko.
Fedorenko’s deportation and flight from Kennedy International Airport here culminated a seven-year government effort to strip Fedorenko of his American citizenship he obtained in 1970, and to have him deported.A last minute appeal to the Supreme Court to prevent his deportation was rejected last week.
The OSI said Fedorenko served as a prison guard at Treblinka in 1942 and 1943, and had taken part in beatings and persecution of prisoners at the death camp where an estimated 800,000 people were killed.
The immigration service first filed denaturalization proceedings against Fedorenko in 1977, charging that he had obtained his citizenship improperly because he omitted any mention of his Nazi past when he entered the U.S. In 1978, a judge dismissed the charges. But the dismissal was reversed by an appeals court, which revoked Fedorenko’s citizenship in 1979.
He becomes the first Nazi war criminal deported from the U.S. to the Soviet Union, a destination Fedorenko selected and which was approved by the authorities in that country.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
