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Pacific Historian
Good riddence.
Federal Court Revokes Citizenship Of Pittsburgh-Area Man Who Served As Nazi Concentration Camp Guard
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The U.S. District Court in
Pittsburgh today revoked the U.S. citizenship of Anton Geiser of
Sharon, Pa., because of his participation in Nazi-sponsored acts of
persecution while serving during World War II as an armed SS guard
at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and other places of persecution,
Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division
and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of the Western District of
Pennsylvania announced today.
Geiser admitted under oath that he served during most of 1943 as an
armed SS guard at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp near Berlin,
Germany; that his duties included escorting prisoners to slave labor
sites and standing guard in the camp's guard towers; and that he was
under standing orders to shoot any prisoner attempting escape. He
also admitted serving as a guard at the Buchenwald Concentration
Camp and its Arolsen subcamp. Prisoners held at Sachsenhausen and
Buchenwald were forced to engage in hard physical labor under
extraordinarily brutal conditions. Many prisoners died from
exhaustion or disease. Many were shot or hanged. During the period
when Geiser served at Sachsenhausen, more 3,000 prisoners were
murdered or died from the brutal treatment.
"Anton Geiser's service as an armed SS guard at several Nazi
concentration camps helped to ensure that thousands of men and women
held prisoner could not escape the brutal conditions of their
confinement, " said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. "The court's
ruling today confirms that the United States is not and never will
be a haven for those who participated in Nazi genocide."
Geiser, 81, immigrated to the United States from Austria in October
1956, and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in March 1962. The
district court found that he was not eligible for citizenship
because his service to Nazi Germany made him ineligible to immigrate
to the United States. Geiser's service as an armed SS guard, the
court concluded, "clearly assisted in the persecution of the
prisoners" held by the Nazis at Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and
Arolsen.
"By standing guard with a loaded weapon under orders to shoot, Anton
Geiser helped to ensure that thousands of innocent men and women
were forced to endure slave labor, medical experiments,
malnourishment and murder," said Eli M. Rosenbaum, Director of the
Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which
investigated the case. "Such individuals do not deserve the
privilege of living in the United States. The Government will work
to remove Geiser from this country as swiftly as possible."
U.S. Attorney Buchanan stated: "Individuals like Anton Geiser, who
assisted the Nazis in their quest to extinguish the lives of
millions of innocent men, women and children, do not deserve the
benefits of U.S. citizenship. "
The proceedings to denaturalize Geiser were instituted in 2004 by
OSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh. The case is a
result of OSI's ongoing efforts to identify, investigate and take
legal action against former participants in Nazi persecution who
reside in the United States. Since OSI began operations in 1979, it
has won cases against 103 individuals who assisted in Nazi
persecution. In addition, more than 175 individuals who sought to
enter the United States in recent years have been blocked from doing
so as a result of OSI's "Watchlist" program, which is enforced in
cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.
Federal Court Revokes Citizenship Of Pittsburgh-Area Man Who Served As Nazi Concentration Camp Guard
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The U.S. District Court in
Pittsburgh today revoked the U.S. citizenship of Anton Geiser of
Sharon, Pa., because of his participation in Nazi-sponsored acts of
persecution while serving during World War II as an armed SS guard
at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and other places of persecution,
Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division
and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan of the Western District of
Pennsylvania announced today.
Geiser admitted under oath that he served during most of 1943 as an
armed SS guard at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp near Berlin,
Germany; that his duties included escorting prisoners to slave labor
sites and standing guard in the camp's guard towers; and that he was
under standing orders to shoot any prisoner attempting escape. He
also admitted serving as a guard at the Buchenwald Concentration
Camp and its Arolsen subcamp. Prisoners held at Sachsenhausen and
Buchenwald were forced to engage in hard physical labor under
extraordinarily brutal conditions. Many prisoners died from
exhaustion or disease. Many were shot or hanged. During the period
when Geiser served at Sachsenhausen, more 3,000 prisoners were
murdered or died from the brutal treatment.
"Anton Geiser's service as an armed SS guard at several Nazi
concentration camps helped to ensure that thousands of men and women
held prisoner could not escape the brutal conditions of their
confinement, " said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. "The court's
ruling today confirms that the United States is not and never will
be a haven for those who participated in Nazi genocide."
Geiser, 81, immigrated to the United States from Austria in October
1956, and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in March 1962. The
district court found that he was not eligible for citizenship
because his service to Nazi Germany made him ineligible to immigrate
to the United States. Geiser's service as an armed SS guard, the
court concluded, "clearly assisted in the persecution of the
prisoners" held by the Nazis at Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and
Arolsen.
"By standing guard with a loaded weapon under orders to shoot, Anton
Geiser helped to ensure that thousands of innocent men and women
were forced to endure slave labor, medical experiments,
malnourishment and murder," said Eli M. Rosenbaum, Director of the
Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which
investigated the case. "Such individuals do not deserve the
privilege of living in the United States. The Government will work
to remove Geiser from this country as swiftly as possible."
U.S. Attorney Buchanan stated: "Individuals like Anton Geiser, who
assisted the Nazis in their quest to extinguish the lives of
millions of innocent men, women and children, do not deserve the
benefits of U.S. citizenship. "
The proceedings to denaturalize Geiser were instituted in 2004 by
OSI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh. The case is a
result of OSI's ongoing efforts to identify, investigate and take
legal action against former participants in Nazi persecution who
reside in the United States. Since OSI began operations in 1979, it
has won cases against 103 individuals who assisted in Nazi
persecution. In addition, more than 175 individuals who sought to
enter the United States in recent years have been blocked from doing
so as a result of OSI's "Watchlist" program, which is enforced in
cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.
