World War II

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had an interesting article today entitled, “Saga of a Nazi Hunter: Federal Official Who Looks for Aging Suspects of War Crimes Says Focusing on Victims Keeps Him Going.” Without question as World War II recedes farther and farther into history, bringing living Nazi war criminals to justice may be the great grand-daddy of all “cold cases.”

But Eli Rosenbaum, the son of a former Army intelligence officer and the head of the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations, is only 52 and he’s still on the case. Last week he located an 85-year-old man who may be Paul Hennss, an SS guard responsible for training the deadly attack dogs used at Dachau and Buchenwald.

The Office of Special Investigations was formed in 1979. In the past 28 years, the office has won cases against 106 ex-Nazis, 64 of whom have been removed from this country. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution article profiles how Rosenbaum became involved in Nazi hunting and describes his investigations and methods. This is a dedicated man, one who saw a death warrant for a six-year-old girl named Fruma Kaplan and was determined to avenge her execution. (At the time, Rosenbaum’s own daughter was six-years-old.)

He has immersed himself in a dark period of human history and openly admits to crying when he reads the documentation of the atrocities committed and the death’s of the victims for whom he seeks justice. People like Rosenbaum continue to live World War II every day and they are committed to pursuing every last war criminal while there’s any chance they still live — years after their victims died. It’s remarkable work and an excellent article that I highly recommend.

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WWII, World War II, Department of Justice, Office of Special Investigations, Nazi hunting, war crimes