e-Poshta | 17Jun2009 | John Demjanjuk Jr.

John Demjanjuk Jr.: It is very clear

It is very clear that the case of my father is being used for political purposes rather than any form of justice. Ironically, had we been following German law here in the USA, my father would have never been deported or put on trial in Germany. Germany law prevents extradition of its own citizens. It also prohibits making anyone with German citizenship stateless. Yet, they accomplished both with the help of the US Justice Department in making my father stateless and sending him to Germany. There are many more factual and legal issues we will be bringing to the Ukrainian publics attention in the days to come.

As was the case in Israel over 20 yrs ago, the German media has been biased against us and sensationally assuming guilt. They are preparing for another show trial, this time in Munich.  Israel once sought to teach young Israelis about the Holocaust through the wrongful prosecution of my father as a Nazi murderer. Germany now seeks to teach young Germans that their ancestors were not entirely to blame for the Holocaust and that they should instead be viewed as seeking justice to atone for their deeds. In 1985 the Israelis hyped a media event alleging my father was in Trawniki, Sobibor and the brutal murderer of nearly a million people in Treblinka. He was assumed guilty but was innocent and nearly executed. He was acquitted on all counts. Today, the Germans have an arrest warrant (no charges or indictment) on suspicion of accessory to murder of 29,000. There remains no evidence, documentary or eyewitness, to prove he was responsible for causing harm to even one person in any camp at any time during WWII.

My father is a victim of the Nazis once again. He was nearly killed by the Germans as a Red Army soldier when hit by an artillery shell which caused him to be hospitalized for 3 months before being sent back to battle. He was then captured by the Germans and became a POW. After surviving the artillery attack and POW captivity, he escaped Soviet forced repatriation to a gulag, immigrated to the USA and then after fraudulently being sent to Israel for trial, he survived a death sentence which was based on these same allegations (double jeopardy now) in addition to Treblinka false witnesses. The Germans are now using him to blame Ukrainians for the Holocaust. In reality, for the past 65 years, he has been as much a victim of Germany as anyone who survived the terror of the Nazis. The more we know, the more torturous this continued persecution is.

My father is currently undergoing a full medical review to determine whether he is fit for trial. The Germans refused to conduct a medical examination prior to accepting his deportation even though it was available to them. We expect results very soon. At the age of 89, he is suffering from multiple illnesses including chronic kidney disease and a Leukemic condition called Myelodisplastic Syndrome which makes him anemic and very weak. There is no cure and he will eventually die from it as his bone marrow is losing functionality to produce red blood cells. His life expectancy is perhaps 2-3 years but may be much less if Leukemia takes over sooner. He remains in the medical ward of a prison in Munich and has been permitted only one phone call to my mother. We have not received any mail from him nor has he received ours to my knowledge. He is receiving Ukrainian newspapers. We have a Ukrainian priest which we expect will be permitted to visit him in about a week. Ironically, his treatment in Israel provided him more rights than he is receiving in Germany. The Israeli prison authority permitted him to call home once per week and to call his priest once per month.

We must remain united in the Ukrainian communities around the world in condemning the injustice in Germany and their attempts to rewrite history.  The political pressure on Germany coming from the US Department of Justice and the Wiesenthal Center in Israel must be answered by all who demand justice for my father and all the Ukrainian people who suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

Some people, it seems, are destined to be symbols of the struggle for justice.  Our family is faced with enduring an endless suffering on this account.  We accept this burden and will not give up the fight.  My father has the love of his family, friends and so many around the world that have followed his plight. We thank them all for their courage to voice their opinions and for their continued prayers of support.

Very best regards,

John Demjanjuk Jr.