Jakob Reimer
Encyclopedia
Jakob Reimer (November 6, 1918 - August 3, 2005) was a Trawniki camp guard who later emigrated to the United States and became a salesman and restaurant manager.
Born to German Mennonite parents in Friedensdorf (now Khmelnytskyi
), Ukraine, Reimer studied to be a librarian before being drafted into the Soviet Army in 1940. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Reimer entered combat and was captured by German forces on July 6. Two months later, he was transferred to the Trawniki concentration camp
where he was trained as a camp guard.
While serving as a camp guard, Reimer participated in the liquidation of Jewish ghettos in Poland, in addition to administrative and office duties. On one occasion, Reimer fired a shot over a pit containing corpses and at least one live civilian, which would later prove pivotal in his denaturalization trial. In 1944, he received a War Meritorious Medal for his service, and was promoted to Guard First Sergeant in 1945.
In 1944, Reimer gained German citizenship after Adolf Hitler
made all ethnic German military and police personnel eligible for German citizenship. He later applied for a visa to the United States in 1952 and was naturalized as a United States citizen on April 28, 1959. During his time in the United States, he worked as a Wise potato chip salesman and a restaurant manager, and lived in Brooklyn, New York. After he retired, he moved to Carmel, New York
, and was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey
at the time of his death.
Reimer was first investigated by American authorities in 1980 in connection with the John Demjanjuk
case, but little progress was made during this initial investigation. Not until 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union
, did investigators make substantial progress. That year, the Office of Special Investigations filed a denaturalization suit against Reimer, and following a bench trial in 1998, Reimer was denaturalized on September 5, 2002. He appealed his denaturalization, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
upheld it on January 27, 2004. In 2005, the government sought to deport Reimer, and he agreed to leave for Germany, but he died before his deportation could be completed.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/holocaust_and_genocide_studies/v023/23.2.steinhart.html
http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/usreimer90502ord.pdf
http://books.google.com/books?id=8OMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34&dq=Jack+Reimer#v=onepage&q=Jack%20Reimer&f=false
http://openjurist.org/356/f3d/456/united-states-v-reimer
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6524036_ITM
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9559791_ITM
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE2DF1F31F934A2575AC0A9639C8B63
Born to German Mennonite parents in Friedensdorf (now Khmelnytskyi
Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
), Ukraine, Reimer studied to be a librarian before being drafted into the Soviet Army in 1940. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, Reimer entered combat and was captured by German forces on July 6. Two months later, he was transferred to the Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp
Trawniki concentration camp, in the village of Trawniki about 40 km southeast of Lublin in Poland, was an SS labour camp which provided forced labourers for a nearby industrial plant to work in appalling conditions with little food...
where he was trained as a camp guard.
While serving as a camp guard, Reimer participated in the liquidation of Jewish ghettos in Poland, in addition to administrative and office duties. On one occasion, Reimer fired a shot over a pit containing corpses and at least one live civilian, which would later prove pivotal in his denaturalization trial. In 1944, he received a War Meritorious Medal for his service, and was promoted to Guard First Sergeant in 1945.
In 1944, Reimer gained German citizenship after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
made all ethnic German military and police personnel eligible for German citizenship. He later applied for a visa to the United States in 1952 and was naturalized as a United States citizen on April 28, 1959. During his time in the United States, he worked as a Wise potato chip salesman and a restaurant manager, and lived in Brooklyn, New York. After he retired, he moved to Carmel, New York
Carmel, New York
Carmel is a town located in Putnam County, New York, USA. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 36,465.There are no incorporated villages in the town, although the hamlets of Carmel and Mahopac each have populations sizable enough to be thought of as villages.The Town of Carmel...
, and was living in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
at the time of his death.
Reimer was first investigated by American authorities in 1980 in connection with the John Demjanjuk
John Demjanjuk
John Demjanjuk is a retired Ukrainian-American auto worker who gained notoriety after being accused numerous times of Holocaust-related war crimes....
case, but little progress was made during this initial investigation. Not until 1992, after the fall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, did investigators make substantial progress. That year, the Office of Special Investigations filed a denaturalization suit against Reimer, and following a bench trial in 1998, Reimer was denaturalized on September 5, 2002. He appealed his denaturalization, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals...
upheld it on January 27, 2004. In 2005, the government sought to deport Reimer, and he agreed to leave for Germany, but he died before his deportation could be completed.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/holocaust_and_genocide_studies/v023/23.2.steinhart.html
http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/crim/usreimer90502ord.pdf
http://books.google.com/books?id=8OMCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA34&dq=Jack+Reimer#v=onepage&q=Jack%20Reimer&f=false
http://openjurist.org/356/f3d/456/united-states-v-reimer
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-6524036_ITM
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9559791_ITM
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE2DF1F31F934A2575AC0A9639C8B63