An 85-year-old man, who has admitted he was a SS guard at three Nazi concentration camps, has had his US citizenship revoked and will be deported to Austria.
Anton Geiser, who lives in Sharon, Philadelphia, admitted he served as an SS Guard in Sachsenhausen in 1943, where he marched forced labourers and was on orders to shoot attempted escapees. He was a member of the SS Death’s Head battalion
He also admitted serving as an armed guard at Buchenwald and Arolsen between November 1943 and April 1945.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breur said Mr Geiser had admitted the allegations. He said: “As a Nazi concentration camp guard during World War II, Anton Geiser must be held to account for his role in the persecution of countless men, women and children.
“The long passage of time will not diminish our resolve to deny refuge to such individuals.”
Mr Geiser, who is originally from the former Yugoslavia, lived in Austria from 1948 until he moved to the US in October 1956. He became a US citizen in 1962. His citizenship was revoked by a court order in 2006 after his Nazi past was revealed.
Immigration Judge Charles Honeyman has now ordered Mr Geiser to return to Austria, under the 1978 Holtzman Amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, which bans the US from granting sanctuary to Nazi war criminals. More than 100 US citizenships of former Nazis have been revoked using this law.
Eli Rosenbaum, Director of Human Rights Enforcement at the US Department of Justice said: “Without Anton Geiser and other members of the SS Death’s Head guard battalions, the Nazi concentration camp system could not have accomplished its diabolical objectives.”
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