United States Army authorities this weekend informed the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. that an investigation has been launched in the issue of the employment by the United States of an ex-Nazi general, whose remarks about Jewish victims at Dachau caused an international controversy.
The Defense Department revealed that the German was identified as Martin Unrein. A possessor of Nazi military decorations, he now holds the American-paid position of supervisor of German labor at the Dachau concentration camp site. In response to JWV intercession, Washington authorities have ordered the U.S. Commander-in-Chief in West Germany to probe the full circumstances of the case and Unrein’s employment by the American military establishment.
Lord Russell of Liverpool, British prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials, recently visited Dachau to pay respects to its victims. He was shocked when his official guide, ex-General Unrein, made disparaging remarks, including a recommendation that the site be closed to tourists. Unrein was quoted as alleging that the crematories were not built by the Nazi regime, but had been constructed after the war by the allies.
The West German Embassy in Washington informed the JWV that German authorities are also investigating to determine possible libel or slander action against Unrein. But the German officials pointed out that Unrein was an employe of the United States Government. and the question of his continued employment was an American matter. United States military officials promised to inform the JWV of the results of action now under way in the Unrein case.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
