After the Ivan Case, Director’s Exit, Concerns for Future of Nazi-crimes Unit

Jewish observers of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations are concerned about recent changes in the leadership of the unit in charge of finding the world’s remaining Nazi war criminals.

And in trying to anticipate what will become of the office that once helped ban Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from U.S. soil for wartime atrocities, observers hope that past successes bode well for the future.

But while experts hope that OSI’s history – replete with the successful prosecutions of Nazi war criminals – will influence the years to come, the past few months will not be pleasantly remembered.

Before the departure last month of longtime OSI director Neal Sher, who became executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the unit was suffering through a turbulent period.

It was stung by an appellate court judge’s accusations last November that it committed fraud and acted in favor of special interests in its prosecution of John Demjanjuk, the Cleveland auto worker accused of being the sadistic death camp guard known as “Ivan the Terrible.”

In Israel, Demjanjuk was convicted and sentenced to death in 1988. But last July, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying there was reasonable doubt that Demjanjuk was indeed the notorious Ivan.

The U.S. appellate court, overturning the earlier extradition order that sent Demjanjuk to Israel, also said OSI catered to “various interest groups,” which many observers interpreted as including the Anti-Defamation League.

And with critics of OSI given a boost both by the recent accusations and by reports that Attorney General Janet Reno is considering a reorganization of the Justice Department, Jewish observers are concerned.

“The whole Demjanjuk affair will be used as a club to continue efforts to paralyze the Nazi prosecution effort,” said Elan Steinberg, executive director of the World Jewish Congress in New York.

In the end, however, Steinberg and others expect the matter to have little if any effect on OSI which over the years has enjoyed a reputation of conducting solid investigations under quality leadership.

With the departure of Sher, several Jewish leaders lamented that the unit lost an enthusiastic and capable leader unequalled in the vigor he showed while prosecuting Nazi war criminals.

And with Sher’s permanent replacement as yet unnamed, observers hope the future will be as good as the past few years were under Sher.

“Without question, Neal was an extremely effective investigator and prosecutor,” said Jess Hordes, the Anti-Defamation League’s Washington representative.

“OSI must not lose a step in the transition” between leaders, Hordes said.

This concern, however, has been eased for the time being by the appointment of Sher’s chief deputy, Eli Rosenbaum, as acting director.

Rosenbaum, a Harvard Law School graduate and formerly general counsel of the World Jewish Congress, was the No. 2 official at OSI from 1988 until Sher’s departure.

His reputation is as unblemished as Sher’s, and observers hope that his temporary standing as director of OSI will become permanent.

“Eli is the person to give OSI the continuity it needs” during this period of transition, said Hordes.

Sher himself, reached recently at his AIPAC office, was supportive of his former deputy, saying that OSI is “in very capable hands” with Rosenbaum at the helm.

Observers agree, however, that any replacement has large shoes to fill after the departure of Sher, who held OSI’s top position longer than any of his predecessors.

Sher assumed the directorship in 1982 and, by most accounts, defined the office that was established to prosecute Nazi war criminals.

According to Elizabeth Holtzman, a former congresswoman from New York who was involved in the formation of OSI, the office was set up in 1978 with the difficult task of prosecuting individuals who had committed crimes more than 40 years earlier.

Given the mandate to perform its task while not appearing to be a stepchild of the Justice Department, OSI quickly functioned in a “fully professional manner” and even sparked similar efforts around the world, Holtzman said.

Previous heads of the office were Martin Medelsohn, Walter Rockler and Allan Ryan Jr.

By most accounts, Sher raised OSI’s performance to another level.

“If you had an impossible task or job but you knew that justice was on your side, then you went to Sher,” said Steinberg.

“Sher had the full weight of history on his shoulders,” he said, “and recognized the importance” of being in that position.

OSI’s achievements from its inception through Sher’s term are numerous: 48 convicted Nazi war criminals have lost their U.S. citizenship, 40 have been removed from the United States, and 70,000 have been placed on a watchlist preventing their entry onto U.S. soil.

Still the future of OSI is uncertain. Questions about who will become the next director and doubts about whether the office should continue to pursue aging criminals from a war more than 40 years ago have fueled the level of concern.

But Jewish leaders dismiss the argument that OSI is decreasing in importance.

Hordes of the ADL said with a growing number of anti-Semitic incidents being reported around the world, “the importance of OSI is underscored.”

Others point to the democratization of Eastern Europe as causing a virtual river of previously inaccessible information on war criminals to flow OSI’s way.

With these factors in mind, Jewish groups are sure to keep emphasizing the significance of OSI and its continued importance.

Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a strong pro-Israel advocate, has promised to closely watch OSI’s status.

“OSI has developed a reputation as a premier investigative and prosecutorial force,” Schumer said in a statement. “If there’s a chance of eliminating OSI, I’ll fight against it.”

Sher sees little chance of a change in policy toward OSI. “I have no doubt that OSI will continue in the same direction and pace that it has been going,” he said, noting that there were many serious ongoing investigations when he left.

But Sher also recognizes that OSI has limited time left to capture aging was criminals. “The biological clock is ticking,” he said, adding that he expects OSI to continue operating for at least five to seven more years.

Rosenbaum, OSI’s acting director, agrees with Sher’s prognosis. He said the office is presently filing new prosecutions at the fastest pace in history, thanks in part to the “virtual treasure trove of evidence” uncovered in several former Warsaw Pact countries.

As to the future of OSI, Rosenbaum said “a dedicated and skilled team of professionals will continue to see to it that justice is pursued on behalf of Hitler’s victims.”