The relations between Austria and the United States were further strained this week over the case of Martin Bartesch, a Rumanian-born alleged former guard at the Mauthausen concentration camp who, stripped of his American citizenship for war crimes, came here claiming the right to reside in Austria.
Austrian authorities, angered by the U.S. Justice Department’s recent ban on the entry of President Kurt Waldheim because of his alleged complicity in Nazi atrocities, are further incensed by the failure of the Americans to inform them in advance that they would allow Bartesch to go to Austria with an American passport.
He was not officially deported. His U.S. citizenship was not revoked until the day he arrived in Austria. There is no treaty between the U.S. and Austria regarding the deportation of undesirable aliens. Austria therefore considers Bartesch still an American citizen and plans to return him to the U.S.
Bartesch, who is accused of, among other things, the murder of a French Jew in 1943, was declared persona non grata here. A warrant was issued for his arrest. He gave himself up at a police station Monday and was formally arrested to be held for deportation.
NOT A HAVEN, SAYS MINISTER
“Austria does not want to get the image of a haven for Nazi war criminals,” Interior Minister Karl Blecha declared. A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the American action was “defiant.” U.S. Ambassador Ronald Lauder was summoned to the Ministry to be informed of Austria’s feelings in the matter.
Bartesch, 61, lived in Austria from 1945 to 1955, but was not a citizen. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1955 and was naturalized in 1966.
The Organization of Jews Persecuted by the Nazi Regime demanded Thursday that his deportation arrest be changed to pre-trial confinement and that he be tried here for war crimes.
He could be charged by an Austrian court with murder, a crime not covered by the statute of limitations. Bartesch claims he was only 17 at the time of the alleged murder, which would make him a juvenile, too young to have been a member of the infamous SS Totenkopf (Deaths Head) brigade which staffed Mauthausen, a concentration camp between Vienna and Linz.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
