Officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that convicted Dutch Nazi war criminal Jacob Luitjens has prematurely “retired” from the University of British Columbia (UBC) science faculty.
The announcement came after a phone conversation by Wiesenthal Center officials with Dr. Robert Scagel, head of UBC’s botany department, where Luitjens has served as an instructor for nearly 20 years.
Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean of the Wiesenthal Center, which has been actively pursuing the Luitjens case for the past six months, said he was “pleased” by the news. However, he added, the Center was still “disappointed that UBC’s president, K. George Pedersen, had earlier refused the Wiesenthal Center’s demand that Luitjens be fired.
“UBC was obviously more interested in protecting a man (Luitjens), convicted by a sister democracy (Holland) than for his crimes against humanity, ” Hier said. He also said that the Center is continuing discussions with Dutch officials about this case to press the Canadian government to find a way to expel Luitjens “so that he will pay his debt to society.”
SAYS RETIREMENT WAS LUITJENS’ DECISION
Scagel told the Wiesenthal Center that “Luitjens’ retirement was his own personal decision.” He refused to elaborate on whether or not Luitjens’ unexpected decision was based an pressure to have him resign his post because of public revelations made by the Wiesenthal Center six months ago about his Nazi past and his conviction by a Dutch court in 1948 for crimes against humanity.
Scagel also refused to offer any comment on Luitjens’ retirement, other than to say, “It’s between me and my conscience.” Then, in a display of anger, he reportedly told Wiesenthal Center officials, “If you would just mind your own business it would be better and I refuse to say anything more about the matter 1”
In the fall of 1981 the government of Holland asked the Canadian government for Luitjens’ extradition. A few months ago, the Canadians declined the extradition request because they ruled it did not fall within the parameter of an 1899 treaty between the two nations.
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