The Demjanjuk Trial (Series 31.0/23)

Ivan (John Demjanjuk was a U.S. citizen of Ukrainian origin, who had immigrated to the United States in the immediate aftermath of World War II, and was later found to have served as a guard at the Treblinka extermination camp in German-occupied Poland. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating Demjanjuk in 1975 and filed denaturalization proceedings against him in 1977, alleging that he had falsified his immigration and citizenship papers in order to conceal World War II service at the Treblinka killing center. In 1979, the newly created Office of Special Investigations (OSI) in the DOJ took over prosecution of the case. Following a lengthy investigation and a 1981 trial, the US District Federal Court in Cleveland stripped Demjanjuk of his US citizenship. As US authorities moved to deport Demjanjuk, the Israeli government requested his extradition. After a required hearing, US authorities extradited Demjanjuk to Israel to stand trial on charges of crimes against the Jewish people and crimes against humanity. The trial opened in Jerusalem on February 16, 1987. Based primarily on survivor identifications, the Israeli court convicted Demjanjuk and, on April 25, 1988, sentenced him to death. He was later acquitted on appeal, due to evidence that called into doubt his identity as "Ivan the Terrible." [Source: The USHMM Holocaust Encyclopedia, website: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007956)]. See also: http://www.liquisearch.com/john_demjanjuk/trial_in_israel