STAFF REPORT: ALLEGATONS CONCERNING U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE IN IMMIGRATION/NATURALIZATION OF ALLEGED NAZI WAR CRIMINALS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05153085
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: September 4, 2018
• Case Number: F-2018-00605
• Publication Date: May 26, 1982

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WashippinDCMSOS
Honorable Edward P. Boland, Chairman
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
26 May 1982
(Identical Ltrs to
SSCI - Goldwater &
Mazzoli
I know I share your concern with respect to allegations by
former Department of Justice Attorney John Loftus that the Office
of Policy Coordination (OPC) arranged to bring Nazi war criminals
into the U.S. I asked for and have received a staff report about
this matter which I am forwarding to you.
The Agency has spent considerable time reviewing its files
for information about former Nazis who have entered the United
States. First, in connection with a 1978 Comptroller General's
report (Tab B), later in connection with an investigation of the
House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and
Refugee Affairs under the leadership of former Congresswoman
Elizabeth Holtzman, and more recently in connection with the
Department of Justice's effort to find, denaturalize and deport
Nazi war criminals, Agency officials have reviewed the available
records on some 500 individuals whose names were submitted to
us. In addition to Office of Security and Directorate of
Operations files, records of predecessor organizations, such as
the Office of Policy Coordination, have been searched. It was on
the basis of these searches that the enclosed report has been
written.
You can be assured the General Counsel and Deputy Director
for Operations will cooperate fully with your Committee in any
inquiry into this matter.
Director
Enclosure
THIS LETTER IS UNCLASSIFIED WHEN
SEPARATED FROM ATTACHMENT
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asey
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Staff Report: Allegations Concerning U.S. Government
Assistance in Immigration/Naturalization of
Alleged Nazi War Criminals
1. On 16 May 1982 John Loftus, former Attorney, Office of
Special Investigations, Department of Justice, appeared on CBS
"Sixty Minutes." During his appearance on television, Loftus
claimed that Frank Wisner smuggled Nazi war criminals into the
United States as part of an operation of the Office of Policy
Coordination (OPC). These allegations arise in a historical
context summarized below. (U)
2. John Loftus stated that OPC functioned as an arm of the
State Department. According to the final report of the Select
Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to
Intelligence Activities of the United States Senate (the Church
Committee), "OPC's budget and personnel were appropriated within
CIA allocations, but the DCI had no authority in determining
OPC's activities. Policy guidance -- decisions on the need for
specific activities -- came to the OPC director from State and
Defense, by-passing the DCI." Church Committee Report, Book I at
106. The Church Committee Report goes on to state that Admiral
Hillenkoetter, DCI from 1947 (when CIA was formed) until 1950,
"resented the fact that he had no management authority over
OPC.... Hillenkoetter's clashes with the State and Defense
Departments as well as with Frank G. Wisner, the Director of OPC,
were frequent. Less than a week after taking office [as DCI in
1950, Walter Bedell] Smith announced that as DCI he would assume
administrative control of OPC and that State and Defense would
channel their policy guidance through him rather than through
Wisner.... Between 1950 and 1952 Smith took several interim
steps to encourage coordination between EOPC and 050]. In August
1952 OSO and OPC were merged into the Directorate for Plans."
Id. at 108. (U)
3. Although it is not clear from Loftus' television
appearance, Loftus knows of the history of OPC as stated in the
Church Committee Report. In the first draft of his book,
Belarus, submitted for review by CIA, Loftus stated, "OPC was
designed to take its orders from a joint State-Defense Department
Committee.... Wisner and the OPC were to remain independent of
the CIA's control but not of its budget." Belarus (first draft
July 1981), by John Loftus at 9/19. Loftus goes on to state
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that, "fun 1950, General [Walter Bedell] Smith called Wisner
into his office and told him point blank that from now on any
guidance from the Military and the State Department to OPC would
first come through his desk. Wisner refused.... Between 1950
and 1952, OPC and OSO operated on paper as separate divisions of
the Directorate of Plans of the CIA.... OPC continued to operate
in much the same independent manner as before." Id. at 10/25 -
10/26. (U)
4. The passages quoted above from Loftus' manuscript are
consonant with the Church Committee Report, although the
manuscript reflects Loftus' interpretation of the facts to the
effect that Wisner operated independently in the face of any and
all attempts to establish control over OPC. (U)
5. In 1978, at the request of the Congress, the General
Accounting Office (GAO) investigated allegations of a widespread
conspiracy to obstruct probes of alleged Nazi war criminals
living within the United States. As part of its investigation,
the GAO submitted to CIA for traces the names of 111 alleged Nazi
war criminals residing in the United States. As is reflected in
the final report issued by the GAO in 1978, CIA cooperated fully
in this investigation. (U)
6. Shortly after the GAO issued its report, an Office of
Special Investigations (OSI) was established within the
Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute Nazi war
criminals who entered the United States illegally. Since its
establishment, OSI has submitted to CIA for traces over 350 names
of alleged Nazi war criminals residing within the United
States. Included within this list were 18 Byelorussians provided
by John Loftus when he worked for OSI. Although the list
submitted by OSI overlaps to some extent with the list submitted
by GAO, CIA has searched for information concerning close to 500
alleged Nazi war criminals. (U)
7. Four employees of the Directorate of Operations (with
over 100 years of DO experience among them) spent approximately
six months researching Agency files for information relating to
Loftus' allegations or to the 500 individuals about whom we were
asked. DO file searches revealed that CIA has information on
approximately 80 of these individuals. CIA had contact with
approximately 40. Based upon the notes and recollections of the
DO researcher in charge of CIA's investigation of these
allegations, CIA contact with 21 of these individuals occurred
after they obtained entry into the United States. In 7 cases
there was contact before and after immigration. A summary of
these cases follow: (S)
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a. Gustays Hilger, a German national, was brought into
the United States in 1948 under Public Law 110, with the
concurrence of the Departments of Justice and State.
Hilger had served as a senior official in the German
Foreign Ministry before and during the War and was used
on the basis of his expertise in Soviet affairs. He
returned to Germany in 1953 at the request of the German
Government to resume a position in the German Foreign
Ministry. He relinquished his U.S. citizenship at that
time. Allegations concerning Hilger's Nazi activities
first surfaced after 1953. This information was made
available to GAO and appears in the final GAO report
(with the exception of Hilger's name which remains
classified). (S)
b. Stansilav Stankevich, a Byelorussian whose name was
specifically mentioned by Loftus on the "Sixty Minutes"
program, worked for a CIA proprietary in Munich which
produced propaganda material beginning in 1954.
Stankevich applied for an immigration visa in 1950 but
I&NS denied his application because of his Nazi
background. He applied again and in 1956 was the
subject of investigation for his Nazi activities, under
the Refugee Act of 1953. According to DO files,
Stankevich gained entry to the United States in 1958.
The records do not show that the Agency assisted him to
immigrate, but do reflect a request that I&NS permit
Stankevich to leave the U.S. to return to Munich,
without losing his PRA status, to resume his work for
the proprietary. (S)
Tscherim Soobzokov, a Circassan was recruited in
Amman, Jordan in 1952. In 1955, Soobzokov terminated
his CIA relationship in Jordan to immigrate to the
United States. After he arrived in the U.S., CIA
recontacted Soobzokov and renewed its relationship with
him. (S)
d. Nikola Abramtchik, a Byelorussian, was recruited in
Paris in 1951. Abramtchik worked on border crossing
operations, propaganda and the collection of
intelligence overseas. CIA rejected Abramtchik as a
candidate for PL 110 status. However, when Abramtchik
applied for U.S. immigration, CIA did inform the U.S.
Consulate that he was "favorably known to us." After
Abramtchik arrived in the U.S., CIA continued its
relationship with him. (S)
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e. Juozas Brazaitis, a Lithuanian, was first contacted
by this Agency in Germany during 1949-1951. These
contacts were infrequent and appeared to cease when
Brazaitis immigrated to the United States in 1951. In
June 1954 he was cleared for use as a recruiter and as a
source of foreign positive intelligence and was under
contract for these purposes until 1957 when his contract
expired. He was considered again for employment as a
consultant on Lithuanian emigre matters in late 1961 but
was not used. (S)
f. Ladislav Niznansky, a Czechoslovakian, was hired in
Germany in 1953 as a journalist for Radio Free Europe.
He had previously cooperated with the U.S. Army
Counterintelligence Corps in Germany. In 1962 Niznansky
was tried in absentia in Czechoslovakia as the alleged
leader of "Edelweiss," a special unit of Hitler's
espionage organization in Slovakia. Niznansky applied
for immigration to the U.S. in 1964 while still employed
with Radio Free Europe and the Agency made available to
the Department of State the above charges. (S)
g. Vladimir Secen, a Croatian, first became of
interest to this Agency circa 1960 in the Dominican
Republic, but there is no record of any actual contact
with him at that time. He immigrated to the United
States in 1962. In that year, the FBI recommended him
as a source to this Agency and he was contacted
sporadically from that time until 1974 when all contact
was terminated. (S)
8. One other case should be mentioned: Otto Albrecht von
Bolschwing, a German, became an agent in Austria immediately
after the War. In 1953 he told his case officer of his intention
to immigrate to the United States. The case officer cabled
Headquarters and said he had advised von Bolschwing to withhold
information concerning von Bolschwing's Nazi background upon
arrival in the United States. Headquarters sent a reply cable
instructing the case officer that under no circumstances was he
permitted to counsel anyone to lie to officials of the U.S.
Government and ordered the case officer to advise von Bolschwing
accordingly. The case officer in a cable acknowledged the
instructions. Our files additionally contain a notation that the
Agency would inform I&NS that von Bolschwing had cooperated with
the CIA; however, no such files have been located and the case
officer is dead. The facts as stated in this paragraph were
provided in full to the OSI. (Von Bolschwing was not on the GAO
list.) After full review of the CIA records on von Bolschwing,
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the OSI filed suit against him alleging that he obtained his U.S.
citizenship illegally. Von Bolschwing died recently after he
voluntarily gave up his U.S. citizenship. (S)
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REPORT BY THE
� Comptroller General
OF THE UNI I ED STATES
;
tit
/Widespread Conspiracy To Obstruct
Probes Of Alleged Nazi War Criminals '45-4
Not Supported By Available Evidence+�_-
Controversy'May Continue/
There was, in the past, a lack of progress by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service in
investigating and prosecuting alleged Nazi war
criminals residing in the United States.
Controversy has existed as to whether the
lack of progress was due to a conspiracy in-
volving Service personnel and possibly other
Federal agencies.
It is unlikely that a widespread conspiracy ex-
isted, but GAO cannot absolutely rule out the
possibility of undetected, isolated instances of
deliberate obstruction. GAO's investigation
was hindered by the effect of the passage of
time on the availability of information and
1% limited access to agencies' records. In any
event the inherent difficulty in establishing -
the existence of a conspiracy must be recog-
-a,
Recently, Service efforts in this area have -
improved- -
. .
The Chairman, House Judiciary Subcommit-
tee on Immigration, Citizenship, and I nterna- -
tional Law requested this report '4
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