WIDESPREAD CONSPIRACY TO OBSTRUCT PROBES OF ALLEGED NAZI WAR CRIMINALS NOT SUPPORTED BY AVAILABLE EVIDENCE-CONTROVERSY MAY CONTINUE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100140091-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 22, 2011
• Sequence Number: 91
• Publication Date: August 1, 1978
• Content Type: REPORT

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REPORT BY THE
Comptroller Gener
OF THE UNITED`STATES
>ProbesOf AllegeNazi War Cjmhs:
Not Supported Ry'Availcable`E~+icience
Cc~ntr?versy,ay ?ntinu
by "s
There was, in the past, a lack of progress,
,.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
`, ; Zack of progress was due to a conspiracy in
volving Service, personnel and possibly other
.,-.Federal agencies.
=lt' is unlikely that i widespread -conspiracy ex-.,..
isted, but GAO cannot absolutely. rule out the
possibility, of undetected, isolated instances of
v del iberate. obstruction. GAO's investigation'
was hindered by the effect of the passage of
time -on,--the:-.availability of. information and
limited,: access>.,to agencies'.:records. "In?r'any
event:,the~:inherent difficulty::,in 'establishing.
the existence of a conspiracy: must be recog
sized
Recently,, Service efforts in
'this area have
improved
t ;;k
,.The. Chairman,, House Judiciary Subcommit
.:tee on Immigration, Citizenship, 'and Intern a
"tional Law requested this report
t y + ~r y a ~~19
s1rtVD . S~'`il`r 3 `..Nara .
GGD-78-73
? 15, 1978.
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STATI
espread conspiracy To Obstru
 INS files indicated that individual investigations were some-
what limited apparently because information and records about
these individuals had been destroyed during the war or because
information and records on individuals were from countries
under Soviet jurisdiction and could not be obtained.
The CIA stated that an intensive search of its files
for information pertaining to individuals on our list in-
dicated there was no information on 54 or on any of the
aliases or name variants we listed for them. For the remain-
ing 57, summaries were prepared on the basis of information
in the files and indexes. The summaries on...35 of the 57 in-
dividuals contained references to newspaper articles and
other Federal agencies that may have information, correspon-
dence with other agencies, and general background information.
There was no indication the CIA had any contacts with them.
Also, 10 of the summaries said the individuals were considered
possible sources of information but were never contacted by
the CIA.
--One was assisted by the Agency for entry into
the country under section 8 of the Central Intel-
ligence Agency Act of 1949, with the concurrence
of the Departments of Justice and State. The CIA
informed us that the individual was a senior offi-
cial of the German Foreign Ministry during the Nazi
era, who was an expert on the Soviet Union, and that
he was paid for his, services while he resided here.
The record shows he left the United States in 1953
'and the earliest-record of an allegation against
this individual was not received by INS until years
later.
--Seventeen were contacted'by the CIA'in the United
States and one decided not to be involved. Of the
other 16, 4 were paid for the information or serv-
ices they provided. Also, 7 of the 16 had contact
with the CIA prior to entering the country, 4 of
whom were paid for their services.
--One was contacted and provided information before
but not after he entered the country. He was not
paid for his services.
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--Two had not entered the country but were con-
s-idered and contacted as sources of information.
Only one of them provided information and was
paid.
--One, not contacted while he resided in this
country, contacted the CIA and volunteered
information after he left.
it
The last known contact with any of these individuals was
1965.
The CIA stated that except for the one individual men-
tioned above it did not provide any type of assistance for
the other individuals' entry into the United States. The
CIA also stated that it had not intervened in or obstructed
any INS investigation or prosecution concerning the individ-
uals on our list.
CIA summaries did indicate the Agency was aware of alle-
gations against some individuals during the..time contact was
made.and information was provided. The CIA informed us that
unproven allegations existed indicating that some of the
individ-uals of whom operational use was subsequently made
had been members of wartime German organizations. The
CIA stated that its use of these individuals was not ruled
out by these allegations against them because they had.been
screened by other Federal agencies,'and admitted to the United
States. The Agency stated, however, that in no case did it
make use of anyone against. whom allegations of war crimes.
were well-founded.
Further, the CIA.stated its contacts with these indi-
viduals came at a time when there was an acute shortage of
intelligence on Soviet intentions and developments in Eastern
Europe in general. The question of early warning against a
Soviet attack was pressing, particularly in the period fol
lowing the blockade of Berlin. The individuals concerned
were all strongly anti-Communist and their willingness to
cooperate and their knowledgeability were the definitive
factors leading to their use by CIA.
The FBI stated that an intensive search of its central
files did not identify information On 64 individuals regarding
alleged Nazi'war crimes or any of the aliases or name variants
listed. Summaries were prepared on the basis of information
i
i
n
ts files on the remaining 47 on our list.
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However, even considering all of the factors listed,
doubt will still persist as to whether there was wrongdoing.
We recognize this dilemma. Thus, the publicity] interest,
and controversy about INS' lack of progressmay continue.
The controversy may be~lcompounded because'"10
legal delays,
appeals, and other procedures, considered with the age of
the individuals and potential witnesses make it doubtful
that the Government will ever be able to deport many sub-
jects of the allegations Further,' if cases involving evi-
dence and witnesses from 'the U.N.R. or countries under its
influence are not prao1s cuted or are unsuccessfully prose-
cuted, then these countries may very well use the controversy
with these cases as examples for purposes of propaganda
that the report was a fair and accurate reflection. of the
record. (See app IV to VI.) The CIA's formal response was
not received in time to be included in the final report.
The Agency orally informed us that it agreed with the com-
ments of the other agencies as expressed above.
The Departments of Justice, State, and"Defense commented
AGENCY COMMENTS
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