Karl Linnas (August 6, 1919 – July 2, 1987) was an Estonian who was sentenced to death during the Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia in 1961–1962. He was later deported from the United States to the Soviet Union in 1987.[1]
Linnas was tried in absentia and sentenced to death by a Soviet court in 1962 on charges that during the German occupation, between 1941 and 1943, he was the commandant of a Nazi concentration camp at Tartu and had personally shot innocent civilians—men, women and children. After Soviet armies forced the Germans out of Estonia, Linnas fought with the German army and was wounded in 1944. Then he stayed in Displaced Persons camps in Germany until emigrating to the U.S. in 1951.
Deportation from the United States
Linnas worked as a land surveyor living in Greenlawn, New York, until 1979, when U.S. immigration officials charged him with making false statements to gain entry to the United States.
The Office of Special Investigations of the U.S. Justice Department prosecuted Linnas.[2] In 1981, the Federal District Court in Westbury, New York, stripped Linnas of his American citizenship for having lied to immigration officials 30 years earlier about his Nazi past. Linnas's crimes, the judge said, "were such as to offend the decency of any civilized society." A 1986 federal appeals court decision upheld the order for his deportation, ruling that the evidence against the defendant was "overwhelming and largely uncontroverted."[3]
On April 20, 1987, the Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal. At that point, Linnas was flown to the Soviet Union.[4] He fought with federal officials while being escorted onto a plane. He died nearly three months later, on July 2, 1987, at a prison hospital in Leningrad.[5] Linnas became the second formerly naturalized American to be deported to the Soviet Union, after Feodor Fedorenko, whose execution took place in 1987, the same year of Linnas's deportation. Shortly after Linnas's death, it was discovered that the Soviet government had commuted his death sentence to life in prison due to his poor health.[6]
Linnas was reported to have been suffering from "heart disease, circulatory problems, internal hemorrhaging and cirrhosis of the liver" shortly before his death.[7]
Citations
^ Jerome S. Legge Jr. (2010). "The Karl Linnas Deportation Case, the Office of Special Investigations, and American Ethnic Politics". Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Spring. 24 (1): 26–55. doi:10.1093/hgs/dcq002. ISSN 8756-6583.
^Feigin, Judy and Mark M. Richard (December 2006). The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust (Report). US Department of Justice, Criminal Division. p. 271. Retrieved 7 Nov 2015.
karl, linnas, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2013. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Karl Linnas news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Not to be confused with Carl Linnaeus Karl Linnas August 6 1919 July 2 1987 was an Estonian who was sentenced to death during the Holocaust trials in Soviet Estonia in 1961 1962 He was later deported from the United States to the Soviet Union in 1987 1 Karl LinnasBorn 1919 08 06 August 6 1919Tartu EstoniaDiedJuly 2 1987 1987 07 02 aged 67 Leningrad Russian SFSR Soviet UnionNationalityEstonianAmericanOccupationNazi war criminalCriminal statusDeceasedConviction s TreasonWar crimesCriminal penaltyDeath commuted to life imprisonmentLinnas was tried in absentia and sentenced to death by a Soviet court in 1962 on charges that during the German occupation between 1941 and 1943 he was the commandant of a Nazi concentration camp at Tartu and had personally shot innocent civilians men women and children After Soviet armies forced the Germans out of Estonia Linnas fought with the German army and was wounded in 1944 Then he stayed in Displaced Persons camps in Germany until emigrating to the U S in 1951 Deportation from the United States EditLinnas worked as a land surveyor living in Greenlawn New York until 1979 when U S immigration officials charged him with making false statements to gain entry to the United States The Office of Special Investigations of the U S Justice Department prosecuted Linnas 2 In 1981 the Federal District Court in Westbury New York stripped Linnas of his American citizenship for having lied to immigration officials 30 years earlier about his Nazi past Linnas s crimes the judge said were such as to offend the decency of any civilized society A 1986 federal appeals court decision upheld the order for his deportation ruling that the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming and largely uncontroverted 3 On April 20 1987 the Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal At that point Linnas was flown to the Soviet Union 4 He fought with federal officials while being escorted onto a plane He died nearly three months later on July 2 1987 at a prison hospital in Leningrad 5 Linnas became the second formerly naturalized American to be deported to the Soviet Union after Feodor Fedorenko whose execution took place in 1987 the same year of Linnas s deportation Shortly after Linnas s death it was discovered that the Soviet government had commuted his death sentence to life in prison due to his poor health 6 Linnas was reported to have been suffering from heart disease circulatory problems internal hemorrhaging and cirrhosis of the liver shortly before his death 7 Citations Edit Jerome S Legge Jr 2010 The Karl Linnas Deportation Case the Office of Special Investigations and American Ethnic Politics Holocaust and Genocide Studies Spring 24 1 26 55 doi 10 1093 hgs dcq002 ISSN 8756 6583 Feigin Judy and Mark M Richard December 2006 The Office of Special Investigations Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust Report US Department of Justice Criminal Division p 271 Retrieved 7 Nov 2015 Karl Linnas Petitioner v Immigration amp Naturalization Service Respondent 790 F 2d 1024 2d Cir 1986 Justia Law Retrieved 2022 05 21 Deportation of Karl Linnas Los Angeles Times 1987 04 01 Retrieved 2022 05 21 Deported Nazi Linnas Dies in Soviet Hospital Los Angeles Times 2 July 1987 Retrieved 2022 05 21 Linnas Death Sentence Reportedly Commuted The New York Times 1987 07 05 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2022 05 21 LINNAS DIES IN U S S R The Washington Post References EditAshman Charles and Wagman Robert J The Nazi Hunters New York Pharos Books 1988 Henry Kamm Estonian deported by U S arrives in Soviet Articles about Karl Linnas This article related to the Holocaust is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This article about a notable individual during World War II is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte This Estonian biographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Karl Linnas amp oldid 1134986547, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
