Minnesota man exposed as commander of Nazi-led unit dies

MINNEAPOLIS — A retired Minnesota carpenter whom The Associated Press exposed as a former commander of a Nazi-led unit accused of war atrocities has died.

Michael Karkoc, whose family maintained that he was never a Nazi or committed any war crimes, lived quietly in Minneapolis for decades until AP’s review of US and Ukrainian records in 2013 uncovered his past and prompted investigations in Germany and Poland. Karkoc died December 14, according to cemetery and public records. He was 100.

His son, Andriy Karkoc, hangs up on an AP reporter without confirming his father’s death. Officials at the Kozlak-Radulovich Funeral Chapel, which was listed on one website as having handled the funeral arrangements, declines to comment.

But records at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis show he was quietly buried there December 19, next to his wife, Nadia Karkoc, who died in 2018. And Minnesota Department of Health records show that a Michael Karkoc with the correct birthday died December 14. The family and funeral home did not publish a public obituary.

Karkoc’s involvement in the war surfaced when a retiree who researched Nazi war crimes approached the AP after coming across Karkoc’s name. The AP investigation relied upon a broad range of interviews and documents, including Nazi military payroll information and company rosters, US Army intelligence files, Ukrainian intelligence findings and Karkoc’s self-published memoir.

— AP