Poland checking files on Nazi-led unit commander

Michael Karkoc, 94, lied to US authorities about his leadership role in Ukrainian militia that committed atrocities during WWII

18 June 2013, 4:36 pm Edit

Heinrich Himmler, center, reviews troops of the Galician SS-Volunteer Infantry Division, June 3, 1944. (AP/US Holocaust Memorial Museum, Courtesy of Atlantic Foto Verlag Berlin)

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors say they are reviewing files on a Minnesota man who was a commander in a notorious Nazi-led unit to see if they contain enough evidence to press charges and request extradition from the United States.

An Associated Press investigation revealed that Michael Karkoc, 94, entered the US by lying to American authorities about his leadership role in the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion, which is accused of burning down villages in Poland during World War II. AP’s evidence suggests that Karkoc was at the scene of the massacres, although no records link him directly to atrocities.

Robert Kopydlowski of Poland’s National Remembrance Institute said Tuesday that prosecutors are reviewing files concerning the crimes for any evidence that would justify charges against Karkoc and an extradition request.