Although numerous
Baltic Nazi war criminals were brought to trial by the Soviet
authorities following the reoccupation of the Baltics in
1944, many Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian Holocaust perpetrators
remained unprosecuted when these countries regained their
independence in 1991. Some were still living in the Baltics,
while many others had escaped towards the end of World War
II to Germany or Sweden from whence most subsequently emigrated
overseas to the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great
Britain or other destinations. In some of these countries
of refuge – primarily in the United States – successful
efforts were already underway to identify and take legal
action against these Holocaust perpetrators, a policy which
ultimately led to the return of some of these war criminals
to their native land. Thus when Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia
once again became independent, there were quite a few cases
of Baltic Nazi war criminals which could and should have
been dealt with the local authorities. What has been achieved
in this regard during the past more than eleven years of
Baltic independence?
LITHUANIA
By virtue of its large prewar Jewish community, which was
almost totally annihilated during the Holocaust, Lithuania
had the largest number of Holocaust perpetrators in the Baltics.
To date, however, not a single Lithuanian Nazi war criminal
has been punished for his crimes in independent Lithuania,
nor has a single such criminal ever sat a single minute in
a Lithuanian jail.
The three cases that have been initiated to date - none
of which resulted in a jail sentence – are those of
Saugumas commanders Aleksandras Lileikis (indicted but his
trial was never completed due to medical reasons) and Kazys
Gimzauskas (convicted but his sentence was suspended due
to medical reasons) and 12th Auxiliary Battalion officer
Antanas Gecevicius (died before he could be extradited from
Scotland).
During this period, at least eleven Lithuanian Nazi war
criminals who escaped to the United States after World War
II, have returned to Lithuania in the wake of legal action
taken against them by the US Justice Department. Out of the
people in this group only Lileikis and Gimzauskas were indicted
and only the latter was convicted. No legal action has been
taken to date against any of the others.
LATVIA
The only concrete action taken by the government against
a Latvian Nazi war criminal was the indictment on September
27, 2000 of Arajs Kommando officer Konrad Kalejs whose extradition
was sought from Australia. Kalejs died before he could be
extradited to stand trial in Riga.
The only investigations currently being conducted by the
Latvian Division for the Investigation of Crimes by Totalitarian
Regimes are against Arajs Kommando officers Karlis Ozols
and Kalejs, both already deceased.
ESTONIA
Estonia has failed to take legal action against a single
Estonian Nazi war criminal and has failed to initiate any
investigations of Nazi war criminals upon its own initiative.
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