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Tannenbaum case through the newspap-
ers."
"Categorically untrue," said Sher of
allegations that the case had been filed last
year to placate Ukrainians or that it had
been scuttled years earlier to placate Jews.
"I take great offense," he said, "when
people challenge our motives. No one put
pressure on me. I have to make decisions
as a matter of law. We're not a political tool.
We're prosecutors."
The Tannenbaum case was settled in
February when the 77-year-old former kapo
pleaded guilty to charges he had brutalized
Jews in Goerlitz, a Nazi forced-labor camp
near Dresden. In exchange for surrender-
ing his U.S. citizenship, the government
agreed not to deport Tannenbaum.
Sher implied that OSI is investigating
other Jewish kapos.
Of Tannenbaum, Sher said he discerned
something unique in an accused war
criminal — remorse.
"I've never had that sense with anyone
else," said Sher, who interrogated
Tannenbaum in 1984 and again last
August. "It's not that Tannenbaum's a
Austrian President Kurt Waldheim: On OSI's "watchlist"
kapo or a Jew. It's just what he said and
his reaction. He's a much more tragic
figure than some of the others:'
Sher said it was difficult to gauge
whether Tannenbaum's demeanor suggests
defendants, have yet to uncover forgeries.
he committed what about 50 witnesses
And depositions are gathered in Russia
claim he did: Thrtured, killed, beat and
"in complete conformity with American
harassed Jewish prisoners outside the
rules" — including cross-examination.
presence of the German SS.
American judges, said Sher, have ruled
"In all these cases, people don't look
that the proceedings, which are video-
today at all the way they looked back then.
taped, are "perfectly valid and done in a
I can never really focus on that. But I have
legitimate and proper manner?'
confronted people who have that
In his 1984 book, Quiet Neighbors,
appearance, that demeanor, the physical
former OSI director Allan Ryan wrote that
structure that suggests they could have
he concluded after seeing "scores" of such
been a real thug."
depositions that "Soviet witnesses, on the
The Tannenbaum case never reached a
whole, were about as truthful and reliable
full-scale trial. Tannenbaum had a heart
as American witnesses: Most of them told
attack during the second of three days of
the truth to the best of their recollection;
interrogation last August. Defense and
some were vague and not helpful one way
prosecution physicians subsequently
or another; a few were probably liars."
agreed that a trial would jeopardize his
And last month in London, a Russian
health.
prosecutor offered to allow 31 witnesses to
According to Sher, poor health of three
travel to England to testify at the trial of
other OSI defendants persuaded the
a Lithuanian mass murderer. Ukrainian
agency to settle their cases similarly to
qualms about the veracity of Soviet wit-
Tannenbaum's.
nesses on Soviet soil may be moot if this
"We didn't invent this process with
offer extends to other Nazi cases in the
Tannenbaum," he said.
West.
But Lozynsky of the Ukrainian
Since the Baltic-American community
Congress said the Tannenbaum resolution
has never championed OSI, one nugget of
was "humanitarian, but selectively
speculation that emerged last year is
humanitarian." He claimed that
particularly Byzantine: That OSI filed its
Wolodymir Osidach, a Ukrainian police
first case against a Jewish kapo, Jacob
commandment charged with exterminat-
Tannenbaum of Brooklyn, to convince
ing Jews, was tried while suffering from a
Ukrainians that the agency is willing to
"serious heart condition." Osidach's U.S.
prosecute Jews as well as Balts.
citizenship was revoked in 1981. He died
"Incredible," laughed Ukrainian
while his case was being appealed.
Congress counsel Lozynsky when told of
Asked whether trying Tannenbaum
the charges. "This is absolutely ludicrous.
would have had an "educational" value
It would be terrific if we had that kind of
since it would have forced attention on
power, but we don't. We first learned of the
some Jews' culpability for crimes
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