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I7 Accused Man Admits
Waffen-SS Involvement
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
F
or Ferdinand Hammer,
memory appears to be a
fleeting thing.
This week, the Sterling
Heights man, who was accused
by the U.S. government of being
a former Nazi concentration
camp guard, changed some of his
answers to the government's com-
plaint against him.
Attorneys from the Depart-
ment of Justice's Office of Special
Investigations claim in a lawsuit
originally filed in December that
Mr. Hammer served as a Nazi
guard in Auschwitz, Sachsen-
hausen and Flossenberg death
camps and on a transport to
Mauthausen.
The government seeks to strip
Mr. Hammer of his citizenship
rights and deport him.
Mr. Hammer, through his at-
torney William Bufalino, replied
to the complaint in February,
denying every government claim
except his address, citizenship
and issues of law and procedure.
Last week, he amended his
original six-page answer to the
government's complaint, admit-
ting to being in the Waffen-SS,
an elite guard and intelligence
unit of the Nazi Party of Ger-
many. He allegedly served in a
division known as SS-Totenkopf-
sturmbann, the Death's Head
Battalion.
As to the government's allega-
tion that he entered the Nazi
Waffen-SS in October 1942, Mr.
Hammer, in records filed in the
United States District Court in
Detroit, claimed time had blurred
his memory.
"Due to expiration of time he
does not remember when he was
drafted and further denies that
he was a part of an elite guard or
intelligence unit," the amended
answer read.
Mr. Hammer also changed his
answer to a question about his
birth date. In the original answer,
he denied having sufficient in-
formation to the government's al-
legation that he was born July
20, 1921, in Lacarak, Yugoslavia,
now Croatia.
The new answer reads, "De-
fendant is not sure of his date of
birth because the records are dif-
ferent than what he was told by
his parents but, Defendant does
admit he was born in Lacarak,
Yugoslavia (Croatia)."
In defense papers filed in Feb-
ruary, Mr. Hammer laid the
groundwork for his defense,
claiming he was "as much a vic-
tim of the Nazis as were any oth-
er individuals."
"With the alternative of arrest,
torture, imprisonment, and death
staring him in the face, many in-
habitants of occupied countries
were passively accommodating
the Nazis," defense papers read.
According to the government's
complaint, Mr. Hammer violat-
ed American law when he ob-
tained an entry visa by supplying
allegedly erroneous information
about his wartime activities.
Mr. Hammer immigrated in
1955 to the United States from
Austria with the help of the
Refugee Relief Act of 1953, legis-
lation designed to provide assis-
tance to people in war-torn
European countries.
Immigration documents show
that when asked what his
wartime residence was, Mr.
Hammer replied, "1942-45 Ger-
man Army." Later, on a citizen-
ship application, he listed his
occupation during the war as,
"German Army SS 1942 to 1945."
The Waffen-SS was never a
part of the German army and
members were not drafted into
service, said John Russell, a De-
partment of Justice spokesman.
"It was all voluntary," Mr. Rus-
sell said.
Mr. Hammer could not be
reached for comment this week
and Mr. Bufalino did not return
telephone calls.
The Office of Special Investi-
gations was formed in 1979 with
the responsibility of looking for
Nazi war criminals who had ille-
gally gained United States citi-
zenship. Thus far, 50 people have
been stripped of their citizenship
rights, 42 of whom were deport-
ed. The rest were allowed to stay
due to declining health.
No trial date has been sched-
uled. O
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