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German high court rules country has jurisdiction in case of US Nazi-suspect
Original Publication Date: May 21, 2014 6:59PM
Publication Updated: January 8, 2025 11:08PM
BERLIN – Germany’s highest criminal court has ruled that the country has jurisdiction over the case of a retired Minnesota carpenter revealed in an Associated Press investigation to be a former commander in a Nazi SS-led unit.
The Federal Court of Justice ruled Thursday that 95-year-old Michael Karkoc’s service in the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defence Legion made him the “holder of a German office” even though he’s not German himself.
The court says someone in that role “served the purposes of the Nazi state’s world view.”
The federal prosecutors’ office that investigates Nazi crimes sent the case to the court after deciding there was enough evidence to pursue murder charges against Karkoc.
Munich prosecutors now must examine the evidence and decide whether to file charges.
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