'Our Nazi': The story of a Nazi who lived in Chicago for three decades - review

It took more than three decades for any of the five Allied Anglo-Saxon democracies that fought against Nazi Germany in World War II (the US, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand), which against all logic admitted entry to hundreds, if not thousands, of Nazi criminals as immigrants, to take any legal measures against those persons who had lied to obtain permission to enter. It was only in 1979 that the US, which admitted the largest number of former Nazis, estimated at 10,000, established the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) to exclusively prosecute former Nazi collaborators who lied on their immigration applications in order to obtain permission to enter the United States and subsequently become American citizens.Three other countries – Canada in 1986, Australia in 1989, and Great Britain in 1991 – followed suit and passed laws to enable taking legal measures against former Nazi collaborators. The only country that refused to prosecute those who lied about their service with the Axis forces was New Zealand. (South Africa was hermetically closed to immigration.)Today, now that almost all of the perpetrators are no longer alive, and it appears that there will not be any more Nazi trials, historians, journalists, and writers can summarize the results achieved by each of the countries that tried to take legal action against the Holocaust criminals who sought refuge in Anglo-Saxon democracies, and the same is true for Germany. So far, three excellent books have been published this year about three different countries, which summarize their efforts to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice.Tobias Buck's The Final Verdict: The Holocaust on Trial in the 21st Century focuses on the belated trials in Germany but also gives excellent insights to explain why West Germany made it so difficult to prosecute Nazi criminals, and why so many murderers were spared trials and punishment. NAZI LEADER Adolf Hitler inspects troops at Prague Castle in 1939. (credit: Wikimedia Commons)Jon Silverman and Robert Sherwood's Safe Haven: The United Kingdom's Investigation into Nazi Collaborators and the Failure of Justice explains the failures of the British War Crimes Unit, which account for the paltry results achieved (only one perpetrator convicted and punished). And historian Jayne Persian's Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia explains the reasons for the even worse results in Australia (no convictions at all).In view of such dismal results all over the globe, Michael Soffer's Our Nazi: An American Suburb's Encounter with Evil is a genuine breath of fresh air for several reasons. First of all, the major focus of the book is the case of a German Nazi who immigrated to the US, which has the most successful record of all the Anglo-Saxon democracies that faced this problem. (Some 109 Nazis who immigrated to the US illegally have been punished either by denaturalization and/or deportation for immigration and naturalization violations.)Kulle's coverWhat makes this book even more interesting is the particular problems that arose in the case of German Reinhold Kulle, who had served as an SS guard in the notorious Gross-Rosen concentration camp, and whose diligence and dedication to his job in the US posed some difficult dilemmas for his employers and his neighbors. Kulle was considered an outstanding school custodian, beloved and respected by the staff and students of Oak Park and River Forest High School. His work performance was uniquely appreciated, as was his personal conduct and exceptional relations with the students, many of whom found it difficult to believe that Kulle had been an SS guard in a Nazi concentration camp.To make the story more understandable, Soffer provides an excellent summary of the history of the Office of Special Investigations, its establishment, and the obstacles that it faced to pursue the cases in the United States. Of particular interest are the author's descriptions of the OSI lawyers, such as Bruce Einhorn and Eli Rosenbaum, for whom the Kulle case was Rosenbaum's first at OSI, and later for many years became its director.Soffer also describes in great detail the local personalities on both sides of the debate about Kulle and how to decide his fate. What was of particular interest was the tireless efforts of some of the Jewish women residents of Oak Park who never gave up their pursuit to achieve justice despite the pressure they faced from their colleagues and neighbors. Leah Marcus, Rima Lunin Schultz, and Rae Lynne Toporoff helped make history, and they deserve the mention that Michael Soffer gave them. Kulle was ultimately deported back to his homeland.■Our Nazi: An American Suburb's Encounter with EvilMichael SofferThe University of Chicago Press, 2024306 pages; $25

'Our Nazi': The story of a Nazi who lived in Chicago for three decades - review

Reinhold Kulle was considered an outstanding school custodian, beloved and respected by the staff and students of Oak Park and River Forest High School.

An interview with Hollywood's 'Dr.Drew' Pinsky

Montenegro and the Jews

'Our Nazi': The story of a Nazi who lived in Chicago for three decades - review

Reinhold Kulle was considered an outstanding school custodian, beloved and respected by the staff and students of Oak Park and River Forest High School.

See more on