Anton Geiser
Encyclopedia
Anton Geiser is a retired steel worker and former United States
citizen who, as a member of the SS-Totenkopfverbände
during World War II, served as a guard at both the Sachsenhausen
and Buchenwald
concentration camps. In 1956 he moved to the US, settling in Sharon, Pennsylvania
, where he had family. In 1962 he became a naturalized American citizen. In 2006 he was stripped of his citizenship on the grounds that it would not have been granted had the full details of his role in the German military been known; in 2010 a US judge ordered him deported to Austria
, the country from which he had immigrated.
, in the village of Đak-Selci (part of Đakovo) in eastern Croatia
. In September 1942, shortly following the invasion of Yugoslavia
by Nazi Germany
, Geiser, an ethnic German, was drafted into the Waffen SS. He was 17 years old at the time.
near Oranienburg
for training, where he was told that as a matter of policy prisoners attempting escape were to be shot. While there, he served as a perimeter guard and escorted prisoners to and from labor sites. Later, he served at the Buchenwald concentration camp
in a similar capacity, escorting prisoners to the Arolsen subcamp as necessary and finally aiding with the evacutation of Arolsen's prisoners back to Buchenwald when the subcamp was closed near the war's end.
and worked as a steel worker for Sharon Steel Corporation before retiring in 1987, raising three children in the process. He became naturalized as a United States citizen on March 27, 1962.
of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
ordered the revocation of Geiser's US citizenship, citing Title 8 Chapter 12 § 1451(a) of the US Code, which states that citizenship should be revoked and the certificate of naturalization canceled "on the ground that such order and certificate of naturalization were illegally procured or were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation". In support of the illegal procurement claim, he cites Fedorenko v. United States
, which specifically established the precedent that voluntary or involuntary assistants of Nazi persecutions were not eligible for US visas, and therefore that the revocation verbiage of the law applies.
Geiser claims—and the US government does not dispute—that during his career as an SS guard he was never personally directly responsible for the death of an inmate, and that he in fact was friendly with some of them. On these grounds he appealed the decision, arguing that the term "persecution" was ambiguous and required clarification, and that in particular it did not apply to him.
The US 3rd circuit court of appeals heard and rejected this argument in 2008. "Without Anton Geiser and other members of the SS Death's Head guard battalions, the Nazi concentration camp system could not have accomplished its diabolical objectives," said Eli M. Rosenbaum
, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy in the Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section (HRSP), echoing the court's opinion: "As an armed concentration camp guard in World War II, Geiser 'personally advocated or assisted in the persecution of a group of persons because of race, religion, or national origin.' RRA [Refugee Relief Act of 1953] § 14(a). Therefore, we will affirm the District Court's order granting the Government's motion for summary judgment and revoking Geiser's citizenship." The United States Supreme Court declined to hear Geiser's appeal in January 2009.
After Geiser exhausted his denaturalization appeals, the US government initiated deportation proceedings against him on April 1, 2009. A year later, on May 18, 2010, a US immigration judge ordered Geiser deported to Austria, the country from which he had immigrated. As of June 2010, this order has not yet been carried out, pending an appeal by Geiser, and he continues to reside in the United States.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen who, as a member of the SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände
SS-Totenkopfverbände , meaning "Death's-Head Units", was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps for the Third Reich....
during World War II, served as a guard at both the Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and Buchenwald
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
concentration camps. In 1956 he moved to the US, settling in Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, where he had family. In 1962 he became a naturalized American citizen. In 2006 he was stripped of his citizenship on the grounds that it would not have been granted had the full details of his role in the German military been known; in 2010 a US judge ordered him deported to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, the country from which he had immigrated.
Background
Geiser was born in the former YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, in the village of Đak-Selci (part of Đakovo) in eastern Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. In September 1942, shortly following the invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Geiser, an ethnic German, was drafted into the Waffen SS. He was 17 years old at the time.
SS career
Once in the SS, he was chosen to be a member of the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the so-called "Death's Head Battalion" that most concentration camp guards belonged to. He was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration campSachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
near Oranienburg
Oranienburg
Oranienburg is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Oberhavel.- Geography :Oranienburg is a town located on the banks of the Havel river, 35 km north of the centre of Berlin.- Division of the town :...
for training, where he was told that as a matter of policy prisoners attempting escape were to be shot. While there, he served as a perimeter guard and escorted prisoners to and from labor sites. Later, he served at the Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
in a similar capacity, escorting prisoners to the Arolsen subcamp as necessary and finally aiding with the evacutation of Arolsen's prisoners back to Buchenwald when the subcamp was closed near the war's end.
Life after World War II
After World War II ended, Geiser lived in Germany for three years before moving to Austria in 1948 to be with his girlfriend, Theresia. He married Theresia in Austria before immigrating to the United States in 1956. After arriving in the United States, Geiser settled in Sharon, PennsylvaniaSharon, Pennsylvania
Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, northwest of Pittsburgh. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
and worked as a steel worker for Sharon Steel Corporation before retiring in 1987, raising three children in the process. He became naturalized as a United States citizen on March 27, 1962.
Loss of US citizenship and deportation
By the late 1990s, Geiser was under investigation by the United States government's Office of Special Investigations for his World War II-era activities. Finally, on August 9, 2004, the United States government filed suit to revoke Geiser's citizenship. On September 29, 2006, US District Court Judge David S. CerconeDavid S. Cercone
David S. Cercone is a United States federal judge.Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Cercone received a B.A. from Westminster College in 1974 and a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law in 1977. He was in private practice in Pennsylvania, 1978-1979 from 1982 to 1985. He was a law clerk, Hon....
of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
ordered the revocation of Geiser's US citizenship, citing Title 8 Chapter 12 § 1451(a) of the US Code, which states that citizenship should be revoked and the certificate of naturalization canceled "on the ground that such order and certificate of naturalization were illegally procured or were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation". In support of the illegal procurement claim, he cites Fedorenko v. United States
Fedorenko v. United States
Fedorenko v. United States, , was a United States Supreme Court case which held that people who assisted in Nazi persecutions, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, were not eligible for visas to enter the United States, and thus could not legally obtain United States citizenship...
, which specifically established the precedent that voluntary or involuntary assistants of Nazi persecutions were not eligible for US visas, and therefore that the revocation verbiage of the law applies.
Geiser claims—and the US government does not dispute—that during his career as an SS guard he was never personally directly responsible for the death of an inmate, and that he in fact was friendly with some of them. On these grounds he appealed the decision, arguing that the term "persecution" was ambiguous and required clarification, and that in particular it did not apply to him.
The US 3rd circuit court of appeals heard and rejected this argument in 2008. "Without Anton Geiser and other members of the SS Death's Head guard battalions, the Nazi concentration camp system could not have accomplished its diabolical objectives," said Eli M. Rosenbaum
Eli Rosenbaum
Eli M. Rosenbaum was the director of the U.S. DOJ Office of Special Investigations , which was primarily responsible for identifying and deporting Nazi war criminals, from 1995 to 2010, when OSI was merged into the new Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section...
, Director of Human Rights Enforcement Strategy and Policy in the Human Rights and Special Prosecution Section (HRSP), echoing the court's opinion: "As an armed concentration camp guard in World War II, Geiser 'personally advocated or assisted in the persecution of a group of persons because of race, religion, or national origin.' RRA [Refugee Relief Act of 1953] § 14(a). Therefore, we will affirm the District Court's order granting the Government's motion for summary judgment and revoking Geiser's citizenship." The United States Supreme Court declined to hear Geiser's appeal in January 2009.
After Geiser exhausted his denaturalization appeals, the US government initiated deportation proceedings against him on April 1, 2009. A year later, on May 18, 2010, a US immigration judge ordered Geiser deported to Austria, the country from which he had immigrated. As of June 2010, this order has not yet been carried out, pending an appeal by Geiser, and he continues to reside in the United States.