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THE OSI AND THE NAZIS: AMERICA'S STRUGGLE TO EXPEL NAZI WAR CRIMINALS AND THEIR ALLIES DECADES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR

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Date Issued:
2019
Abstract/Description:
This thesis examines the history of the Office of Special Investigations' campaign to identify, denaturalize, and deport Nazis and Nazi collaborators. By analyzing documents from the work of the Office's predecessor, the Special Litigations Unit, in 1977, up to and including the case of George Lindert in 1995, this research aims to provide an understanding of the Office's origins, methods, and motivations. This work was done through the consultation of court records, internal memos, letters, an official government report on the Office's activities, other literature written on this topic, and interviews conducted by the author with two former members of the Office of Special Investigations. This paper finds that while the Office did manage to bring numerous persecutors to justice, and greatly contributed to the broader understanding of the inner-workings of the Holocaust, the long delay before the United States undertook these proceedings, the lack of clarity in the law regarding the subject, and the highly political nature of this public effort all resulted in inconsistent and sometimes questionable outcomes. Going forward, proactive investigations and clear legislation could aid in avoiding such difficulties in the future.
Title: THE OSI AND THE NAZIS: AMERICA'S STRUGGLE TO EXPEL NAZI WAR CRIMINALS AND THEIR ALLIES DECADES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
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Name(s): Murray, Evan S, Author
Lyons, Amelia, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2019
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the history of the Office of Special Investigations' campaign to identify, denaturalize, and deport Nazis and Nazi collaborators. By analyzing documents from the work of the Office's predecessor, the Special Litigations Unit, in 1977, up to and including the case of George Lindert in 1995, this research aims to provide an understanding of the Office's origins, methods, and motivations. This work was done through the consultation of court records, internal memos, letters, an official government report on the Office's activities, other literature written on this topic, and interviews conducted by the author with two former members of the Office of Special Investigations. This paper finds that while the Office did manage to bring numerous persecutors to justice, and greatly contributed to the broader understanding of the inner-workings of the Holocaust, the long delay before the United States undertook these proceedings, the lack of clarity in the law regarding the subject, and the highly political nature of this public effort all resulted in inconsistent and sometimes questionable outcomes. Going forward, proactive investigations and clear legislation could aid in avoiding such difficulties in the future.
Identifier: CFH2000552 (IID), ucf:45650 (fedora)
Note(s): 2019-08-01
B.A.
College of Arts and Humanities, History
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Holocaust
World War II
Law
Nazis
Immigration
Fascism
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH2000552
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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