Rep. Traficant says real "Ivan" may be living in Eastern Europe

WASHINGTON - The real "Ivan the Terrible" may be alive and living in Eastern Europe. Rep. James Traficant Jr., who has maintained the innocence of John Demjanjuk and championed the Ukrainian American's cause for over a year, said on February 2 that an investigation by his staff has identified that the true "Ivan" is alive and now in his 80s.

He said his investigators also have fixed the concentration camp guard's location to within a "very small region" of Eastern Europe, The Washington Times said.

At a press conference, the Ohio Democrat said he hopes to bring Ivan Marchenko, whom he identified as the notorious camp guard, to justice soon.

"I hope we can bring him to justice within the next 60 to 90 days and put this matter to rest once and for all," Mr. Traficant said. "I just hope we succeed before Mr. Demjanjuk dies in prison."

Mr. Traficant has challenged the Demjanjuk decision, accusing the Nazi-hunting Office of Special Investigations (OSI) of trashing two memos and statements by 21 former death camp guards who had said the real "Ivan" was Marchenko.

The Washington Times also reported that Mr. Traficant released two new documents on February 2: recently obtained statements by two Treblinka prisoners, Melania Yefimovna and Nina Dmitriyevna. The statements, obtained by Israeli investigators, are 1951 interviews with the two women in which they identify "Ivan the Terrible" as Marchenko.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati currently is reviewing a 1986 extradition order that led to Mr. Demjanjuk's expulsion to Israel, where he was tried and convicted of being the infamous "Ivan the Terrible." The federal appeals court, in an unprecedented move, has subpoenaed the highest officers of the Justice Department's OSI to question the methods used and the handling of the Demjanjuk case.

Mr. Demjanjuk, now 73, was sentenced to death by Israel in 1988. His case is on appeal before the Israeli Supreme Court.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 7, 1993, No. 6, Vol. LXI

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