Setting the record straight on Demjanjuk

The case of John Demjanjuk, which became a cause celebre, created a flurry of reports, articles, books and pamphlets, which, depending on who was writing them, included a plethora of falsifications, selective reporting, misinformation and hyperbole. This specious reporting sensationalized the case and, with the passage of time, removed it from reality. Although the case is in its 13th year and new facts continue to emerge which have a direct bearing on the exoneration of Mr. Demjanjuk and put to rest current distortions, we are still finding a surprising number of basic errors in reporting on the Demjanjuk case in the United States, Israel and Ukraine.

Therefore, UNCHAIN (Ukrainian National Center: History and Information Network) and the John Demjanjuk Defense Fund found it necessary to prepare a statement of facts in order to dispel misinterpretations or downright errors.

While scanning newspapers from Ukraine we find that some of the facts about the case of John Demjanjuk are not being reported correctly in Ukraine. Therefore, we want to set the record straight:

• John Demjanjuk was sentenced to death in April 1988 by an Israeli court for being "Ivan Grozny" ("Ivan the Terrible"), the gas chamber operator who committed crimes in the Nazi extermination camp of Treblinka, Poland, in 1942-1943.
  
  
• This guilty verdict and death sentence were appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court. Over 80 statements of eyewitnesses, three photographs and a dozen photo identifications were submitted to the Israeli Supreme Court in June 1992. This evidence points to another man - Ivan Ivanovych Marchenko - as the infamous "Ivan Grozny" of Treblinka. The Israeli Supreme Court still is deliberating this case.
  
  
• John Demjanjuk's death penalty has not been revoked, lifted or suspended and the death sentence in Israel still stands. Any statement to the contrary is false.
  
  
• John Demjanjuk, an innocent man, is on death row in Ramla prison in Israel while the real mass murderers go unpunished.
  
  
• It is incumbent upon the Security Service of Ukraine and Ukrainian authorities to release all files and documents concerning John Demjanjuk and Ivan Ivanovych Marchenko in order to help clarify this matter once and for all. Withholding information can have serious repercussions.

Any information or newspaper clippings relating to the case should be sent to: John Demjanjuk Defense Fund, P.O. Box 44449, Brooklyn, OH 44144-0449.

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

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