MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Citing his “willing service” as a Nazi concentration camp guard, a U.S. immigration judge ruled Thursday a longtime Tennessee resident will be deported to Germany for his actions during World War II.
According to The Hill, Judge Rebecca L. Holt ruled Friedrich Karl Berger is removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act because of his “willing service as an armed guard of prisoners at a concentration camp where persecution took place.”
Berger, a German citizen, has acknowledged having served as an armed guard of camp prisoners in the Neuengamme concentration camp system in 1945, and confirmed he still receives a pension for work that includes his wartime service, The Washington Post reported.
The camp – located near Hamburg – held Russian, Dutch and Polish civilians, as well as Jewish prisoners and political opponents from France, Italy and other countries, the Post reported.
Berger, 94, told the Post via telephone he was ordered to work at the camp and denied he carried a weapon.
“After 75 years, this is ridiculous. I cannot believe it,” he said. “I cannot understand how this can happen in a country like this. You’re forcing me out of my home.”
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