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Tim Pugmire
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Minnesota Jewish group seeks Karkoc investigation

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Michael Karkoc in 1990
In this May 22, 1990 photo, Michael Karkoc, photographed in Lauderdale, Minn. prior to a visit to Minnesota from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in early June of 1990. Karkoc, a top commander whose Nazi SS-led unit, is blamed for burning villages filled with women and children lied to American immigration officials to get into the United States and has been living in Minnesota since shortly after World War II, according to evidence uncovered by The Associated Press.
Chris Polydoroff/ASSOCIATED PRESS

The head of the the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas said his organization is appalled by reports that a former commander of a Nazi SS-led unit in Word War II has lived in Minneapolis for decades.

An Associated Press investigation linked Michael Karkoc to the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion, which is accused of wartime atrocities.

JCRC Executive Director Steve Hunegs said it's shocking "that a person with this past has received the safety and security of our country all these six decades."

Hunegs said the JCRC is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the claims, and if proven true, to open a civil deportation hearing.

• Photo gallery: Former Nazi SS commander Michael Karkoc
• Neighbor describes Karkoc as 'jovial and stuff'
• Edgars Inde: 1988 case was previous discovery of Nazi in Minn.
• Video: Citizenship can be revoked, attorney says
• Holocaust museum: Search for perpetrators
• News Cut: Two soldiers. Two legacies

Gallery
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Michael Karkoc in 1990
In this May 22, 1990 photo, Michael Karkoc, photographed in Lauderdale, Minn. prior to a visit to Minnesota from Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in early June of 1990. Karkoc, a top commander whose Nazi SS-led unit, is blamed for burning villages filled with women and children lied to American immigration officials to get into the United States and has been living in Minnesota since shortly after World War II, according to evidence uncovered by The Associated Press.
Chris Polydoroff/ASSOCIATED PRESS