Maintaining he was 17 when forced to join Nazi death squad, he’d been in long battle to stay in Canada. Helmut Oberlander, the former interpreter for a Nazi death squad during the Second World War, has died in Waterloo, Ont., according to his family. Oberlander, 97, died in his home on Wednesday. A statement from his family said he was “surrounded by loved ones.” (…) Oberlander had been in a legal battle with the federal government to maintain his citizenship since 1995. (…) Oberlander was born in Halbstadt, Ukraine, in 1924. He has steadfastly maintained he was just 17 when he was forced on pain of execution to join the Nazi death squad Einsatzkommando 10a, known as Ek 10a. The squad was responsible for killing close to 100,000 people who were mostly Jewish. Oberlander was not accused of taking part in any executions. (…) “It is outrageous for them to hear that he died ‘peacefully’ when their relatives died horrifically in that mass killing, which he was never held accountable for. I do believe in divine justice and know that the ultimate judge will now mete out the consequences he deserves, but it’s unfortunate society did not seek justice in this world.”
via cbc: Ex-Nazi interpreter Helmut Oberlander has died in Waterloo, Ont.