Nazi fugitive lives cozy life in Germany
British Sun reports Germany refusing to extradite Dutch-born SS volunteer Klaas Faber, who fled prison in Holland after being convicted of murder, sentenced to life imprisonment
The unbelievable story of a Nazi criminal who escaped a Dutch prison and fled to sanctuary in Germany, which still refuses to extradite him due to a law legislated by Hitler. The British Sun on Monday published photographs of Klaas Faber, the Dutchman who volunteered to the SS and was convicted of war crimes, strolling through a park with his wife in Germany – despite having been sentenced to death and then having his sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
Faber, 88, was born in Holland and volunteered for Adolf Hitler's SS in 1940. In 1947 he was convicted of war crimes, and five year later, after his sentences was reduced to life imprisonment, he escaped from his prison cell in Breda, Holland and fled to Germany.
Despite him being the fifth most wanted Nazi fugitive, Berlin has rejected many requests to extradite him, since he was granted a German citizenship by Hitler while serving with the SS.
Faber and his wife on stroll in the park
The Sun tracked Faber down in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt, where he lives with his wife Jacoba. He has made no attempt to hide his identity, and the name "K. Faber" marks the doorbell on his flat.
After years of working at Audi, Faber now enjoys a cozy retirement relaxing in local parks and going on shopping trips in his VW Golf.
Merciless slaughter of Jews
Faber's neighbors say the father of three is quiet, but friendly and polite. But when the Sun reporter confronted him and asked if he felt any remorse for his crimes or compassion for his victims and their relatives, his smile vanished, and was replaced with a cold stare and piercing silence.
In his trial after the Second World War, it was argued that he was an enthusiastic Nazi, and after volunteering to the SS at the age of 18, he travelled around northern Holland and mercilessly slaughtered Jews and Dutch resistance fighters.
He became an officer with the Nazi secret service and worked with the Gestapo as an executioner at the Westerbork concentration camp.
He was convicted of murdering at least 22 people, but the court heard he personally carried out mass shootings and experts believe the actual toll was much higher.
In 1952, Faber was one of the seven Nazi officers who escaped from the Breda prison in Holland. He and his comrades fled to Germany, where they were welcomed by the customs clerks with coffee and cookies. The seven received a fine for illegally crossing the border, and were then set free.
'He is one of the most evil men'
Surprisingly, German authorities still honor the privileges Hitler granted to his followers. Faber himself became a German citizen in 1943, in accordance with the "Fuhrer's Law", which grants citizenship to foreign Nazi volunteers.
This is the only one of Hitler's laws that Germany has not revoked, and is still using to reject requests to send Faber back to a Dutch prison.
Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center said, "He is one of the most evil men alive. For Germany to continue shielding him is a shocking stain on the nation's reputation.
"We are talking about someone who volunteered for the SS so he could help Hitler's regime turn his vile beliefs into reality. He didn't just support the Holocaust; he actively helped those behind it. The families of those he killed deserve justice, and it's time for Germany to stop hiding behind a law that Hitler brought in."
German authorities confirmed that Faber is immune from prosecution and extradition, despite repeated requests by the Netherlands to hand him over. State prosecutors decided in 2006 to classify Faber's crimes as manslaughter. So a time limit on trying him in Germany - which does not apply to murder - has now expired.
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