Waterloo man’s citizenship revoked fourth time

Former Nazi death squad member, 93, vows to fight order again

TORONTO — A lawyer for a former Nazi death squad member says the Canadian government has once again stripped the 93-year-old man of his citizenship.

Ronald Poulton says it is the fourth time the government has taken the step against Helmut Oberlander, and the Waterloo resident plans to challenge the decision.

Poulton says Oberlander has previously been able to have his citizenship restored three other times. He says Oberlander is challenging the latest decision in Federal Court and says he expects to be successful again.

Oberlander, born i n Ukraine, was a member of the Nazi death squad Ek 10a, which operated behind the German army’s front line in the Eastern occupied territories in the Second World War. It was part of a force responsible for kill- ing more than two million people, mostly Jews.

Oberlander served as an interpreter for the squad from 1941 and 1943 and says he never participated in any killings.

The retired real-estate developer did not disclose his wartime experience when he applied to immigrate to Canada, nor did he disclose the information upon entering Canada in 1954 or when seeking citizenship six years later.

Oberlander, who has been fighting federal attempts to revoke his citizenship since 1995, has said he was conscripted into duty with the Nazis when he was 17 years old and that the penalty for desertion was execution. He later served as an infantryman in the German army.