Family of Nazi commander seeks retraction of report

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 family of an alleged war criminal who lives in northeast Minneapolis called on the Associated Press to retract its story.

The AP reported Friday that 94-year-old Michael Karkoc commanded a Nazi-led Ukranian military unit known to have massacred civilians and lied to U.S. immigration authorities about his past.

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According to the article, Karkoc was a founding member of the SS-led Ukrainian Self Defense Legion and was later an officer in the SS Galician Division.

In a statement to local news media, his son Andrij Karkoc called the allegations slanderous.

"It's allegation, hearsay, implication association or conjecture and notably lacking in proof or evidence," he said.

Andrij Karkoc added: "Their slander cannot begin to hope to besmirch my father's character. It serves only to damage and discredit the AP."

Michael Karkoc home
The northeast Minneapolis home where alleged World War II Nazi commander Michael Karkoc lives.
MPR Photo/Brandt Williams

The AP found no records directly tying Karkoc to atrocities. However, the report said that statements from men in his unit and other documentation confirm the Ukrainian company he commanded massacred civilians.

The story cited Karkoc's own memoir among other evidence.

The report also said he lied about his past when immigrating to the United States. In 1949, Michael Karkoc told U.S. immigration officials he had performed no military service during World War II.

The family will not comment any more until they obtain their own documents and review witnesses and sources, Andrij Karkoc said.

Andrij Karkoc releases statement on behalf of Karkoc family

Video courtesy of KARE11.