Posted on 09/20/2006 4:54:44 PM PDT by CommonSense1stOverParty
An 84-year-old San Francisco woman was deported to Germany this month after admitting she worked as a guard in a Nazi-operated concentration camp, federal officials announced Tuesday.
News about the dark chapter in Elfriede Lina Rinkel's past left her relatives in the Bay Area stunned. They said Rinkel had kept the secret for more than 60 years, from them and, apparently, from her late husband -- a German Jew who had fled the Holocaust himself.
(SNIP)
The government's charges, filed in April, say Elfriede Rinkel was born July 14, 1922, in Leipzig, Germany; served at the camp from 1944 to 1945; and applied for a U.S. immigrant visa Aug. 29, 1959, at the U.S. consulate in Frankfurt. The visa application instructed her to list all her residences from 1938 forward, but she omitted Ravensbruck.
(SNIP)
…``because all these years she was totally embarrassed.''
(SNIP)
Ravensbruck, … saw an estimated 130,000 women and children imprisoned within its walls. About 90,000…died from starvation, execution, weakness or medical experimentation.
(SNIP)
``We did help her to close up her apartment and helped her to buy her airplane ticket and go to the airport and buy her luggage -- but never a word about why she was leaving,'' the sister-in-law said. ``We thought she was going because her situation in her apartment had deteriorated.''
…``She said she just wanted to go back to Germany, and because she told us that, we believed her.''
(SNIP)
She admitted being assigned to the camp, explaining that she had had a less desirable job as a factory worker and then volunteered to be a dog handler at the camp for better wages.
(SNIP)
She is barred from re-entering the United States. Only in death could she be returned.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Marrying a Jewish man absolves her?
Love... or effective cover?
I wonder what good she has done here, what she has done to stand next to the sorrow of her past.
Don't get me wrong, if she is guilty, then she was right to confess. But after 60 years, I pray she's accomplished something of worth. She certainly had long enough.
I don't get the impression she was a guard, in the sense of being armed and tasked with preventing escapes. I would think it unlikely they would put a woman in that job. It seems like her job was to take care of the dogs.
Ex-Nazi worked at a death camp and there's no evidence of
wrong-doing on her part? Whew!
Too many of these ex Nazi's got away...many live right here in good ol'USA....I have no sympathy for any of them should they be caught and deported...
Yes, yes, yes, a lifelong enemy of Nazis but because of George W. Bush and his administration's evil policies you have decided to vote for the Nazi Death Camp guard in 2006 ...
Yeah but more live openly in France and Germany courtesy of a post-war tour in the French Foreign Legion.
Did he even know? Anybody know if female members of the SS had their blood group tatoo'ed under their left arm like the men?
"She was 84 and I think the statute of limitations should have run out on her crime about 10 years ago. The authorities ought to have her to write an extremely groveling apology and then leave her alone. Revenge may be sweet, but sometimes it's stupid."
Are you making the same arguement as Bush is with illegal aliens - if you can get away with it long enough you get a pass?
I am sorry but didn't the article say she was not a member of the NAZI party?
Amen.
Pope Benedict XVI was born on April 16, 1927. Do the simple math. He was a school boy during the war years.
I echo your feelings ,but the smart asses in our society would say how can you make a comparison between an evil nazis b**ch and the hard working,church go'ers pouring in from Mexico !!!
I concur.
Bet she was a Democrat too.
some people don't get that not ALL germans were bad or were NAZI's. Some were just dragged along on the wave. Some were starving as badly as the Prisoners and during the worst parts of the war, their lives were at risk just as much if they didn't do exactly what they were told.
I can understand where she might take a job to make more money as most adverage german citizens were starving and the extra money could have been the difference between life and death.
I don't know, but I would withhold judgment until all facts are in.
NittanyLion,
Two things in my top 10 "list" of "Things that Make me PO'd" *Those that don't come into the USA legitimately. *Those that try to escape just punishment.
TY for the TY for me coming to FR. And my condolences on that whole ND game thing. I was watching that & I was NOT a happy camper over that either.
Jaysun,
And exactly how, are they "willing to live up to their deeds."? Have they turned themselves over to the proper authorities? If not, then your "live up" comment is incorrect. If they haven't turned themselves over to the proper authorities, then have you? If not, then more than shame on you.
madison10,
Then, IMHO, you aren't much better than her. This BS notion of if one can escape justice long enough they should be allowed to get away w/ terrible things is just that BS.
justche,
She specifically admitted that she VOLUNTEERED to go & work there. IMHO, since that place had been there LONG enough when she went there to apply for the job that most certainly she had to KNOW what was going on there. Stop making excuses for her.
COEXERJ145 & onyx,
It is quite apparent that you do NOT know of what you speak. Yes, the 2 threads I've STARTED (both today) are related to illegal alien invading trespassers, HOWEVER, I have most certainly POSTED in other topics as well. Let's see now, Traffic Cams & the Ratzinger muzzie controversy are JUST 2 of the other threads I've posted in. Also wonder no longer...NO, I've never posted @ FR prior to 8/31/06. BUT I have posted on other sites, although, I wasn't doing much net posting anywhere for the yr prior to registering here (except on blogs where you didn't have to register).
montag813 & D Rider,
Some how I do believe that we have deported MORE than 100 or so other types of illegal alien invading trespassers. NOT NEARLY ENOUGH, though.
LauraleeBraswell,
As I said, I believe that was the way she chose to help hide herself from justice.
SquirrelKing,
That's what I'm saying --- cover. And it WAS effective for all that time.
SauronOfMordor,
I could give a furry rats butt that she was "only a dog handler". She STILL WENT THERE VOLUNTARILY TO WORK.
trashcanbred,
What part of "IMHO" do you NOT understand? Also, web forums are DESIGNED to be a place to render opinions AND yes "pass judgment". As of the time she left the USA, germany had not decided yet if they will charge her or not. They should. Since she is, IMHO, CLEARLY GUILTY (by virtue of the fact that she admits she worked there) if they don't prosecute her then shame (AGAIN) on germany. And even if she is never charged outside the USA then STILL GOOD-RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH. And, IMHO, she IS a "REAL" war criminal...YES, there ARE DEGREES/Different LEVELS/TYPES of war criminals, she is STILL a "REAL" one in my "book". BTW, she only worked there for a short time (until April '45) b/c the camp was liberated by the russian army on 4/30/45. So it doesn't appear to be that she stopped working there b/c she didn't want to but b/c the "end was near" for her employment.
onyx,
I brought up Ratzinger as an example to show the difference btwn types like her that VOLUNTEERED & those that didn't volunteer. BTW, I follow the examp of Oriana Fallaci (who was a YOUNG fighter AGAINST the evil in WWII) & refuse to call Ratzinger by the title he currently holds & no it isn't b/c of his Brown Shirt past either but since this thread isn't about him I'll leave that line of thought alone here.
School of Rational Thought,
Yes, I believe he IS making the same argument.
-- --
BTW, for all the repeating of her being "embarrassed" I read in a different link on this story that she yet to say that she was/is sorry...
That's funny... I WAS rendering my opinion and passing judgement... on you and your opinion. Now why do you have a problem with that?
Unless there are witnesses that come forward to say that she abused/killed prisoners at the camp I do not see Germany or anyone else filing charges against her.
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