Helmut Oberlander

Other Events:

• Interesting: scandal, life story
• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-142945
• Residence: Bef 2012, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada

Notes:

Helmut Oberlander stripped of Canadian citizenship again

Waterloo's Helmut Oberlander has once more been stripped of his Canadian citizenship by the federal government and is facing possible deportation over his connection to a Nazi killing unit.

The government quietly filed an order in council at Federal Court in Toronto stripping Oberlander of his citizenship.

Now, the only thing that stands between the 88-year-old Ukrainian Canadian and deportation is the possibility of yet another judicial review.

Oberlander has been at the centre of a legal wrangle for years over his involvement with a mobile Nazi death squad.

In 2009, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the federal cabinet must revisit a prior decision to strip Oberlander of his citizenship and consider whether or not he was forced to join the Nazis under duress.

Oberlander and his family have always maintained that he was conscripted into a Nazi death squad - Einsatzkommando 10a, which operated behind the German army's front line in the eastern occupied territories during the Second World War - under duress.

His family says he wasn't a Nazi.

No evidence has been presented in court that he personally participated in war crimes. Oberlander always said he served only as a translator in the unit and never participated in any killings. ....


The Waterloo Region Record 27 Dec 2012

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Supreme Court won't hear federal appeal in Oberlander case

OTTAWA A long-running legal case about whether Helmut Oberlander will be stripped of his citizenship is back in the hands of the federal government cabinet.

The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will not hear the federal government's challenge of a setback in its latest bid to revoke the Waterloo resident's citizenship.

As usual, the Supreme Court did not provide any reasons for its decision. The office of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had no immediate comment.

Oberlander, born in Ukraine, was a member of a Nazi death squad, the Ek 10a, which operated behind the German army's front line in the Eastern occupied territories during the Second World War. It was part of a force responsible for killing more than two million people, most of them Jews.

Oberlander, 92, says he was conscripted into duty as a teenager and that the penalty for desertion was execution.

He served with the Ek 10a as an interpreter from 1941 to 1943. Living and travelling full time with the unit, his responsibilities also included finding and protecting food and polishing boots. He later served as an infantryman in the German army.

Oberlander says he never participated in any killings.

He and his wife came to Canada in 1954. Oberlander became a Canadian citizen six years later. He did not disclose his wartime experience when he applied to emigrate, upon entering Canada or when seeking citizenship.

The retired real estate developer has been fighting federal attempts to revoke his citizenship and deport him since 1995.

In 2012, the federal government looked at whether Oberlander's assertion of duress was sufficient to excuse his complicity in the Ek 10a's activities. It decided against him and once again moved to strip his citizenship.

In February, the Federal Court of Appeal told the cabinet to reconsider the case.

The appeal court said Oberlander "was entitled to a determination of the extent to which he made a significant and knowing contribution to the crime or criminal purpose of the Ek 10a."

"Only then could a reasonable determination be made as to whether whatever harm he faced was more serious than the harm inflicted on others through his complicity."


The Canadian Press

Supreme Court won't hear federal appeal in Oberlander case. (2016). Therecord.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/6757472-supreme-court-won-t-hear-federal-appeal-in-oberlander-case/

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Oberlander too ill to face questions on Nazi death squad
But Holocaust victims will have voice in court

WATERLOO - At 94, Helmut Oberlander is too infirm to answer more questions about his wartime service with a Nazi death squad, his lawyers say.

Age has degraded his memory. The retired Waterloo developer can no longer reliably recall what was just said to him, or recall wartime events with precision.

"In other words, he cannot be questioned," his lawyers say in court documents, citing a psychological assessment conducted on Oberlander in 2016.

Informed of this, the government has persisted in its 23-year legal odyssey to revoke his citizenship. But as Oberlander's voice falters, other voices are growing louder in a race against time to secure justice from the Second World War....

Outhit, J. (2018). Oberlander too ill to face questions on Nazi death squad. TheRecord.com. Retrieved 6 April 2018, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/8376400-oberlander-too-ill-to-face-questions-on-nazi-death-squad/

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Former Nazi death-squad member Helmut Oberlander dead at 97

The Canadian Press
Staff
Contact
Published Sept. 23, 2021 8:54 a.m. EDT
Former Nazi death-squad member Helmut Oberlander has died in the midst of his Canadian deportation hearing.

His family says the 97-year-old died peacefully in his home "surrounded by loved ones."

A lawyer for Oberlander recently asked the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for an adjournment in a hearing on whether Oberlander could remain in Canada or be deported to Germany.

Oberlander, who had been living in Waterloo, Ont., was a member of a Nazi death squad that operated behind the German army's front line in the eastern occupied territories during the Second World War.

He said he was conscripted into duty as a teenager on threat of death and that he never participated in any killings.

Oberlander served from 1941 to 1943 as an interpreter with the Ek 10a unit, which was responsible for killing more than two million people, most of them Jews.

He arrived in Canada in 1954 and became a Canadian citizen six years later, but he did not disclose his wartime experience to his new country.

In June 2017, the federal government revoked Oberlander's Canadian citizenship for the fourth time since the mid-1990s.

Oberlander's lawyer, Ronald Poulton, had previously told the board that his client's health was declining and he was not expected to survive much beyond the summer.

"Former Nazi Death-Squad Member Helmut Oberlander Dead At 97". 2021. Kitchener. https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/former-nazi-death-squad-member-helmut-oberlander-dead-at-97-1.5597177?cid=sm%3Atrueanthem%3Actvkitchener%3Apost&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1lJHQMRx8OtVpAPq6JWGRMpSUnwrsR73REZJOV0xHh-DJxpeOfX179YWg.

Helmut — Margaret. [Group Sheet]