Nazi flag (credit: ClipArt.com)Nazi flag (credit: ClipArt.com)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Repeatedly chanting “kick him out!”, demonstrators gathered outside the Queens home of reputed Nazi war criminal Jakiw Palij on Sunday.
Palij worked as an armed guard at an SS slave labor camp for Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II and helped keep prisoners from escaping, according to court documents. He has denied the accusations.
“We found out that was a lie — that he worked at a concentration camp, that he participated in mass murder,” Hikind told Stern. “We’ve tried to get rid of him. Nobody wants to take him. We’ve got to do everything in the world to make sure that justice happens.”
The demonstration was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which marked the beginning of the Nazi extermination of six million Jews.
One of Palij’s neighbors said the protesters are going too far.
“They need to leave the man alone,” a woman said. “They don’t know him. They weren’t there when this happened. Yes, it was a terrible tragedy, but they need to teach their children to make sure it never happens again.”
