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Nazi to Green Beret - The Soldier Who Somehow Joined Both the German and US Army
- Thread starter FPrice
- Start date
dupe : Crazy story of the man who fought for Finland, the Nazis, and US Army Special Forces
(dead link in post, good link here: The crazy story of the man who fought for Finland, the Nazis, and US Army Special Forces )
(dead link in post, good link here: The crazy story of the man who fought for Finland, the Nazis, and US Army Special Forces )
Very interesting.
Sadly, I suspect that if he’d lived longer, he’d have been investigated and probably deported. I very much doubt he ever told US authorities he’d been in the Waffen-SS, even though he wasn’t “really” in the Waffen-SS. If they ever found out, they’d have probably booted him.
I wonder when they found out his true identity. A fascinating man, in any case.
Sadly, I suspect that if he’d lived longer, he’d have been investigated and probably deported. I very much doubt he ever told US authorities he’d been in the Waffen-SS, even though he wasn’t “really” in the Waffen-SS. If they ever found out, they’d have probably booted him.
I wonder when they found out his true identity. A fascinating man, in any case.
mibro
NES Member
The Waffen SS was the most diverse military organization in the history of warfare. Who do you fight for when the Soviets invade your country? The Soviets?
Major Thorne was KIA in Vietnam. I'll call him an American hero.
Major Thorne was KIA in Vietnam. I'll call him an American hero.
mibro
NES Member
I disagree. He was inducted because of his previous combat experience. The Holocaust did not become the broadly understood and reviled genocide we're all familiar with today until about 1960. Prior to 1960 "the genocide lacked any formal title in English except, perhaps, “The Final Solution,” the term the Nazis used. In Hebrew, the calamity quickly became known as “Shoah,” which means “the catastrophe.” But it wasn’t until the 1960s that scholars and writers began using the term “Holocaust,” and it took the 1978 TV film Holocaust, starring Meryl Streep, to push it into widespread use."
I graduated high school (in the UK) in 1976 and I am certain I knew absolutely nothing about the Holocaust in 1976. I had not heard, read or been taught one word about it.
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I disagree. He was inducted because of his previous combat experience. The Holocaust did not become the broadly understood and reviled genocide we're all familiar with today until about 1960. Prior to 1960 "the genocide lacked any formal title in English except, perhaps, “The Final Solution,” the term the Nazis used. In Hebrew, the calamity quickly became known as “Shoah,” which means “the catastrophe.” But it wasn’t until the 1960s that scholars and writers began using the term “Holocaust,” and it took the 1978 TV film Holocaust, starring Meryl Streep, to push it into widespread use."
I graduated high school (in the UK) in 1976 and I am certain I knew absolutely nothing about the Holocaust in 1976. I had not heard, read or been taught one word about it.
No, I know all that, but membership in the Nazi Party or the SS needed to be disclosed when entering the USA after the war. When, in recent years, the US Government has deported people like John Demjanyuk for trial in places like Germany and Israel, that's why they could: the USA will never deport a bona-fide US citizen overseas for trial, but they were able to do it by claiming Demjanyuk had lied on his entry visa in the late 40s/early 50s by failing to disclose his previous membership in the SS.
Being a Nazi wasn't necessarily a bar to US citizenship (like all the Operation Paperclip scientists), but failing to disclose it was always a crime. Plus, he came in under a false name; all these things have always been disqualifiers for naturalization, if they're done to shield past activity.
I contemplated if the Israelis would have put him on trial or if the Mossad would have taken him out?
Nah. He wasn't "really" in the SS, from what I've found out. And Israel had/has no problem working with former Nazis if they could be useful.
Torni was a staunch anti-Communist, and seems to have fought for whichever side let him kill commies. I have no issue with that, personally, but I think his SS membership might have eventually caught up with him when there were no more wars to fight and people started digging into his past.
