Richard Rashke - Useful Enemies

Hersh, Seymour. The Dark Side of Camelot. Boston: Little, Brown, 1997.

Higham, Charles. American Swastika. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1985.

Kowalski, Congressman Frank. Speech on Malaxa. Congressional Record, Oct. 5, 1962.

Loftus, John, and Mark Aarons. The Secret War Against the Jews. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994.

Malaxa. NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files, Boxes 60–61, first release, and Boxes 84 and 85, second release; NA, RG 65, FBI Name Files, Boxes 68–71.

Ryan, Allan. Quiet Neighbors: Prosecuting War Criminals in America. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.

Saidel, Rochelle G. The Outraged Conscience. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1984.

Summers, Anthony. The Arrogance of Power: The Secret World of Richard Nixon. New York: Viking, 2000.

U.S. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law. Alleged Nazi War Criminals. 95th Cong., 1st sess., August 3, 1977.

31 “I’ve seen cruel”: Ryan, 46.

32 “Periodic and highly”: Blum, 24. The INS official quoted was Carl Burrows, Assistant Commissioner for Investigation. Blum does not give a source for the direct quote.

32 For Braunsteiner details, see Blum and Ryan; U.S Holocaust Memorial Museum website (www.ushmm.org), which has several articles on her; and NYT: Joseph Lelyveld, “Former Nazi Death Camp Guard is Now a Housewife in Queens,” July 15, 1964; Morris Kaplan, “Mrs. Ryan Ordered Extradited for Trial as Nazi War Criminal,” May 2, 1973; Joseph Lelyveld, “Breaking Away” ( NYT Magazine ), March 6, 2005.

32 “Wasn’t enough evidence”: Blum, Ryan, Lelyveld, and Kaplan.

32 The DeVito story is based on his interviews with Blum and his July 1978 testimony before Congress: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Immigration, July 1978. The Schiano story is based on his testimony before Congress in the same hearings and on Ralph Blumenthal, “Ex-Chief Immigration Trial Attorney Quits Abruptly,” NYT, Dec. 8, 1973.

32 In response to FOIA requests, both the FBI and CIA said they did not have any file(s) on Braunsteiner.

33 Hermine Braunsteiner Defense Fund: Immigration Subcommittee hearings, op.cit., 78. It is not clear whether the fund was a tax-exempt 501(c)3 entity or a private fund.

34 The Maxala story is based on: Blum, Saidel, Hersh, Summers, Lofus and Aarons, and Higham; NA, CIA RG 263 and FBI RG 65; and the speech of Congressman Kowalski. See also NYT: “Antonescu Picks Military Cabinet,” Jan. 28, 1941; “Nazi Steel Gets Works,” Feb. 22, 1941; “Celler Challenges Nixon,” Oct. 13, 1952; “U.S. Ouster Move Fought By Exile,” Nov. 23, 1957; “U.S. Orders Ouster of a Rumanian,” Dec. 18, 1957; “Rumanian Wins Bid To Stay In U.S.,” Sept. 10, 1958; “Nixon Is Accused Of Aid To Ex-Nazi,” Oct. 7, 1962; “Nixon-Malaxa Link Denied By Attorney,” Oct. 10, 1962. WP: “Rumania Ties Arms Maker in Guard Revolt,” Jan. 29, 1941; Bill Brinkley, “One Agent Planted in Soviet Embassy, Data Introduced in Evidence Imply,” Jan. 10, 1949; Drew Pearson, “Ike 2–1 Over Taft in N.H. Poll,” June 10, 1949; Drew Pearson, “A Sidelight on Nixon’s Career,” Sept. 29, 1952; Drew Pearson, “Malaxa Tries Again to Enter U.S.,” Dec. 15, 1955; “Romania’s ‘Ford’ Wins Conditional Reentry to U.S.,” Dec. 17, 1955; “Drew Pearson Sued,” Dec. 22, 1955; “Malaxa Wins Permanent Home in U.S.,” Sept. 10, 1958; “U.S. Probes Said to Clear Malaxa, Oct. 11, 1962; Drew Pearson, “3 War Criminals Remain in U.S.,” May 12, 1963; Drew Pearson, “Nixon, Rumania Ready to Do Business,” Aug. 2, 1969; Jack Anderson, “Nixon Helped Rich Nazi Stay in U.S.,” Nov. 16, 1979. CSM: “Rumania Continues Roundup of Iron Guards and Arms,” Jan. 30, 1941; “Nazis Get Malaxa Plants,” May 15, 1941. WSJ: “Romanian Trade Group Due Here Next Week,” Aug. 2, 1946. CT: “Rumania Tries Arms Maker as Rebels’ ‘Angel,’” Jan. 29, 1941.

34 Required his five thousand workers: Report 100-2-16-40Y, June 18, 1944, NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files.

34 Based on interviews with former CIA agents, Summers says Malaxa bribed Wisner to get him into the United States. According to T. Vincent Quinn, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Malaxa bribed Colonel Brady C. McClausen. “Nicolai Malaxa Internal Security,” Quinn to FBI, April 8, 1948, NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files. McClausen was chief of the OSS in Romania at the time. It is unlikely that Malaxa bribed Wisner because Wisner was no longer working for the OSS at the time Malaxa came to the United States.

34 There are variations in the spelling of McClausen’s name. Sometimes his first name is given as “Brady,” sometimes as “Grady.” Sometimes his last name is spelled “McClausen,” sometimes “McClaussen.”

35 Whispers rippled through: Loftus and Aarons, 223.

35 “As Malaxa is extremely clever”: Untitled CIA memo, Feb. 14, 1948, NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files.

35 Hundred thousand dollars: Hersh, 159–60. Hersh highly documents the allegation. See also Summers, 133. Hersh further reported that the CIA had a photocopy of the check courtesy of a Romanian on its payroll.

36 Senator Baldwin’s bill was S-2942. Representative Lodge’s bill was HR-7160. The identical bills were introduced in September 1946. They were voted on in August 1948. According to the FBI, Pennsylvania congressman Francis Walter attempted to save Malaxa as well. The FBI reported that Malaxa bribed him to introduce a private bill. “From: A. Ross… To: Director,” NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files, Dec. 23, 1959.

36 There are several versions about a congressional bill or resolution to grant Malaxa permanent U.S. residency. One version says Nixon introduced it. A second version says it was Hillings. A third says McClellan. There is also confusion about whether it was a bill or a resolution that was introduced, and whether the bill or resolution contained just Malaxa’s name or whether he was part of a longer list. None of the sources actually give a name or a number to the bill/resolution. My version is based on the assumption that the legislation in question was Senate Concurrent Resolution #58 of the 82nd Congress. Drew Pearson (“Malaxa Tries to Enter U.S.,” WP, Dec. 15, 1955) said Senator Walter got Malaxa’s name deleted or killed the bill. Celler said he killed it: NYT: “Celler Challenges Nixon,” Oct. 13, 1952. Most likely both supported the deletion.

36 Plan B was launched while the Justice Department was trying to get Congress to grant Malaxa permanent residency. It appears that the strategy was: if one won’t work, the other will. Blum and Kowalski describe and document Plan B. Also “To Director… From: SAC/NY,” NA, RG 65, FBI Name Files, Oct. 10, 1955.

36 According to documents in NA, RG 263, CIA Names Files, Malaxa was the founder of the Iron Guard in Argentina, which became a hotbed of Guardist activity. He went there to build an armament plant.

36 The CIA opposed permanent residency for Malaxa: “In spite of the fact that certain prominent individuals in the country are allegedly sponsoring Mr. Malaxa’s cause, the voluminous amount of derogatory information in the CIA files strongly supports the view that it would be undesirable for Mr. Malaxa to obtain permanent residence,” Memo: For Deputy Director (Plans), NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files, Feb. 9, 1952. Also “The Agency should take action to prevent naturalization,” Untitled Memo for Deputy Chief, SE, NA, CIA RG 263, Feb. 1952, author and specific date not given.

36 Powerful Republicans in Congress supported permanent residency, which raises the question: Were they bribed like Nixon and others? “Some of the GOP’s top people have tried to prevent the deportation on the grounds that this industrialist can make a contribution to our national defense…. A prominent Midwest Senator is blaming the Justice Department for recommending that he sponsor legislation granting permanent residence to a refugee who worked with the Iron Guard, then the Nazis, and finally made a deal with the communists. The senator’s friends say he’s too embarrassed to make an issue of it,” NA, RG 263, CIA Name Files, Untitled FBI report, Oct. 13, 1953.