United States v. Hansl

John Hansl (defendant) was born in Yugoslavia to an ethnic German family. After Germany invaded Yugoslavia, one male from each ethnic German family was ordered to serve the Nazi cause. Hansl was conscripted and assigned to the SS Death’s Head Guard Battalion at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Hansl guarded prisoners from watch towers, marched prisoners at gunpoint to and from forced-labor sites, gave orders to prisoners, was armed, and had orders to shoot anyone who tried to escape. Hansl was transferred to a supply depot, was a guard in another concentration camp and on a train transport, and served in a combat unit. Hansl was wounded, hospitalized in German hospitals, and captured. After being investigated for possible war crimes, Hansl was transferred to a prisoner-of-war facility and went to an Austrian refugee camp upon release. Hansl applied for and was granted a United States visa and was naturalized in 1961. Section 14(a) of the Refugee Relief Act of 1953 (RRA) provided that a visa was not to be issued under the act to anyone who personally advocated or assisted in the persecution of any person or group because of race, religion, or national origin. The United States charged Hansl with illegal procurement of naturalization. The district court found that Hansl’s conduct during the war constituted personal assistance in persecution, making him ineligible for a visa under the RRA; granted the United States summary judgment; and revoked Hansl’s citizenship. On appeal, Hansl argued that the district court erred in failing to consider (1) immigration officials’ testimony as to what constituted “personal assistance” and State Department policies that made Hansl admissible under the RRA, (2) legislative history regarding the meaning of “personally assisted,” and (3) the involuntariness of Hansl’s service.