Boļeslavs Maikovskis (21 January 1904 – 19 April 1996) was a Latvian Nazi collaborator who served as chief of police for the second precinct of

Rēzekne Rēzekne (, ''Rēzne'' or ''Rēzekne'' , ) is a state city in the Rēzekne River valley in the Latgale region of eastern Latvia. It is called ''The Heart of Latgale'' (Latvian ''Latgales sirds'', Latgalian ''Latgolys sirds''). Built on seven ...

while the Germans occupied Latvia in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war Maikovskis went to Austria before reaching the United States in 1951 where he served on a subcommittee of the

Committee to Re-elect the President A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

during Richard M. Nixon's 1972 campaign. Maikovskis lied on his US visa application when asked whether he had "been complicit in the persecutions of others during World War II". That question was removed from the application the year after Maikovskis emigrated to the United States. Maikovskis lived in Mineola, New York, for 36 years, where he was active in Latvian organizations, and worked as a carpenter until his retirement. In 1965, Maikovskis was wanted for trial, and was tried and sentenced to death ''in absentia'', in his former Latvia (by the then Soviet Union). His crimes were detailed in a late 1970s ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'' Sunday show. Maikovskis was previously featured in the book ''Wanted: The Search for Nazis in America'', by Howard Blum (1977 & 1989). The original publisher, Fawcett, was a CBS News affiliate. The Soviet Union, which had no extradition treaty with the United States, demanded his extradition. The United States refused, but the Immigration and Naturalization Service started an investigation whose hearings, court actions and appeals lasted more than 20 years. During this time, Maikovskis became the target of anti-Nazi vigilantes. In August 1978, he was shot in the right knee at his home. In 1979, a man stabbed a person whom he mistook for Maikovskis. In September 1981, Maikovskis's home was bombed by the Jewish Defense League. Maikovskis fled from the U.S. in 1987, after his deportation to the Soviet Union became a certainty. He settled in

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

after secretly convincing a diplomatic official to grant him a visa. In October 1988, Maikovskis was arrested as a suspected war criminal. He was held in a prison hospital until the fall of 1992. Maikovskis was simultaneously prosecuted in the German judicial system, but the case was dropped on health grounds in 1994. He died in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

in 1996, aged 92, from a heart attack.Thomas, Robert McG
“Boleslavs Maikovskis, 92; Fled War-Crimes Investigation”.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 8 May 1996; retrieved 4 December 2009.

References

1904 births 1996 deaths People from Rezhitsky Uyezd Loss of United States citizenship and deportation by prior Nazi affiliation Latvian collaborators with Nazi Germany Latvian emigrants to the United States Latvian expatriates in Germany Latvian exiles Latvian prisoners and detainees Holocaust perpetrators in Latvia Jewish Defense League Nazis sentenced to death in absentia by the Soviet Union Foreign nationals imprisoned in Germany {{Latvia-bio-stub Shooting survivors Terrorist incidents attributed to Zionist militant groups

See also

References