Press Releases

Rep. Loudermilk (R-GA) issued the following statement after President Trump ordered ICE to deport a Nazi labor camp guard to Germany. Announcement of the deportation happened to coincide with the congressman’s visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp. Rep. Loudermilk visited the site with Holocaust survivor, Edward Mosberg, who now resides in New Jersey.

“This week I had the opportunity to see the horrors of the German Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau through the eyes of Mr. Mosberg, a Polish born United States citizen and Holocaust survivor. Being here and seeing evidence of this evil makes me more grateful to the president and ICE for finally carrying out the decision to deport this war criminal and move forward in the process of justice.”

The decision by the Trump administration to deport the last known Nazi living in the U.S. comes after decades of unsuccessful legal fights. Previous administrations tried, but failed to deport Jakiw Palij, who has been living in the U.S. since 1949. He claimed he worked on a farm and in a factory during World War II. And even though Palij is 95-years-old now, those Holocaust survivors still alive today, like Edward Mosberg, find solace in the fact justice is being served.

"This is a good thing that this man was brought to justice," said Edward Mosberg. "As a Holocaust survivor who lost almost my entire family in the Holocaust, we can never forgive the German Nazis and those who collaborated with them, for only the dead can forgive them."

Edward Mosberg was just a boy when he was sent to the Krakow ghetto, and during the war, he was sent to several concentration camps in Poland and Germany. He came from a family of 16; all of whom were murdered by the Nazis.

Miraculously, Mosberg survived the war after his Nazi captors – realizing the war was coming to an end – ordered he and his fellow captors into caves where they soon escaped.

“We were brought to tears as we listened to Mr. Mosberg tell of the murder of his mother at Birkenau,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “We were standing in the main guard tower looking down on the platform where hundreds of thousands were unloaded from cattle cars, marched into gas chambers and executed, just for being Jews. A moment I will never forget is when - in a broken voice and with tear-filled eyes - Mr. Mosberg told us ‘When I walk through Auschwitz-Birkenau, I still hear the cries of my family and the others that were murdered here.’ "

“This place is evidence of how hatred and prejudice evolved into acts of indescribable evil. As Americans, we must rededicate ourselves to the fact that ‘all men are created equal,’ and while we can disagree, we should do so with respect and civility,” added Rep. Loudermilk.

Also visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau was the founder of From the Depths foundation, Jonny Daniels. From The Depths focuses on preserving the memories of those who were brutally murdered during the dark days of the Holocaust, so their messages and stories are not forgotten.

Rep. Loudermilk was part of a congressional delegation visiting Poland to gain a greater understanding of the importance of Holocaust education, memory and memorial, as well as, strengthen U.S. and Polish relations.