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Will Zuzak; DEMANUK.002 = Trawniki ID card is fake; 1993-09-23
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Dear Subscribers:
	I have had an inquiry about the validity of the Trawniki ID card (
tav 149 of the Jerusalem Trial Transcripts) which purportedly indicates 
that Mr. Demjanjuk was trained as a guard at Trawniki.

(1)	The Soviet KGB originally released photographs of the card with the 
Russian handwriting whited-out. (Presumably, first to Communist-sympathizer 
Michael Hanusiak, then to the INS and Jewish organizations, then to the 
September 1977 issue of News from Ukraine). The OSI obtained a certified 
copy of the photograph in Jan. - Feb., 1980. The original card was 
presumably sent to and kept at the Soviet Embassy in Washington in Dec. 
1980 or early 1981.
	The original card was delivered by an embassy official to Judge 
Battisti at the February - March, 1981 Denaturalization trial in Cleveland 
for one morning session and was removed at noon. The defense complained 
that they only had a half hour to examine it. Mr. Gideon Epstein of the INS 
testified for the prosecution that he had examined the card and found it 
authentic.

(2)	Dr. F. Winterberg, Professor of Physics at the University of Nevada 
in an article dated May 8, 1985 stated: "Mr. Ryan [Director of the OSI] 
claims that Epstein did an analysis regarding the authenticity of the ID 
card inside the compunds of the Soviet Embassy in Washington D.C., using 
the latest technology. We consider this statement incredible, because the 
application of the latest technology implies the use of a large laboratory.
"
	Dr. Winterberg examined photostatic copies of the card and listed 6 
points indicating that the card was a fake. He specifically concentrated on 
improper grammatical usage of the German language.

(3)	In 1986, Israel obtained the ID card from the Soviet Union via the 
efforts of Armand Hammer and asked German forensic experts to examine it. 
However, when their preliminary report indicated that the card was an 
obvious fake, the Israelis lost interest and transferred the card to Israel.

(4)	During the Jerusalem 1987-88 Trial, Dr. Julius Grant, deemed to be 
the "father of forensic" science, testified for the defense  that the card 
was a forgery. Although he could not disprove the authenticity of the 
signatures of Teufel and Streibel, he categorically stated that the 
Demjanjuk signature had been forged. There was a great deal of controversy 
between him and the prosecution about the significance of rust stains from 
a paper clip and the existence of two staple holes which penetrated the 
photograph but not the paper of the card. In doing forensic testing (under 
constant Israeli supervision) he wanted to remove the photograph to check 
the glue to see if it had been previously attached to a different surface 
but was forbidden from doing so. Dr. Grant had done some tests, which he 
claimed were crucial, but was not allowed to testify on the results, 
because these had been performed after a time deadline imposed by the 
judges.
	The merciless attacks on Mr. Grant's credibility by the prosecution
, as recorded on pages T09449 - T09823 of the English-version Transcripts, 
attest to the extreme importance that the Israelis attached to his 
testimony. Yet, in the Verdict written by judges Levine, Dorner and Tal his 
testimony is either ignored, or twisted and discarded.

(5)	In order to confirm that the Trawniki card was not "one of a kind", 
the Soviet KGB sent three extra cards to Israel. However, the judges 
allowed only photostatic copies and would not allow forensic testing and 
testimony at the trial.
	Independent experts have had a field day pointing out the 
inconsistancies in dates, ranks, reversed negatives, etc.

(6)	The SEMITIMES from Germany devoted a whole issue to proving the 
card is a fake.

(7)	During the summer of 1993, the German magazine Der Spiegel stated 
flatly that the card is a fake.

(8)	I have photostatic copies of both sides of these cards and have 
personally verified over 20 of these "irregularities".
	As one German-speaking individual commented: "It may be good 
Yiddish, but it's terrible German. Anyone carrying such a card would have 
been shot."

	In conclusion, I would suggest that there is overwhelming concensus 
that the Trawniki ID card is a fake. Only the OSI and the Israeli courts 
still maintain that the card is valid.
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Will Zuzak; DEMANUK.002 = Trawniki ID card is fake; 1993-09-15
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