Bohdan Koziy (23 February 1923 – 30 November 2003) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

suspected war criminal and allegedly a member of the ''

Ukrainische Hilfspolizei The ''Ukrainische Hilfspolizei'' or the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police ( ua, Українська допоміжна поліція, Ukrains'ka dopomizhna politsiia) was the official title of the local police formation (a type of hilfspolizei) set up ...

'' (Ukrainian Auxiliary Police), a Nazi German mobile police force that operated in the General Government on July 27, 1941. The name of the unit reflected its geographic jurisdiction.

Wartime activities

Koziy was born in the town of Pukasivtsi, then in eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). Between 1939 and 1944, Koziy was alleged to be a member of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police. He was allegedly involved in the displacing of Jews into ghettos. He allegedly shot Bernard Kandler, who had tried to escape from a truck that was taking him to a ghetto; Lusi Rosiner, a fourteen-year-old hiding in a barn, and the four-year-old Monica Singer. In 1944, fleeing the Soviet advance, Koziy and his family moved to

Heide Heide (; Holsatian: ''Heid'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) Dithmarschen. Population: 21,000. The German word ''Heide'' means "heath". In the 15th century four adjoining villages decided ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he worked as a

farm hand A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...

. After Nazi Germany's surrender in 1945, the Koziys lived in a variety of displaced persons camps.

In the United States

After the Displaced Persons Commission interviewed Koziy, he was granted permission to enter the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

on 17 December 1949, under the Displaced Persons Act of 1948. On 25 April 1955, Koziy filed his application to file a petition for naturalization. On 25 July 1955, he filed a petition for naturalization and on 9 February 1956, Bohdan Koziy became an American citizen. On 20 November 1979, the United States requested the cancellation of Koziy's certificate of naturalization on the grounds that Koziy had illegally procured his citizenship by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation by failing to disclose his involvement in the occupational police in Ukraine. Koziy denied involvement in the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police and contended his actions were insufficient to support revocation of his citizenship. However, his citizenship was revoked on the basis of testimonies of Polish witnesses in a court hearing on 29 March 1982.

Subsequent investigation

Koziy moved to Costa Rica in 1985. On 23 September 2002, the Branch Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Katowice initiated an investigation into the case of a Nazi crime committed in Łysiec in the

Stanisławów Voivodeship Stanisławów Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo stanisławowskie) was an administrative district of the interwar Poland (1920–1939). It was established in December 1920 with an administrative center in Stanisławów. The voivodeship had an area o ...

. Bohdan Koziy was accused of the murder of three Jews: Bernard Kandler, Lusi Rosiner and Monica Singer. On 21 November 2003, the Polish authorities turned to the government of Costa Rica demanding Koziy's arrest and

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

. The Costa Rican court granted the deportation order but Koziy died soon after on 30 November 2003, while in hospital in San José, from a stroke.

References

Sources

USA vs Bohdan Koziy

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100816042006/http://new-arch.rp.pl/artykul/463045_Krotko.html Koziy dies before trial (in Polish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Koziy, Bohdan 1923 births 2003 deaths Holocaust perpetrators in Ukraine People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Loss of United States citizenship and deportation by prior Nazi affiliation Ukrainian Auxiliary Police Soviet emigrants to the United States Ukrainian emigrants to the United States Ukrainian exiles Ukrainian war criminals Polish emigrants Immigrants to Costa Rica

Wartime activities

In the United States

Subsequent investigation

See also

References

Sources