Michael Seifert (16 March 1924 – 6 November 2010) was an SS guard in Italy during World War II. He was an ethnic German born in Landau (present-day Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine). Dubbed the "Beast of Bolzano", Seifert, who was living in Canada, was convicted '' in absentia'' in 2000 by a military tribunal in Verona, Italy, on nine counts of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, committed while he was an SS guard at the

Bolzano Transit Camp Bolzano was a transit camp operated by Nazi Germany in Bolzano from 1944 to 3 May 1945 during World War II. It was one of the largest Nazi ''Lager'' on Italian soil, along with those of Fossoli, Borgo San Dalmazzo and Trieste. History After ...

, northern Italy. He was sentenced to life in prison. Canada authorities initiated denaturalization proceedings against Seifert in 2001, and he was taken into custody in August 2002. Seifert remained in jail until November 2003, when he was released on bail. On 4 August 2007, he was ordered to be returned to jail while awaiting the outcome of his final appeals from the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

. The decision was upheld on appeal. After losing his final appeal, Seifert was extradited to Italy on 17 February 2008. His crimes involved actions taken in a prison camp in Bolzano from 1944 to 1945. At his trial, witnesses accused him of leaving a 15-year-old boy to starve to death, raping and killing a pregnant woman, and gouging an inmate's eyes out. Avi Benlolo, president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies in Canada, noted that Seifert's imprisonment "sets an example for other war criminals, not only Nazi war criminals, but war criminals related to

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

, or any other genocide, that there's no time limit to justice". After his extradition to Italy from Canada, Seifert was held in an Italian military prison in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Prosecutors from Italy and Germany intended to interview him regarding other war crimes that may have taken place at Bolzano. On 25 October 2010, Seifert was transferred to a hospital after he fell down in his cell, resulting in a broken femur. He died from these injuries, combined with gastric complications, nearly two weeks later. Seifert was buried in a cemetery near Caserta after his body went unclaimed by friends and relatives.

Bibliography

* Giorgio Mezzalira and Carlo Romeo (editors): ''"MISCHA" l'aguzzino del lager di Bolzano. Dalle carte al processo a Michael Seifert'', Bolzano, Circolo Culturale ANPI, 2002
Review

References

External links

Canada sends ex-SS guard to Italy
(BBC)

(canada.com) 1924 births 2010 deaths People from Mykolaiv Oblast Nazi concentration camp personnel Nazis convicted of war crimes Nazis who died in prison custody Holocaust perpetrators in Italy Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Italy Soviet people of German descent Ukrainian people of German descent Loss of Canadian citizenship by prior Nazi affiliation Prisoners and detainees of Canada People extradited from Canada People extradited to Italy Germans convicted of war crimes committed in Italy during World War II Prisoners who died in Italian detention {{Holocaust-stub