Waldheim’s Aides Reject Evidence of Nazi Ties

VIENNA — Former U.N. Secretary General Kurt Waldheim’s staff said Friday that evidence used to link him to Nazi war crimes--and possibly deny him entry into the United States--is “completely unfounded.”

U.S. Justice Department officials recommended Thursday to Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III that Waldheim be barred from the United States because of alleged Nazi ties. The Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations called for Waldheim’s name to be placed on a “watch list” that could bar his entry into the United States.

Waldheim, the leading candidate in Austria’s May 4 presidential election, denies charges that he was involved in mass deportations of Jews from Salonika, Greece, as well as in the brutal actions against Yugoslav partisans while serving in the German army.

A statment issued in Vienna on behalf of Waldheim, who was campaigning in southern Austria, said the proposal was made “at a low bureaucratic level within the Justice Department and is not a final decision.”

“It will soon be proven that the allegation on which this proposal is based is completely unfounded,” the statement said.

Waldheim and the conservative People’s Party backing him for the presidency said the move showed the World Jewish Congress was breaking an agreement that Austria’s current president should judge the Nazi allegations.

“The (Justice Department) recommendation is based . . . on an application by the WJC, which thereby is continuing its campaign to damage Dr. Waldheim’s reputation in contravention of its agreements with the Austrian head of state,” Waldheim’s campaign office said.

The general secretary of the People’s Party, Michael Graff, described the congress’s accusations as “unserious, dishonorable and filled with hate.”

A spokesman said the recommendation was apparently based on documents provided by the Jewish group that indicate Waldheim’s name was on a list prepared by the since disbanded U.N. War Crimes Commission of top-priority, or “Category A,” war criminals after World War II.

But of 36,000 names on the list, 24,000 were listed as “Category A,” and Waldhim’s only accuser in the file was arrested for war crimes and has died. Waldheim’s name was dropped from later editions of the list, which was first published in 1948.

The Waldheim camp says it has statements from several witnesses disputing the accuser’s testimony, allegedly given in an attempt to save himself from prosecution.

There was no indication from the Justice Department of the basis for its recommendation.

In Washington, Waldheim’s son, Gerhard, joined in the defense of his father. The son, in a statement, noted that after reviewing the U.N. commission report, “the president of the Republic of Austria, a political opponent of my father, stated that in his opinion, there was no proof against Waldheim and he ‘would not dare to file an indictment in a regular court.”’

Austrian President Rudolf Kirchschlager did say, however, that the former U.N. secretary general must have been aware of wartime atrocities committed against Yugoslav partisans.

Foreign Minister Leopold Gratz said he has asked U.S. officials to explain what Waldheim’s status would be if he is placed on the “watch list.”

U.S. law provides that any alien associated with the Nazi government in Germany during World War II, or any government in any area occupied by or allied with the Nazis, can be restricted from entering the United States.

Justice Department sources said the recommendation would have to be reviewed by several officials before being presented to Meese.