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NEWLY RELEASED GOVERNMENT documents have unveiled concerns about whether Ireland could ban a notorious Nazi war criminal from re-entering the country.
Born in 1899, Pieter Menten was a wealthy Dutch businessman and prominent art collector who bought the secluded Comeragh House in Waterford in 1964.
He was well known among the local community, but he held a secret.
Menten built up much of his business empire trading between his native Netherlands and Poland, he was a significant importer of lumber for example. He lived in Eastern Poland from 1923 until 1939 when the Soviet Union invaded.
Two years later, he returned to Poland after the Nazi counter-occupation.
According to his subsequent conviction, it is during this period that he was involved in the killing of dozens of Jews in the Polish village of Podhoroce while he was a translator with an SS unit of the German Army in 1941.
This background was kept hidden and he lived much of his time in Ireland, but it all became public in the 1976 when he was arrested for his crimes in Holland. He claimed a case of mistaken identity, but was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail.
A 2011 article about the Comeragh House property in the Irish Timesclaims says that the estate was damaged by arson attacks during his imprisonment, which some believe were orchestrated by Mossad, the Israeli security service. It was also raided by hopeful art thieves who gambled on the truth to the rumours that part of his collection was hidden in the house.
Release
Menten was due for release from his Dutch prison in March 1985 and Irish government officials were worried that he’d try to return to his Waterford hideaway.
According to confidential documents released under the 30-year rule, Padraic MacKernan, then assistant secretary in the Department of the Taoiseach, wrote about the quandary the government faced:
We are aware from the Department of Justice, and the Attorney-General’s Office, that the legal grounds for excluding Menten do not appear to be strong. At the same time, a decision to admit Menten may provoke a certain amount of international controversy.
The entire affair was complicated by a number of factors. There was a belief that Poland or the Soviet Union may attempt to extradite Merten after his release, something that would be a major inconvenience for Ireland were he here.
Given that 1985 was the 40th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, it was also believed his release would have greater publicity than usual.
Furthermore, Merten’s art collection was an issue for the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in its correspondence with the Irish Ambassador to Washington. This is mentioned by MacKiernan in his memo:
That message also referred to unconfirmed reports that Menten’s Waterford estate was filled with art treasures looted from the Jews in Holland.
MacKernan’s memo ends with a recommendation that he should be barred from entering Ireland, while noting that such a block would be vulnerable to a court challenge by Menten.
In the end, the decision was taken by Justice Minister Michael Noonan to ban the war criminal from re-entering Ireland.
After leaving prison, Menten died two years later in a Dutch nursing home at the age of 88.
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If a company like Pfizer can vaccinate their entire workforce and now starting to vaccinate their families as well, shouldn’t questions be asked why they can’t provide the same service to the Irish taxpayer considering they are looked after handsomely with our low corporate tax rate
@Murph11: Provide the vaccines free ? Favour us over other countries ? Worth remembering as well, those low corporate tax rates provide thousands of workers with well paid jobs, from which the exchequer is looked after handsomely by way of income tax receipts.
@Tommy Roche: I fully understand Tommy. I’m a frontline worker and was classed as such prior to the pandemic. I still have to go out and deal with what I always dealt with and haven’t even been prioritised yet. Just annoys me
@Murph11: honest to god. You might as well ask if Dublin GAA can outfit their whole squads and coaches with gear, why can’t they do it for every Dub?
@Murph11: they have been working extremely hard the last 14 months. A lot of places give their staff perks. This must be one of the best. We’ll done all in Pfizer and thanks. Thanks for the other special pill also !
I do not trust the vaccination go to the fda and its not approved their head has said they will not be approved until fully agreed its safe for everyone, why are our elderly parents in homes who have had their 2 doses of the vaccination not been given their freedom too see and hug their loved ones, why are people who are fully vacanated told to act if they are not we can’t were a mask forever, 99.9 percent of our population have survived we want our life back, to hug to see smiles and breath fresh air love to all
@John Leonard: because people who are vaccinated can still pass the virus on to people who aren’t vaccinated so until enough people are vaccinated things can’t go back to how they were.
Provides less than 5% of irelands vaccines so far. So these people will be waiting
@john s: got my Moderna on Sunday. Haven’t met to many people who have had it. Just a sore arm so far, no mad zombies symptoms as of yet.
@Ann Mc Shane: my sister in the US got it, second dose last week caused some discomfort, shakes, nausea, headache.
Recommendations over there are to take in plenty of water in the two days prior to the second dose.
@Ann Mc Shane: My neighbour in her late 60s got the Moderna. She’s the only one I know who did, but she said she had no side effects at all.
@Derdaly: yeah just a sore arm but to be expected. Supposedly one of the best ones to take
If it was good enough for Dolly Parton, it would be good enough for me.
Not great but better than nothing.
I got it
That’s good re Moderna. Where are the rest of them in this? 1.3 billion people in India and they’re making most vax.
have your say