Israeli officials have asked Germany to take legal action against a Dutch man convicted of murdering Jews during World War II. The man escaped from prison in the Netherlands in the 1950s and has lived as a free man in Germany ever since.

Israel has called on Berlin to reopen an investigation into a Dutchman convicted in his home country for Nazi crimes who escaped prison in the Netherlands in the 1950s and has been living as a free man in Germany ever since. Klaas F. even worked for German car-maker Audi in Ingolstadt until his retirement.

Earlier this week, Israeli Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman sent a letter to his German counterpart, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, asking her to take up the case. The move followed a petition signed by 150 Israeli attorneys to the Israeli government, calling on it to urge Germany to take legal action against 88-year-old Klaas F., who lives in Nuremberg today.

During World War II, Klaas F. was part of the SS's "Silbertanne" special commando unit, and he is on the Simon Wiesenthaler Center's list of most-wanted Nazi war criminals.

Convicted in 1948

Dutch authorities convicted F. in 1948 for murdering 20 Jews and becoming a voluntary member of the SS. He was initially condemned to death, but his sentence was subsequently changed to life in prison. But he escaped from jail in 1952 and fled to Germany. Since then, he has lived in Nuremberg in Bavaria. Under a decree issued by Hitler in 1943, anyone who joined the SS automatically became a German citizen, and authorities in the country have rejected repeated extradition requests for Klaas F.

In 1957, a German court refused to extradite Klaas F., citing a lack of evidence, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported. And a second case brought to a court in 2004, in which Dutch authorities requested that Faber's sentence be carried out in Germany, was also thrown out.

The current government, however, appears to be more willing to take action. In August, Justice Minister Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger asked authorities in Bavaria to research "the legal possibilities" for Faber, including the question of whether the Dutch conviction from 40 years ago could still be observed in Germany today.

spiegel.de