Anthony Sawoniuk
Encyclopedia
Anthony Sawoniuk, formerly Andrei Andreeovich Sawoniuk (Андрэй Саванюк) (7 March 1921 – 6 November 2005) was a Belorussian Nazi
collaborator from the town of Domaczewo in pre-war Poland
(now Damachava
, Belarus
). After taking part in the murder of Jews in his home town, he served in the SS and later with the Polish II Corps
. After the war he settled in Britain, became a British citizen and subsequently became the first person to be convicted under the UK's War Crimes Act 1991
. He died in prison in Norwich
, England.
(now Damachava
, Belarus
), a spa town on the Bug River
. At that time 90% of the town's population was Jewish, with the remainder being Poles
, Ukrainians
, Belorussians and German Volksdeutsche
. Sawoniuk, nicknamed "Andrusha" (a Russian
and Belarusian
form of Tony), has been described as Belorussian, some newspaper reports say that his mother was Polish, Sawoniuk never knew the identity of his father, although townspeople believed him to be Josef Jakubiak, the town's Jewish schoolmaster, because his mother Pelagia had been working as a cleaner at Jakubiak's school and home during the months when Sawoniuk was conceived. Sawoniuk's half-brother Nikolai said to the Daily Mail
, a British newspaper: "People in the village said that my brother was the son of the schoolmaster. I think the same." Andrei used the patronymic
"Andreeovich", which does not appear in the Polish language
. His mother's former husband had also had the name Andrei.
The family were poor: his mother worked washing clothes while Sawoniuk and his half-brother collected firewood to sell. Sawonuik also worked as a sabbath goy: a gentile employed by Orthodox Jews to carry out Sabbath tasks that were forbidden to them, such as lighting fires or chopping wood. He learnt basic Yiddish from his employers.
Sawonuik was a member of the local Nazi-supported Belorussian Auxiliary Police and rose to the rank of Commandant. While serving in the police he participated in the murdering of Jews.
In 1944 Sawoniuk fled westwards when the Red Army
advanced towards Domaczewo and in July 1944 joined the German armed forces, serving in the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian)
. He deserted from the SS in November 1944 and changed sides, using his Polish birth certificate to join the 10th Hussar Regiment of the Polish II Corps
.
After the war Sawoniuk settled in England in 1946, "posing as a Polish patriot". In 1951 he wrote a letter to his half-brother, Nikolai. The KGB
, who already suspected him of being a war criminal, intercepted the letter and noted that he was now living in the UK. It was not until the 1980s that the KGB started sharing such information with the UK. However, even then, due to a misspelling of his name, it took until 1993 for authorities to realise that Sawoniuk, then working for British Rail
, was one of the people on the KGB list and was duly arrested.
in London in 1999 on two specimen charges of murder with regard to the murder of Jews in his German-occupied hometown during World War II
. The jury found him guilty of one charge by unanimous decision and of the other by a ten to one majority. A further two charges of murder were withdrawn by the prosecution due to procedural errors with evidence. However, both of the murders of which Sawoniuk was convicted were individual elements of two group murders: in the first Sawoniuk, according to eyewitnesses, shot 15 Jews; in the second he shot three Jews.
At his trial Sawoniuk said of his accusers "They are professional liars. They have criminal records. Some of the witnesses at the magistrates court have done 25 years, alcoholics. I was the best friend of the Jews." He also stated that "Everyone is telling lies. They have been told by the Russian KGB to say there was a ghetto. These devils came here with their lies against me." and "I have done no crime whatsoever. My conscience is clear. I killed no one. I would not dream of doing it. I am not a monster I am an ordinary working-class poor man." He also denied having been a member of the German armed forces, stating "I have never been in the German army. I have been accused of being in the SS by Scotland Yard, headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police
. But it is not true." He was given two life sentences and trial judge Mr Justice Potts recommended that Sawoniuk should spend the rest of his life in jail.
He was the first and the only person in United Kingdom
to be convicted under the War Crimes Act 1991
.
From a legal perspective this case is interesting as he was prosecuted on the basis of universal jurisdiction
- still a controversial matter in international law. It was also the first time that a British jury had travelled overseas to view the scene of a crime.
In 2000 the House of Lords refused him permission to appeal.
Sawoniuk died in Norwich Prison of natural causes aged 84. Former war crimes investigator Lord Greville Janner said "Sawoniuk was a vile, Nazi murderer who will not be missed."
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
collaborator from the town of Domaczewo in pre-war Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
(now Damachava
Damachava
Damachava is an Urban-type settlement in Belarus, Brest Raion, Brest Voblast....
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
). After taking part in the murder of Jews in his home town, he served in the SS and later with the Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps , 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and by the end of 1945 it had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers....
. After the war he settled in Britain, became a British citizen and subsequently became the first person to be convicted under the UK's War Crimes Act 1991
War Crimes Act 1991
The War Crimes Act 1991 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It confers jurisdiction on courts in the United Kingdom to try people for war crimes committed in Nazi Germany or German-occupied territory during the Second World War by people who were not British citizens at the time, but...
. He died in prison in Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, England.
Early life
Andrei Sawoniuk was born in Domaczewo, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(now Damachava
Damachava
Damachava is an Urban-type settlement in Belarus, Brest Raion, Brest Voblast....
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
), a spa town on the Bug River
Bug River
The Bug River is a left tributary of the Narew river flows from central Ukraine to the west, passing along the Ukraine-Polish and Polish-Belarusian border and into Poland, where it empties into the Narew river near Serock. The part between the lake and the Vistula River is sometimes referred to as...
. At that time 90% of the town's population was Jewish, with the remainder being Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Belorussians and German Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
. Sawoniuk, nicknamed "Andrusha" (a Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
form of Tony), has been described as Belorussian, some newspaper reports say that his mother was Polish, Sawoniuk never knew the identity of his father, although townspeople believed him to be Josef Jakubiak, the town's Jewish schoolmaster, because his mother Pelagia had been working as a cleaner at Jakubiak's school and home during the months when Sawoniuk was conceived. Sawoniuk's half-brother Nikolai said to the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, a British newspaper: "People in the village said that my brother was the son of the schoolmaster. I think the same." Andrei used the patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
"Andreeovich", which does not appear in the Polish language
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. His mother's former husband had also had the name Andrei.
The family were poor: his mother worked washing clothes while Sawoniuk and his half-brother collected firewood to sell. Sawonuik also worked as a sabbath goy: a gentile employed by Orthodox Jews to carry out Sabbath tasks that were forbidden to them, such as lighting fires or chopping wood. He learnt basic Yiddish from his employers.
Actions during and after WWII
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Sawonuik was a member of the local Nazi-supported Belorussian Auxiliary Police and rose to the rank of Commandant. While serving in the police he participated in the murdering of Jews.
In 1944 Sawoniuk fled westwards when the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
advanced towards Domaczewo and in July 1944 joined the German armed forces, serving in the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian)
30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (2nd Russian)
The 30th SS Grenadier Division was a German Waffen SS infantry division formed largely from Belarussian, Russian and Ukrainian personnel of the Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling in August 1944 at Warsaw, Poland. The division was moved by rail to southeastern France by mid-August 1944 to combat the...
. He deserted from the SS in November 1944 and changed sides, using his Polish birth certificate to join the 10th Hussar Regiment of the Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps
Polish II Corps , 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and by the end of 1945 it had grown to well over 100,000 soldiers....
.
After the war Sawoniuk settled in England in 1946, "posing as a Polish patriot". In 1951 he wrote a letter to his half-brother, Nikolai. The KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, who already suspected him of being a war criminal, intercepted the letter and noted that he was now living in the UK. It was not until the 1980s that the KGB started sharing such information with the UK. However, even then, due to a misspelling of his name, it took until 1993 for authorities to realise that Sawoniuk, then working for British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, was one of the people on the KGB list and was duly arrested.
Trial
Sawoniuk had by that time become a British citizen. He was tried at the Old BaileyOld Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
in London in 1999 on two specimen charges of murder with regard to the murder of Jews in his German-occupied hometown during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The jury found him guilty of one charge by unanimous decision and of the other by a ten to one majority. A further two charges of murder were withdrawn by the prosecution due to procedural errors with evidence. However, both of the murders of which Sawoniuk was convicted were individual elements of two group murders: in the first Sawoniuk, according to eyewitnesses, shot 15 Jews; in the second he shot three Jews.
At his trial Sawoniuk said of his accusers "They are professional liars. They have criminal records. Some of the witnesses at the magistrates court have done 25 years, alcoholics. I was the best friend of the Jews." He also stated that "Everyone is telling lies. They have been told by the Russian KGB to say there was a ghetto. These devils came here with their lies against me." and "I have done no crime whatsoever. My conscience is clear. I killed no one. I would not dream of doing it. I am not a monster I am an ordinary working-class poor man." He also denied having been a member of the German armed forces, stating "I have never been in the German army. I have been accused of being in the SS by Scotland Yard, headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
. But it is not true." He was given two life sentences and trial judge Mr Justice Potts recommended that Sawoniuk should spend the rest of his life in jail.
He was the first and the only person in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to be convicted under the War Crimes Act 1991
War Crimes Act 1991
The War Crimes Act 1991 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It confers jurisdiction on courts in the United Kingdom to try people for war crimes committed in Nazi Germany or German-occupied territory during the Second World War by people who were not British citizens at the time, but...
.
From a legal perspective this case is interesting as he was prosecuted on the basis of universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction
Universal jurisdiction or universality principle is a principle in public international law whereby states claim criminal jurisdiction over persons whose alleged crimes were committed outside the boundaries of the prosecuting state, regardless of nationality, country of residence, or any other...
- still a controversial matter in international law. It was also the first time that a British jury had travelled overseas to view the scene of a crime.
In 2000 the House of Lords refused him permission to appeal.
Sawoniuk died in Norwich Prison of natural causes aged 84. Former war crimes investigator Lord Greville Janner said "Sawoniuk was a vile, Nazi murderer who will not be missed."
External links
- Sawoniuk - a hidden life exposed (BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
)