Expert Witness: The Historian and the Evidence in U.S. Government Proceedings against Nazi Offenders, 1977–2010

This paper will examine the role of the historian as expert witness in proceedings conducted between 1977 and 2010 by U.S. authorities against persons in the United States accused of participating in Nazi-sponsored persecution of individuals based on race, religion, national origin and/or political opinion.  I will first review the typical charges filed against a defendant in these civil proceedings aimed at sanction through denaturalization and deportation.  After explaining the concept of persecution within the framework of these trials, I will review the types of documentation needed to sustain the allegations in the complaint.   The paper will reveal the challenges facing prosecutors in selecting, preparing, and qualifying expert historians.  It will explain how prosecutors entered the vital documents into evidence at trial through the vehicle of the expert historian, and follow the complex process of eliciting truthful and relevant testimony to reflect the narrative revealed in the documents to support  the allegations in the complaint, clearly and convincingly.   In conclusion, I will reflect upon the vital importance of the expert witness testimony in the success of the U.S. proceedings against Nazi offenders, drawing upon some of my own experiences both as a staff historian for the government and later as an expert witness in proceedings during the last decade.