Austria Won’t Expel Ex-Nazi Guard to U.S.

VIENNA —  Austria has dropped plans to expel a former Nazi death camp guard to the United States because of a 1954 agreement with Washington, Foreign Minister Alois Mock said today.

Austria was blocked Thursday from returning Martin Bartesch to the United States when several airlines refused to let him board flights, saying Washington had informed them he would not be readmitted.

Mock told a news conference today that under the accord, Austria is obliged to take back any refugee who entered the United States under false pretenses.

Ambassador Supplied Evidence

He said U.S. Ambassador Ronald Lauder supplied him with evidence that Bartesch gave false information when he applied to emigrate to the United States from Austria in the 1950s.

Bartesch, who admits that he served as a guard at Mauthausen concentration camp, arrived last week after being stripped of his U.S. citizenship. He is accused of committing murder at the camp.

The case has added tension to relations between Vienna and Washington, already strained by a U.S. decision to bar President Kurt Waldheim from entering the country because of allegations about his service with the German army in World War II.

“I told Ambassador Lauder that we were extremely disappointed about the U.S. handling of the affair and that it was a further burden to the relations between our two countries,” Mock said.