Reinhold Kulle: The Nazi Who Hid Among Suburban Neighbours In America
Reinhold Kulle and his family embarked on a journey from Cuxhaven, Germany, aboard the MS Italia on October 26, 1957, seeking a fresh start in America. However, Kulle harboured a chilling secret from his past, reveals Michael Soffer's book Our Nazi: An American Suburb's Encounter with Evil .
During World War II, Reinhold Kulle was not just a member of the Nazi regime; he served in the Waffen-SS and worked at the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, where approximately 40,000 Jews were killed. Born in 1921, Kulle was recruited into the Hitler Youth and later volunteered for the combat wing of the Waffen-SS in 1940. While many boys feared the atrocities associated with the SS, Kulle remained undeterred.
After being injured on the Eastern Front, he was reassigned to Gross-Rosen, which was initially intended as a labour camp. According to the book, a grim compromise within Nazi leadership led to the systematic murder of the weak and elderly, and overcrowding resulted in dire conditions. By 1944, the camp housed over 40,000 prisoners, overwhelming its facilities and sanitation systems.
As the war ended, the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 opened doors for former Nazis like Kulle to immigrate to the US. With a newly acquired visa, Reinhold Kulle arrived in New York and eventually settled in Oak Park, near Chicago. He found work as a custodian at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Reinhold Kulle's life appeared unremarkable – he was a dependable worker and family man, mixing effortlessly into suburban life. However, he was not alone. Others in the community, like Albert Deutscher, shared similar dark pasts. Deutscher, who had committed atrocities during the war, faced allegations from the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) and died by suicide as the pressure mounted.
In the summer of 1981, Reinhold Kulle became a target of OSI investigations into suspected Nazis. When Kulle received a letter from the OSI in 1982, it marked the beginning of the end for his decades of silence. The authorities had gathered incriminating evidence, including his SS file and photographs in uniform. Despite claiming he had only escorted prisoners, Reinhold Kulle's falsehoods on his visa application provided grounds for deportation.
In December 1982, the Chicago Sun-Times broke the story, revealing Kulle's past. While many demanded his deportation, a surprising number defended him.
After a prolonged legal battle, Kulle was ordered deported in November 1984. On October 26, 1987, he boarded a plane back to Germany, leaving behind a life built on a foundation of secrets. Though he lost touch with friends and community members, he continued to receive a pension until his death in 2006, living out his days as a free man.
