The World - News from April 23, 1987

Israeli Judge Dov Levine, overruling objections by defense attorneys in the war crimes trial of John Demjanjuk, admitted as evidence a Soviet-supplied identity card that allegedly proves the retired U.S. auto worker had trained to be a Nazi death camp guard. Levine said, “The prosecution has succeeded in presenting a firm basis for presenting this document as evidence.” Demjanjuk’s attorneys contend that the Trawniki card, named for the Nazi training camp, is a forgery. Israel obtained the disputed document last year from U.S. industrialist Armand Hammer, chairman of Los Angeles based-Occidental Petroleum, who has close ties with the Kremlin.