EDMONTON, Alberta, March 19 (UPI) -- An 83-year-old Edmonton man facing deportation denies the Canadian government's allegation he was a guard at a World War II concentration camp.
Josef Furman, 83, was shocked by a federal court ruling upholding the federal government's plans to revoke his Canadian citizenship.
The government says Furman came to Canada in 1949 under false pretenses, and that his real name is Josef Furmanchuk. The claim states that he was trained as a volunteer Nazi guard and took part in the clearing of Jewish ghettos during World War II.
The government says it notified Furman of its intent to take away the citizenship he got in 1957 in November 2003. Because he decided to fight it, it went to federal court.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., quoted Furman as saying he was actually in the Russian army, was taken prisoner in Germany, and placed on a work crew that was moved around.
Furman has 30 days to respond to the government's statement of claim.
