page_title: Harry Männil
section_title: Accusations of war crimes
hierarchical_section_title: Harry Männil / Accusations of war crimes
caption_attribution_description: English: Efraim Zuroff in Helsinki in June 2012.
context_page_description: Harry Männil, also known as Harry Mannil Laul, was an Estonian businessman, art collector, and cultural benefactor in several countries.
  Männil was born in Tallinn, Estonia. As a result of World War II he moved to Venezuela in 1946, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was a successful businessman and part owner of ACO Group, a large Venezuelan conglomerate. He formed his own company Grupo Oriand in 1994. At the time of the restoration of Estonian independence, Männil got involved in Estonian matters, actively interacting with politicians Vaino Väljas and Edgar Savisaar, and acting as an advisor during latter's prime minister term.
  Harry Männil was an active art collector and philanthropist, especially noted for his collection of pre-Columbian art. His art related activities included serving as director of Caracas Athenaeum in Venezuela, and as advisor for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He also founded Eduard Wiiralt Gallery in Estonian National Library.
context_section_description: Männil was accused of committing war crimes against Jews during the Second World War while working for three months in the Nazi-organized Estonian political police in Tallinn in 1941. The Simon Wiesenthal Center claimed that he participated in the persecution and murder of civilians, allegedly murdering 100 Jews personally and rounding up thousands of others. Männil  appeared on the Wiesenthal Center's "Top 10 Most Wanted" list. Testimony of how Männil interrogated Jews and communists and allegedly handed victims over to the Nazis to be executed was heard by Sweden's Sandler Commission in the 1940s. He was expelled from Sweden and denied entry to Britain.
  In November 1989, the Simon Wiesenthal Center asked the Estonian SSR's public prosecutor's office for any information regarding Männil, who they suspected of being a Nazi war criminal. In April 1990, Rein Sillar, the chief of Estonian SSR's KGB, replied that there was no evidence about Männil, and all possibilities for obtaining such evidence had been exhausted. In December 1993, Efraim Zuroff, the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, mailed a letter of complaint to Lennart Meri, the President of Estonia. He asked for Harry Männil to be removed from his position on the council of Baltic Institute for Strategic and International Studies. In reaction, Henry Kissinger – not wanting to be on the same council with a suspected war criminal – left the council in January 1994. Following a hearing by the United States government in the same year, Männil's United States visa was revoked. In January 1994, Männil wrote to the council's executive director: "These accusations are completely groundless and untrue," he said. "I will turn to the judicial authorities of the Estonian Republic for an official investigation based on these accusations." In 1995, Estonian investigators combed their files for evidence implicating Männil, but found none. Jüri Pihl, the director general of Kaitsepolitsei (Estonian Security Police), commented on Männil's case: "Harry Männil has no connections to any war crimes committed in Estonia during the Second World War; there was nothing criminal in his actions."
  In 2001, the Estonian International Commission for Investigation of Crimes Against Humanity announced that they found no evidence which would indicate Männil had participated in war crimes. However, the investigators discovered that seven Jews Männil interrogated were later executed. In March 2001, Kaitsepolitsei started investigating Männil's wartime activities at Efraim Zuroff's request. After a nearly five-year-long investigation, they concluded that there was no evidence that Männil had participated in war crimes. The state prosecutor, Margus Kurm, said that there are no documents or witnesses to prove Männil had participated in executions, arrests, or repressions. Regarding those individuals whom Männil had interrogated, Kurm said that there is no evidence that Männil was aware of the detainees being destined for repression or execution. Several aspects support the view that Männil was unaware of such possibilities: The interrogations in question took place on September 4 and 5, at which time the Wehrmacht had been in Tallinn for only six days.
  Zuroff criticized the investigations as "a pathetic whitewash for political reasons of an active Nazi collaborator" and cited the prosecutor's contention that Männil was purposely targeted by the Wiesenthal Center as the best proof that Estonia lacks the political will to prosecute a prominent Estonian. Martin Arpo, superintendent of Security Police Board disagrees with this view: "But the local KGB couldn't find any more evidence against the Nazi collaborators. We haven't found it either. And the KGB was a much larger organization than we are and had powers and methods, shall we say, that are not available to a Western democratic country." The Russian Prosecution's Office and FSB have indicated they have no evidence regarding Männil. After Männil's death, Efraim Zuroff, while not withdrawing the accusations, admitted that they were "never able to p
caption: Efraim Zuroff, the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has been the most vocal accuser of Harry Männil. However he admitted after Männil's death that he was unable to prove or corroborate any allegations against Männil.
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