SMH: The 95-year-old man in the red brick house at 33-18 89th Street in Jackson Heights, Queens, was known for keeping his yard spic-and-span, even tidying up rubbish on his neighbours’ stoops. Most days, he was quick with a smile and a “good morning,” in his thick Polish accent. He would sit on the steps behind his home during block parties, watching and beaming at the festivities from his perch. Neighbours at first had little inkling that Jakiw Palij was anything other than another immigrant living out his life in one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in the world. Except, every so often, someone would lob a brick through his window. On Monday night, he was deported to Germany, the coda to a 14-year fight to remove Palij, a former volunteer Nazi guard who is believed to have presided over the Nazi death camp Trawniki. Over the years, Palij’s hidden past became an open secret in Jackson Heights. Residents had grown accustomed to regular protests by Jewish and other groups outside the two-storey house, ever since investigators combing through Nazi records identified him in 1993.
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