The World - News from March 7, 1986

The World Jewish Congress accused Kurt Waldheim, already under fire for hiding his wartime activities, of blocking U.S. access to a vast storehouse of Nazi war criminal records when he was U.N. secretary general. Justice Department officials said they could not see records of the U.N. War Crimes Commission except in special cases but that they did not know if Waldheim was responsible. A U.N. spokesman told Reuters news agency that the commission’s records are not open to the public because they contain unsubstantiated allegations, but he insisted that they could be inspected at the request of any government. A member of the U.N.’s legal office said he is surprised at the charges because U.S. aides have requested and obtained information from the files several times.