Glen Allan Smith

Divisions Served: “F,” “O”

Medals and Honours: 20 Year Long Service Medal, 25 Year Long Service Medal with Bronze Clasp, 30 Year Long Service Medal with Silver Clasp, 35 Year Long Service Medal with Gold Clasp

Pillar Location: Coming Soon

Story: 

I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, as a twin on July 1st 1936. I joined the RCMP in Niagara Falls and was sworn in on June 23rd 1958. I trained at Depot Div. at a time when we still took equitation. After training I was posted to “F” Div. General Detachment Duties. Prince Albert (1960), Melfort (1960), Gull Lake (1961), Assiniboia (1963), Weyburn (1965), Regina Sub/Div (1966) temp transfer to Crime Lab. Thence to Carrot River i/c Cpl. (1969) Lloydminster (1975) 2nd i/c Lumsden i/c Sgt. (1976) While in Regina, I upgraded my education and became Certified Diver. While in “F” Division, I did numerous dives for drownings and other investigations.

Thence to “O” Div. Toronto Joint Forces Operation (RCMP, Metro Toronto and OPP) Targeting Organized Crime In Toronto Area. (1977) Toronto General Investigation Unit i/c S/Sgt. (1978) While in GIS, I assisted in the most involved and memorable investigation of my career. We were requested to locate a War Criminal Helmut Rauca. He had been charged by German Officials with aiding and abetting in the murder of over 10,500 Jewish people in 1941 in Kaunas, Lithuania, and they were seeking his extradition. Rauca was posted in Kaunas, Lithuania in charge of Jewish affairs with the rank of Master Sgt. in the S.S. Members located him and took photographs for identification. I assigned members to locate and interview four witnesses, however, none of them agreed to be interviewed. I met with Ben Kayfiz, head of the Jewish Congress in Toronto and requested his assistance. He agreed and ask that I do the interviews. Four witnesses were interviewed and statements taken. I learned of a man that was not on the list but was in Kaunas in 1941. I set up an appointment to meet him. I met him at his home and followed him to a dining room. As I walked down the hallway, his siblings were standing in the doorways, with tears in their eyes, stating “we never knew.” Evidently, he had set them down and told what had happened to him, the night before my interview. His wife was sitting at a table and we sat down. They both cried stating that they had both lost their mothers, father, sisters, brothers aunts and uncles.

This is his story. When the Germans had invaded Kaunas, all of the Jewish people were moved in the poorest area they called the ghetto. In October 1941, the population of the ghetto were ordered to a large square outside the ghetto. It was surrounded by squads of SS Gestapo agents armed with machine guns. Rauca arrived and setup on a high mound. The people were ordered to walk past him and he motioned to go left to live or right to die. In all 26,000 people past him. A total of 9,200 people were declared redundant. This witness and his sister were among them. They were kept in a fenced area off the ghetto. In the morning they were divided into groups and marched off. This witness was in the second group and left an hour later. They marched for six miles to Fort IX and upon arriving, they saw the previous group being murdered. He grabbed his sister and and ran to a large sewer pipe. On the way, he was shot in the back. They hid for the day until the shooting had stopped. After dark they made their way back to the ghetto and told the guards that had worked in the sewer. On June 22nd 1944 the Red Army launched an offensive and took over in Kaunas. Prior to that, the Germans gathered up the Jewish people and marched them towards Germany. It was rumored that they were going to Auschwitz. They had been on the road for a number of days and had stopped in a field overnight. He and his brother in law slept on the cold ground believing that they were going to die the next day. Near dawn, he was awakened by something that had been thrown at him. It was a parcel containing chocolates and cigarettes. It was still dark when he looked up and saw a number of soldiers with no heads driving around in jeeps. Evidently, the Germans had surrendered over night and had been relieved by a Platoon of African American Soldiers. They had never seen an African American. He was the only person that had survived the massacre at Fort IX. This man was the most courageous person, I have ever met. He was able to give complete details of every macabre event too graphic to mention and his account will stay with me for a lifetime. The ironic thing is that a Crown Attorney travelled to Germany and Israel to interview witness’s and identify photos of Rauca with little success and that the ideal witness lived less then twenty miles from Rauca in Toronto. We arrested Rauca and took him before a court for remand. On October 12th 1982 Justice Gregory Evans ruled that there was evidence against Rauca to warrant his extradition. After numerous appeals, Rauca was extradited to Germany and died later before going to trial.

Thence to Hamilton Joint Forces i/c (1983) Hamilton Wentworth, O.P.P., Halton Regional and RCMP targeting Organized Crime.
Thence to Hamilton & London Sub Div. Section NCO (1986).  While in Gull Lake, my daughter Kathy was born. While in Assiniboia two daughters Abbey and Diana were born. In 1985, I met my current wife Eva. I retired in July 1993.

In July 2018 we held our 60th Anniversary at Depot Div. Over fifty percent of our troupe attended. It was great to see these members one more time and what great health they had.