Simon Wiesenthal

SIMON WIESENTHAL -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 21, 2005)

* Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, Simon Wiesenthal refused to forget the horror he endured and witnessed in five Nazi death camps during the Holocaust. He would not let the world forget what the Jewish people and so many others suffered at the hands of Hitler's Third Reich. He dedicated his life to bringing Nazis to justice, educating the world about the Holocaust, and fighting to help ensure that the intolerance that brought it about would not be repeated. The spirit Wiesenthal brought to these lifelong pursuits will not end with his death.

* Along with millions of other Jews, Wiesenthal was imprisoned by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Unwilling to accept this fate, Wiesenthal daringly escaped in 1943, only to be recaptured in 1944. Wiesenthal was sent back to a concentration camp, and as the German Eastern front collapsed Wiesenthal was marched with other prisoners across Europe. The trek left him near death when finally liberated by the advancing American army.

* The moment his health returned, Wiesenthal sprang into action. He began to build a legal case against the Nazis, first for the American military's war crimes trials and then through an independent effort based in Vienna.

* Wiesenthal relentlessly searched for Adolf Eichmann, the infamous Nazi who headed Hitler's Gestapo, and other Nazis who had evaded trial by the allies. Wiesenthal's work led to the capture of Eichmann and other infamous Nazis years after the world had given up on bringing them to justice. Although the Holocaust was fading into the world's memory, Wiesenthal continued to fight its battles every day with his time, determination, and spirit.

* In Los Angeles, Simon Wiesenthal's memory lives on at the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The international organization works to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and to fight anti-Semitism and intolerance.

* I had the honor of working with the Wiesenthal Center earlier this year in asking the British Government to keep a known terrorist supporter, Yussuf Al-Qaradawi, out of Great Britain. Al-Qaradawi has given religious justification and encouragement for terrorist attacks against Americans and Israelis. These efforts against intolerant religious extremism in the 21st century are a clear extension of Wiesenthal's lifelong mission.

* Simon Wiesenthal's spirit, unbridled in life, will carry on in his memory through the Wiesenthal Center, its work, and the efforts of so many others fighting intolerance and preserving the memory of the Holocaust.

http://thomas.loc.gov