[February 12, 2016] It is my belief that what we do echoes across history and that we are, in the final analysis, responsible for our actions. People today and in the future will look to judge us as good or as bad … and that is acceptable and we should offer no excuses for our failings. As another alleged Nazi concentration camp guard goes to trial in Germany1, we should remember this and that it was people like Simon Wiesenthal who helped hold them accountable.
Simon Wiesenthal, who died in 2005, was an Austrian Nazi hunter and writer. He was a Holocaust survivor but 89 members of his family were not so fortunate. Wiesenthal dedicated his life to tracking down and gathering information on fugitive Nazi war criminals.2
Despite some controversy over his Nazi hunter methods, his experiences in concentration camps, and his involvement with European politicians, he was a factor in keeping alive the belief that Nazi war criminals should be prosecuted regardless of the cost and how long it took. Many believe that war criminals should never be allowed to be free for their atrocities or support of atrocities. Wiesenthal believed each should forever be fearful of capture and imprisonment.
Shortly after the war, the former Allies were not interested in aggressively pursuing the effort to bring Nazi concentration camp war criminals to justice. Wiesenthal’s belief was that it was his personal obligation to take on this task. He worked with the Israeli government and with other organizations that provided assistance in tracking down war criminals.
Wiesenthal founded or helped found several organizations that helped concentration camp survivors and relatives of victims. In addition, he was helpful in the capture of several high profile Nazi war criminals. It is now assumed that most of the top Nazi criminals are dead and the effort to capture them has ended.3
The good we do will be remembered and so shall it be with evil. The evil Nazi regime’s impact on Germans today is often underestimated. People like Wiesenthal helped keep it alive.
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- http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/auschwitz-guard-94-stands-trial-in-germany/ar-BBpnrU4?OCID=ansmsnnews11
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wiesenthal
- http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/nazi-at-large1.htm