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What did Simon Wiesenthal do for US?
Simon Wiesenthal, the veteran Nazi hunter who helped bring more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to trial is seen in this June 2005 file photo. Wiesenthal has died in Vienna at the age of 96, the Simon Wiesenthal Center said on September 20, 2005.
Where was Simon Wiesenthal born?
See Article History. Simon Wiesenthal, (born December 31, 1908, Buczacz, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Buchach, Ukraine]—died September 20, 2005, Vienna, Austria), founder (1961) and head (until 2003) of the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna.
What happened to Simon Wiesenthal in the death camp?
More than half the prisoners would die on this trek, and the other half would remain grievously ill. By the time the death camp was liberated by the United States Army on May 5, 1945, Simon Wiesenthal had been living on 200 calories a day and weighed just 99 pounds. But, he was alive.
What happened to Simon Wiesenthal's brother Hillel?
Wiesenthal and his brother attended high school at the Humanistic Gymnasium in Buchach, where classes were taught in Polish. There Simon met his future wife, Cyla Müller, whom he would marry in 1936. Hillel fell and broke his back in 1923 and died the following year.
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Who is Simon Wiesenthal?
Simon Wiesenthal, (born December 31, 1908, Buczacz, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Buchach, Ukraine]—died September 20, 2005, Vienna, Austria), founder (1961) and head (until 2003) of the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna. During World War II Wiesenthal was a prisoner in five Nazi concentration camps, and after the war he dedicated his life ...
What did Wiesenthal do after his liberation?
Soon after his liberation, Wiesenthal handed the U.S. Army a list of Nazi criminals and subsequently helped American intelligence organizations gather evidence in preparation for the first trials against war criminals, in Dachau and Nürnberg ( see Nürnberg trials ). Settling in Linz, Austria, where he worked in the displaced persons camps for two Jewish welfare organizations—the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Organization for Rehabilitation and Training—Wiesenthal continued his own efforts to ferret out former Nazis. In 1948 he participated in an abortive attempt made by three Israeli agents to apprehend Adolf Eichmann in Austria. In March 1953 he informed the Israeli consul general in Vienna, Aryeh Eshel, that Eichmann was hiding in Argentina, where Israeli agents abducted him in 1960. Eichmann’s final identification was based in part on information supplied by Wiesenthal, but Wiesenthal did not accompany the Israeli agents to Argentina. After his abduction, Eichmann was taken to Israel, put on trial, convicted, and executed in 1962. In a private letter, Wiesenthal expressed his objection to Eichmann’s execution, arguing that he should be kept alive and used as a witness in the trials of other Nazi criminals.
Where did Wiesenthal live?
Wiesenthal studied architectural engineering at the Technical University of Prague and in Lwów, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine), where he settled with his wife in the mid-1930s. Although he ardently supported the Zionist movement, he stayed in Lwów, later explaining, “During that period we never took [Adolf] Hitler seriously.” Following the German occupation of the city in 1941, Wiesenthal was first dragooned into forced labour at the (German) Eastern Railway plants and was then imprisoned in camps at Janowska, Plaszow, Gross-Rosen, and Buchenwald, the latter of which served as a brief way station for Wiesenthal before his imprisonment in the camp at Mauthausen, Austria, from which he was liberated in 1945. According to Wiesenthal, 89 members of his and his wife’s Jewish families were killed by the Nazis, but after the end of World War II he and his wife (who had managed to pass as a Pole for much of the war) were reunited.
When was Eichmann executed?
After his abduction, Eichmann was taken to Israel, put on trial, convicted, and executed in 1962. In a private letter, Wiesenthal expressed his objection to Eichmann’s execution, arguing that he should be kept alive and used as a witness in the trials of other Nazi criminals.
Who was the chancellor of Austria in 1975?
Respected by many as a moral authority and accused by others of spreading false information, Wiesenthal was involved in a number of other bitter disputes, most notably with the chancellor of Austria, Bruno Kreisky, who claimed in 1975 that Wiesenthal had collaborated with the Gestapo.
Who was Karl Silberbauer?
In 1963 Wiesenthal identified Karl Silberbauer, an Austrian policeman serving in Amsterdam who in 1944 had participated in the arrest of Anne Frank and her family. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now.
Who was the Nazi hunter?
Wiesenthal’s legendary image as a “Nazi hunter” (a term he detested) inspired several filmmakers, and among the actors who portrayed him were Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir Ben Kingsley. Wiesenthal received numerous honorary doctorates and awards in various countries, including the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal (1980) and the French Legion of Honour (1986). In 2004 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Who was Simon Wiesenthal?
Simon Wiesenthal, a survivor of the Nazi death camps , dedicated his life to documenting the crimes of the Holocaust and to hunting down the perpetrators still at large. "When history looks back," Wiesenthal explained, "I want people to know the Nazis weren’t able to kill millions of people and get away with it.".
Where was Simon Wiesenthal buried?
On September 20, 2005, Simon Wiesenthal died peacefully in his sleep at his home. After a service at Vienna’s Central Cemetery attended by Austrian Prime Minister Wolfgang Schuessel, government officials, diplomats and leaders of religious communities, he was taken to Israel and laid to rest in Herzliya.
How much did Wiesenthal weigh?
Weighing less than 100 pounds and lying helplessly in a barracks where the stench was so strong that even hardboiled SS guards would not enter, Wiesenthal was barely alive when Mauthausen was liberated by the 11th Armored Division of the Third U.S. Army on May 5, 1945.
How long was Wiesenthal in prison?
One German and several Austrian neo-Nazis were arrested for the bombing. The German, who was found to be the main perpetrator, was sentenced to five years in prison. Wiesenthal was often asked to explain his motives for becoming a Nazi hunter.
Why did Wiesenthal go to the press?
When, as often happens, they failed to take action, whether from indifference, pro-Nazi sentiment, or some other consideration, Wiesenthal went to the press and other media, for experience taught him that publicity and an outraged public opinion are powerful weapons. The work yet to be done was enormous.
What happened to Eichmann?
He was captured there by Israeli agents and brought to Israel for trial. Eichmann was found guilty of mass murder and executed on May 31, 1961. Encouraged by the capture of Eichmann, Wiesenthal reopened the Jewish Documentation Center, this time in Vienna, and concentrated exclusively on the hunting of war criminals.
What happened to Wiesenthal's mother?
In August 1942, Wiesenthal's mother was sent to the Belzec death camp. By September, most of his and his wife's relatives were dead; a total of eighty-nine members of both families perished. Because his wife's blonde hair gave her a chance of passing as an "Aryan," Wiesenthal made a deal with the Polish underground.
Who is Simon Wiesenthal?
Simon Wiesenthal, the death camp survivor who dedicated the rest of his life to tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals, died today at his home in Vienna. He was 96. His death was announced by Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
What was Kreisky's charge against Wiesenthal?
Kreisky fired back with intimations that Mr. Wiesenthal had collaborated with the Gestapo, a charge that Mr. Wiesenthal labeled ludicrous, and that was never backed up. That fracas was followed a decade later by Mr. Wiesenthal's dispute with the World Jewish Congress over the Waldheim affair.
How old was Simon Wiesenthal when he died?
Nazi-hunter Wiesenthal dies at 96. Simon Wiesenthal survived the Nazi death camps of World War II. Holocaust survivor and Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal has died in the Austrian capital, Vienna, aged 96. He was credited with helping to bring more than 1,100 Nazi war criminals to justice in the decades after the genocide of the Jews in World War II.
Where was Mr. Wiesenthal a prisoner?
High-profile cases. Mr Wiesenthal, who grew up in Ukraine, was a prisoner in the Mauthausen death camp when it was liberated by US troops in May 1945, but dozens of his family members - including his mother, stepfather and stepbrother - died in the Holocaust.
Where was Stangl arrested?
It located Stangl in Brazil. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany in 1967 and died in prison. Another high-profile case involved Hermine Ryan, a housewife living in Queens, New York, whom he accused of supervising the killings of hundreds of children at Majdanek camp.
Where was Eichmann convicted?
In 1960, Eichmann was abducted there by Israeli agents and subsequently tried, convicted and executed in Israel. Mr Wiesenthal went on to establish the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna to track down war criminals. It located Stangl in Brazil.
Who is the director of the Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem?
The director of the Wiesenthal Centre in Jerusalem, Ephraim Zuroff, described him as a "real Jewish hero" and praised those continuing to work to bring war criminals to justice. "We have a list of 10 Nazis we are continuing to look for actively," he told Israeli radio. High-profile cases.
Where did Eichmann go to track down?
In the 1950s, he helped to track down Eichmann in Argentina. In 1960, Eichmann was abducted there by Israeli agents and subsequently tried, convicted and executed in Israel. Mr Wiesenthal went on to establish the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna to track down war criminals. It located Stangl in Brazil.
How much did Simon Wiesenthal weigh?
By the time the death camp was liberated by the United States Army on May 5, 1945, Simon Wiesenthal had been living on 200 calories a day and weighed just 99 pounds. But, he was alive.
Where was Wiesenthal taken to?
After being sent briefly back to Janowksa, Wiesenthal and several other prisoners were taken to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp.
What did Simon Wiesenthal and Cyla do?
In late 1941, Simon Wiesenthal and Cyla were moved to the Janowska concentration camp and forced to work on railway repair crews. The two were forced to paint swastikas and other Nazi propaganda on stolen railway cars, and polish brass and nickel for reuse.
How many labor camps did Wiesenthal survive?
For one, Wiesenthal had to survive not a single but five different labor camps. He suffered through a death march. Within weeks of his final camp’s liberation, Wiesenthal created a list of Nazis who, in his opinion, had somehow fled or gotten away and volunteered to search for them himself. Not only would he survive the Nazis, ...
How many people did Wiesenthal find guilty of?
Three weeks after the liberation, Wiesenthal had compiled a list of 91 to 150 people that he believed to be guilty of war crimes and presented it to the War Crimes office of the American Counterintelligence Corps. The Corps took his list into account and hired him as an interpreter.
What did Wiesenthal do in 1947?
Beginning in 1947, he founded the Jewish Documentation Center, which worked to gather intel on Nazi criminals for future war-crime trials. During the first year, he collected over 3,000 depositions from prisoners regarding their time in the camps. Over time, however, Wiesenthal began to fear his efforts were futile.
Why was Wiesenthal nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
He was nonetheless, in 1985, nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in restoring peace to the former Nazi regime, though he did little to promote himself. Finally, in 2003 following the death of his wife Cyla, Wiesenthal retired and sought a quiet life.
What did Wiesenthal do after liberation?
After liberation, Wiesenthal worked for the War Crimes Section of the United States Army, and in 1947 he opened the Jewish Historical Documentation Center in Austria. For decades, Wiesenthal pressured Western governments to locate and prosecute escaped Nazi offenders and also offered leads that sometimes led to their extradition.
Who said "When history looks back I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of
Nazi Hunting: Simon Wiesenthal. “When history looks back I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it.”. — Simon Wiesenthal. Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, dedicated his life to raising public awareness of the need to hunt and prosecute Nazis who have evaded justice.
Who was Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan?
Wiesenthal also provided information prompting the discovery that Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan, a former concentration camp guard, was living in New York as an unassuming housewife. Braunsteiner Ryan was the first Nazi criminal to be extradited from the US.
