Tributes pour in for Wiesenthal

2005-09-21 20:01

Paris - World leaders paid tribute on Wednesday to the late Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, with United States President George W. Bush and senior political figures across the US praising his lifelong fight to bring Nazi criminals to justice.

Bush called Wiesenthal "a tireless and passionate advocate who devoted his life to tracking down Nazi killers and promoting freedom'.

"Simon Wiesenthal lost 89 relatives in the Holocaust, yet he survived the death camps himself. He gathered intelligence to be used in war crimes trials and also passed on important information that led to the conviction of Adolf Eichmann," the US leader said in a statement published onTuesday.

"Throughout his long career, he relentlessly pursued those responsible for some of the most horrific crimes against humanity the world has ever known.

"Simon Wiesenthal fought for justice, and history will always remember him," Bush said.

Hunting down Nazi war criminals

Wiesenthal, who survived Nazi German concentration camps to become a lifelong hunter of Nazi war criminals, died at age 96 at his home in Vienna on Tuesday.

The veteran Jewish activist helped bring more than 1 100 Nazi criminals to justice, including Eichmann, an architect of Hitler's "Final Solution", which aimed to wipe out Europe's Jews.

Six million Jews perished in the Nazi death camps during World War 2.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, born in Austria to a father who was a member of the Nazi party, mourned the death of a "great friend".

"Simon was a lion of a man, a survivor and a conqueror, a hero in every sense of the word," Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "He suffered unspeakable hardships in the Nazi death camps, but he did not let them break his spirit or compromise his will to live."

Condolences

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin expressed his condolences to Wiesenthal's friends and family, saluting his "immeasurable contribution" to the fight against impunity and for accountability for the most serious crimes.

"That his death coincides with the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Charter, whose organising principle and purpose is 'to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war', makes it all the more moving," Martin said.

In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said throughout his life Wiesenthal "fought tirelessly against racism and in particular anti-Semitism"

"He worked to ensure those who perpetrated crimes against humanity were held accountable and the world did not forget the suffering their actions brought to generations of victims of the Holocaust."

In Rome, Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said "humanity has lost a man of convictions who fought against injustice, intolerance and prejudices (and who) gave a voice to millions of victims of Nazi atrocities".

- AFP