[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 20798-20799]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF SIMON WIESENTHAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 20, 2005

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am deeply saddened today to learn of the 
death of Simon Wiesenthal, one of the world's great humanitarians. Over 
the past 50 years he tirelessly fought to preserve the memory of those 
who perished in the Holocaust and dared the world to learn from their 
mistakes.
  Wiesenthal, along with his wife Cyla, survived the Holocaust 
determined to bring those

[[Page 20799]]

responsible to justice, for this, the most monstrous event in the 
history of the modem world. Though he weighed only 100 Ibs when he was 
liberated from the notorious Mauthausen concentration camp, Wiesenthal 
soon began the enormous task of compiling evidence against Nazi war 
criminals.
  Even before the war ended, Wiesenthal was working with the U.S. Army 
to gather evidence to be used in future war crimes trials. Wiesenthal 
also came to the aid of refugees who survived the war by serving as the 
head of the Jewish Central Committee of the United States Zone in 
Austria. This marked the beginning of a long career dedicated to 
pursuing those who helped perpetrate the Holocaust.
  While the world tried to forget the tragedy that had unfolded through 
much of Europe, Wiesenthal was determined to keep alive the memory of 
its victims. He soon abandoned his previous life as an architect when 
the Allies lost interest in prosecuting war criminals. Wiesenthal 
himself led the campaign for justice from his own apartment in Vienna, 
tracking down Nazis around the globe attempting to escape prosecution. 
Over 1,100 war criminals were brought to justice with Wiesenthal's 
help, including the architect of the ``Final Solution,'' Adolf 
Eichmann.
  Wiesenthal's tireless hunt for Nazi war criminals stemmed from his 
belief that the world must never forget the scope of human suffering 
endured during the Holocaust, lest such a conflagration take place 
again in the future. He declared:

       The history of man is the history of crimes, and history 
     can repeat. So information is a defense. Through this we can 
     build, we must build a defense against repetition.

  And so he managed to transform the most tragic event into a learning 
experience for all of humanity. The Simon Wiesenthal Center based in 
Los Angeles was established to--through interactive workshops, 
exhibits, and videos--explore issues of prejudice, diversity, 
tolerance, and cooperation in the workplace and in the community. His 
idea was that teaching respect for people of different race, religion, 
color would be a way of preventing history from repeating itself.
  Though Wiesenthal is no longer with us, his legacy will be felt for 
generations to come. In addition to fighting racism, anti-Semitism, and 
genocide, the center that bears his name continues to investigate 
hundreds of surviving war criminals who have escaped justice. And of 
course, he reminded us to never forget.

                          ____________________