[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF SIMON WIESENTHAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 21, 2005

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, today I join my colleagues in mourning the 
loss and honoring the life of Simon Wiesenthal.
  Simon Wiesenthal died this week in Vienna at the age of 96. He was a 
survivor of the resistance movement and lived through internment in 
Nazi concentration camps. He became the most famous Nazi hunter when he 
returned to Vienna after World War II. Mr. Wiesenthal devoted his 
career to exposing and documenting Nazi atrocities and bringing 
perpetrators to justice.
  After World War II and the Holocaust, Mr. Wiesenthal became the 
permanent representative of Holocaust victims, determined to bring the 
perpetrators of one of history's greatest crimes to justice and 
punishment. He took the job no one else wanted, and he charged himself 
with the task that few sought.
  He was a voice of conscience for all humanity and he inspired world 
leaders and individuals to fight anti-Semitism and intolerance. Mr. 
Wiesenthal is best known for his instrumental investigative research 
that contributed to the capture and conviction of more than 1,100 Nazi 
war criminals, including Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the ``Final 
Solution.'' Through the Simon Wiesenthal Center, he also promoted 
Holocaust remembrance, the fight against racism and anti-Semitism, and 
the monitoring of neo-Nazi and other extremist groups worldwide.
  Simon Wiesenthal's message, mission and courage will not die with 
him. He has shown us all what it means to fight the fight, whether 
unpopular or difficult, whether lonely or tedious. Because of Mr. 
Wiesenthal's courageous, gutsy and earnest work, we have learned as a 
country what it means to stand up for what is right. As a Member of 
Congress, I will always follow Mr. Wiesenthal's precedent, and will 
continue to lead my colleagues in Congress to fight anti-Semitism and 
intolerance wherever it may be.

                          ____________________