[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17831]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DR. EPHRAIM ZUROFF

 Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to commend Dr. Ephraim 
Zuroff and the Simon Wiesenthal Center for their efforts to track down 
the last Nazi war criminals from World War II. Their work is enormously 
important, both in bringing the guilty to justice and preventing future 
acts of genocide. The statute of limitations does not, must not, expire 
on crimes against humanity. Earlier this year, I introduced the World 
War II War Crimes Accountability Act with Senator Nelson, which I hope 
will help Dr. Zuroff and the Simon Wiesenthal Center in their noble 
effort.
  One of the main targets of this effort is Sandor Kepiro, who is 
charged with the 1942 killing of about 1,000 Jews, Gypsies, and Serbs 
in Novi Sad, Serbia. Kepiro allegedly committed these crimes while 
serving as a Hungarian police captain during World War II. He was 
convicted in 1944, but the verdict was annulled when the Nazis invaded 
Hungary. He was convicted again in 1946, in absentia, but escaped 
before serving his sentence. In 2007, a Hungarian court ruled that 
Kepiro could not be charged again for his alleged crimes. He is now 
living in Hungary, and the government continues to investigate the 
circumstances of his WWII activities. The Hungarian government must 
summon the political will to bring Kepiro to justice. Inaction is not 
an option.
  The Simon Wiesenthal Center launched Operation: Last Chance in 2002, 
to identify and assist in the prosecution of the remaining Nazi war 
criminals still at large. Dr. Zuroff, who has been leading this effort, 
should be highly commended for his outstanding efforts in bringing the 
most guilty Nazis to justice. Of these, Kepiro is near the top of his 
list.
  Even today, the crimes of people like Kepiro in the service of pro-
Nazi regimes strain our understanding of hate. National Socialist 
Germany today is an icon remembered only for its brutality, its mantra 
of genocide, and its culture of racism. And those last Nazis, who are 
waiting out their last days under the coming twilight, must not be 
allowed to go quietly into the night, as did too many of their victims. 
For the souls that were lost, and even more for those that remain, 
there must be justice. I commend Dr. Zuroff and the Simon Wiesenthal 
Center in the highest possible terms, and urge the United States 
Government to do all it can to help them in their cause.

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