Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, is observed this Thursday, April 24. This week’s columns are about the Holocaust.
Simon Wiesenthal, Pursuing Justice and the capture of Adolf Eichman
Simon Wiesenthal had survived five concentration camps when he was liberated from Mauthausen concentration camp in May 1945. Despite being weak and frail, within three weeks of liberation, he compiled a list of suspected Nazi guards, commandants, and Gestapo members.
He dedicated the balance of his life to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice.The Torah teaches, “Tzedek, tzekek, tirdof…”— “Justice, justice you shall pursue, so that you will live and possess the Land Adonai your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:20). While there are many vital ideals that we learn from the Torah, there are, I believe, only two that we are commanded to pursue; justice and peace. In bringing the evil to account, Wiesenthal helped bring a semblance of justice to the murdered, the survivors, and to the world.
Adolph Eichmann was a central figure in carrying out the Final Solution (a pact of genocide to destroy the Jewish people), and was responsible for deporting millions of Jews to death camps. Despite his capture by Allied Forces after the war, he escaped and later settled in Argentina. Wiesenthal was among those who helped to track him down and Mossad agents captured him in May 1960. Not only did the Mossad receive no help from the Argentine government, they had to hide their operation from Argentine authorities. The story of his capture is fodder for a spy thriller.
Eichmann was put on trial in Israel, convicted, and ultimately put to death.
Wiesenthal undoubtedly knew there could never be complete justice for the victims of the Holocaust. And yet, for every Nazi he brought to trial, and for the Nazis who lived their lives in fear looking over their shoulders, the world became a more just place.
—Rabbi David Woznica
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