Wiesenthal Center: Acquittal of Niznansky Should Not Discourage Prosecution of Other Nazi War Criminals

The Simon Wiesenthal Center responded to the acquittal today by a Munich court of accused Slovak Nazi war criminals Ladislav Niznansky by urging the German judicial authorities not to draw the wrong conclusions from the case. In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center encouraged the German government to continue its support for the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators and advised it not to draw the erroneous conclusion from Nizansky’s acquittal that such cases should no longer be brought to trial due to the passage of time since the crimes were committed.

According to Zuroff:

“The passage of time in no way diminishes the culpability of Nazi war criminals and the fact that such individuals are elderly does not turn murderers into Righteous Gentiles. While it is true that the prosecution at this point of such criminals can be extremely difficult, the horrific nature of their crimes makes it imperative to leave no stone unturned in the effort to hold such murderers accountable for their crimes. While unfortunate, today’s acquittal should in no way lessen the determination to bring as many as possible killers of the Holocaust to justice. Such trials continue to also serve an important function in the fight for historical truth and against Holocaust denial of the likes of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, and others who seek to deny the facts about the genocide of the Jewish people in Europe during World War II.” 

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