While Austria has made considerable progress in facing its Holocaust history
during the past two decades, one major area in which it has
been terribly deficient has been the investigation and prosecution
of Nazi war criminals. Despite the existence of numerous
Austrians who actively participated in the implementation
of the Final Solution, not a single Austrian has been convicted
of Holocaust crimes during the past quarter of a century.
Austria’s failure in this respect has been reinforced by recent research carried
out the Wiesenthal Center which has shown that numerous Austrians
served in German police battalions which committed the mass
murder of civilians, primarily Jews, in Eastern Europe during
the years 1939-1944. (The research in question was carried
out in conjunction with German Labor Ministry by the Center’s
researcher Dr. Stefan Klemp as a part of a project designed
to cancel the special disability pensions of individuals
who violated the norms of humanity, in accordance with a
law passed by the Bundestag in January 1998.)
Under these circumstances, the Center
hopes that the launching of “Operation: Last Chance” in Austria
will help facilitate the investigation and prosecution of
Austrian Holocaust perpetrators, and educate the Austrian
public regarding the important role played by numerous Austrians
in the implementation of the Final Solution
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