Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its sense of outrage in response to the July 22 annulment by the Zagreb County Court of the 1946 conviction for treason of Croatian Archbishop Alojzije Stepinac, who was an avid supporter of the genocidal regime of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

In a statement issued by its Director for Eastern European Affairs, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted Stepinac's support for the Ustasha rulers of the NDH despite the horrific crimes they committed against innocent civilians.

According to Zuroff:

"As the leading Catholic priest in the NDH, Stepinac's responsibility was to speak out on behalf of the innocent victims of the Ustasha, not to lend spiritual support to their murderers. The genocidal campaign waged by the Ustasha against Serbs, their active participation in Holocaust crimes against Jews, and the murder of Roma and anti-fascist Croatians carried out in their network of concentration camps are among the most heinous crimes of World War II. No person who supported that regime should have their conviction annulled."

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center:
Tel: 972-2- 563-1274 or Tel: 972-50- 721-4156
www.operationlastchance.org
www.wiesenthal.com
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Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today strongly denounced a memorial mass held yesterday in the center of Zagreb to commemorate the demise of Croatian mass murderer Ante Pavelić, who headed the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II. In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi hunter, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center emphasized the central role played by Pavelićin launching genocidal programs against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in Croatia during World War II, as well as the systematic persecution and murder of Croatian anti-fascists.

According to Zuroff:
"It is hard to believe that in the center of the capital of a member of the European Union, very close to Zagreb's Jewish community, hundreds of people gathered yesterday to commemorate the memory of one of Europe's biggest mass murderers. Such a ceremony is an insult to the memory of Pavelić's hundreds of thousands of innocent victims. It is also a badge of shame for the Catholic Church, which allowed such a ceremony to take place in the Basilica of the Heart of Christ who, had he been alive during World War II, would have been targeted for annihilation as well.

For more information call 00-972-50-721 4156
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Belgrade – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today urged the Serbian authorities to establish a memorial research and educational complex on the site of the Staro Sajmiste concentration camp in Belgrade. In a meeting this morning with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, the Center's chief Nazi hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, asked the Serbian head of state to make available the necessary funds to create a center to commemorate victims of the Holocaust as well as those of the genocide of Serbs during WWII on the site of the camp where tens of thousands of innocent civilians were murdered by the Nazis. Staro Sajmiste was among the places where the Nazis used gas vans to murder innocent civilians, in this case Jewish women and children from all over Serbia in 1941-42, as well as a group of Zionist pioneers whose boat was stranded on the Danube, and whose women and children were eventually sent there to be murdered. After the annihilation of the Jews it was used for prisoners of the partisan war as well as Serbs who would be later sent for forced labor in Germany and surplus prisoners from the Jasenovac concentration camp.

Prime Minister Dacic also expressed support for the forthcoming launch of Operation Last Chance in Serbia, which is scheduled to begin in March 2014, with the assistance of Serbian NGOs such as Serbian Code and the Jasenovac Committee of the Orthodox Church. Operation Last Chance is a campaign to bring remaining Nazi war criminals to justice by offering financial rewards for information leading to their arrest and conviction.

For more information call 00-972-50-721 4156
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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today denounced the recent (December 28) memorial mass conducted in Zagreb in honor of Ustasha leader Ante Pavelić, who as head of state of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) bears direct responsibility for the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Serbs, tens of thousands of Jews, and numerous Roma. In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called the ceremony “a grievous insult to the memory of Pavelić’s numerous victims and a mockery of the horrific crimes of the Ustasha.”

According to Zuroff:
“This ceremony, which had previously been stopped by church authorities in the wake of protests by the Wiesenthal Center and others, is a disgrace to the local Catholic Church and incomprehensible in a country about to enter the European Union. We call upon the Croatian authorities to ban such ceremonies in the future and urge the religious leaders responsible for Vjekoslav Lasić and Stanislav Kos, the priests who performed the mass, to defrock them for conducting a ceremony which made a total mockery of Christian values.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

“The recent death of Milivoj Ašner in Austria unprosecuted for his crimes, is a travesty of justice which reinforces the total failure of the Austrian judicial authorities to adequately deal with the issue of Nazi war criminals during the past more than three decades.

Ašner’s role in the persecution and death of hundreds of Serb, Jewish, and Roma residents of the city of Požega, Croatia in his capacity as local Ustasha  police chief was critical and his criminal responsibility for their tragic fate is absolutely clear.

To Croatia’s credit they act for his extradition from Austria in 2005 but Ašner was able to escape justice due to faulty handling of his case by the Austrian authorities, who instead of doing everything possible to bring him to justice allowed sympathetic doctors to prevent his prosecution by declaring him unfit for trial although he gave numerous media interviews in which he described his past in a very lucid manner.

“On this occasion it is important to reiterate the critical role of political will in bringing Holocaust perpetrators to justice and to call upon all the countries who face this issue to make an urgent final effort to bring these murderers to justice before it is too late to do so.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Zagreb – The Simon Wiesenthal Center has announced that its Chief Nazi-hunter, Israel Director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, has been awarded an official Croatian state decoration by President Mesić in a ceremony held here today at the presidential residence. According to the official announcement made by the office of the president, the Order of Trpimir with Ribbon and Star was conferred on Zuroff for:

“his outstanding contribution to the fight against historical revisionism and [the] re-assertion of the anti-fascist foundation of the modern-day Republic of Croatia and for the establishment of good relations between the Republic of Croatia and State of Israel.”

In his acceptance remarks, Zuroff thanked President Mesić for this courageous leadership in combating neo-fascism and Ustasha nostalgia in Croatia and noted the significance of the trial of former Jasenovac commandant Dinko Sakić, which he referred to as “the most important trial of a local Nazi collaborator ever conducted in Post-Communist Europe.” more...

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156
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According to Zuroff:
“If anyone needed proof that Dragan and his movement have lost all touch with reality, today’s baseless accusations clearly show that the extreme right in Croatia as represented by HUP are the propagators of the worst type of sick fantasies. In fact, if anyone really needs protection in Croatia today, it is the rest of Croatian society, who should be spared the embarrassment of having to explain that Dragan and his group in no way represent their country.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

According to Zuroff:
“It is simply inconceivable that a country on the verge of entry to the European Union would allow such a monument to be erected in its capital city or anywhere else on its territory. Such a monument constitutes an outrageous falsification of Croatia’s World War II history and is an insult not only to the memory of the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians-Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians-murdered by the Ustasha, but to any person with any sense of moral integrity and knowledge of the history of Croatia during the years 1941-1945. I am certain that saner minds in Zagreb will prevail to halt this infuriating initiative.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Belgrade – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today warmly welcomed the decision, announced here today at a press conference convened by Serbian Justice Minister Snežana Malovic and chief war crimes prosecutor Vladimir Vukčevic with the participation of the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff to seek the extradition of three Nazi war criminals, two of whom were discovered and exposed in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project. The criminals in question are former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, currently residing in Budapest Hungary; former Ustasha police chief of Požega, Croatia Milivoj Ašner, currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria and former Belgrade Security Police operative Peter Egner, currently residing in Seattle, Washington, USA. The first two were found and exposed by the Wiesenthal Center.

In his remarks at the press conference, Dr. Zuroff stressed the practical and symbolic significance of the decision and praised the new Serbian government for undertaking this step which had hereto merely been discussed by its predecessors.

According to Zuroff:
“In today’s circumstances, in which the most difficult part of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice is often the lack of political will of governments to take the necessary action, Serbia’s decision to seek the extradition of Kepiro, Ašner and Egner sends a powerful message that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the murderers and that it is still possible to bring the perpetrators of the Holocaust to the bar of justice. We hope that these requests will be issued as quickly as possible to maximize their impact.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today demanded prompt action from the Lithuanian government to identify and punish those responsible for the vandalization yesterday of the offices of the Jewish community in central Vilnius. In a letter sent today to the Lithuanian ambassador in Israel Mrs. Asta Skaisgiryté-Liauskienè, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, accused the Lithuanian authorities of failing to adequately respond to recent several anti-Semitic provocations as well as to protecting local Nazi war criminals from prosecution and instead harassing Jewish anti-Nazi Soviet partisans, all of which paved the way for yesterday’s attack on the Vilnius Jewish community

According to Zuroff:

“Given the woefully inadequate response by the government to the neo-Nazi march through the center of Vilnius less than half a year ago, I believe that the time has come for unequivocal, resolute and immediate action to identify and punish those responsible for this anti-Semitic attack.

“There is no doubt in my mind that these outbreaks of anti-Jewish violence are the direct result of Lithuania’s failure to punish its Nazi collaborators, the recent campaign against Soviet Jewish partisans and the ongoing efforts to minimize the role of Lithuanians in the mass murder of their Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust. Today’s anti-Semitic violence is the direct result of ignoring the crimes of the past.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called upon Croatian President Stjepan Mesić to condemn the organizers of the recent funeral of convicted Croatian mass murderer Dinko Sakić, the former commandant of the infamous Jasenovac concentration camp, for turning the event into a celebration of his Ustasha crimes. In a letter sent today by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff to the Croatian president, the Center stressed the affront to all Ustasha victims and people of conscience the world over when a mass murderer is buried in his Ustasha uniform and praised by a priest as being “a model for all Croatians.”

According to Zuroff:
“To the best of my knowledge, no public official of any significant stature has spoken out against this outrageous display of unrepentant racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. I therefore urge you, in your capacity as president of the republic and knowing full well your unqualified and unequivocal opposition to the crimes of the Ustasha, to publically condemn the organizers of the funeral and the priests who conducted it.

“Under these circumstances what Croatian society needs is a clear and unequivocal reminder that Dinko Sakic was a mass murderer and brought shame to the Croatian people, that one of democratic Croatia’s greatest achievements was his prosecution and punishment, and that only by totally repudiating the legacy of the NDH [Independent State of Croatia 1941-1945] and its fanatic Ustasha extremists will Croatia become a welcome member of NATO and the European Union.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Vienna – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called for a panel of international medical experts to assess the health of hereto unprosecuted, escaped Croatian Nazi war criminal Milivoj Ašner, presently living in Klagenfurt, Austria to which he fled following his exposure by the Center in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project. In a meeting here today with Austrian Justice Minister Dr. Maria Berger, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff noted that recent photos, videos, and interviews of Ašner by journalists from the British daily The Sun clearly disprove the results of court-appointed Austrian doctors who claimed that Ašner was suffering from dementia and was too ill to be extradited to Croatia to stand trial for his crimes as police chief of Požega. Zuroff submitted an affadavit from Sun journalist Brian Flynn who interviewed Ašner for 45 minutes and found him to be “lucid throughout the interview and that he did not forget any facts such as what he had done in the war.”

According to Zuroff:
“Austria’s handling of the Ašner case has been severely flawed from the very beginning and therefore the request that special measures be taken to assess Ašner‘s health objectively are entirely justified. His tranquil life in Klagenfurt, protected by the Austrian legal system, is an insult to his many victims and their families.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today urged Austria to immediately extradite wanted Croatian Nazi war criminal Milivoj Ašner, who has been living in Klagenfurt since shortly after his exposure by the Wiesenthal Center as part of its “Operation: Last Chance” project on June 30, 2004. Ašner, who served as the Ustasha police chief of Požega during World War II and orchestrated the destruction of the local Serb, Jewish and Gypsy communities, is wanted for war crimes in his native Croatia but his extradition has hereto been blocked by the Austrian authorities on medical grounds. more...

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi–hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, who is participating in the President’s Conference to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary, to discuss a variety of issues concerning the manner in which Croatia is dealing with its World War II past.

In the course of their discussion, President Mesic told Zuroff that he unequivocally opposes recent efforts to equate Communist crimes with those of the Nazis. In his opinion, the crimes are simply incomparable and gave several examples from his own family, many of whom were murdered by the Ustasha Croatian fascists during World War II.

President Mesic and Zuroff also discussed the problematic new exhibition at the site of the Jasenovac Ustasha concentration camp, which both agreed, fails to educate its visitors about the roots of Ustasha ideology, the scope of the crimes committed at Jasenovac and identify the major criminals who ran the camp and bear responsibility for the mass murder of an estimated 80,000-100,000 innocent victims – Serbs, Jews, anti-fascist Croatians and Gypsies. Zuroff offered the Center’s assistance in any efforts which will be undertaken to improve the exhibition.

Both President Mesic and Zuroff expressed deep regret that former Ustasha official Ivo Rojnica who died late last year in Buenos Aires was not prosecuted in Croatia for his World War II crimes in Dubrovnik, and Zuroff updated President Mesic on the Center’s ongoing efforts in the case of Ustasha Požega police chief Milivoj Ašner, currently in Austria.

For more information call 00-972-50-721-4156

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today protested a celebration held this past weekend in a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia in honor of Ante Pavelic, the leader of World War II Croatia, who implemented genocidal policies against the Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies living in his country, which resulted in the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called the celebrations held in the “Katarina Zrinski” restaurant attached to the local Croatian Club “an outrageous affront not only to the hundreds of thousands of blameless victims of the Pavelic regime and their families, but also to any persons of morality and conscience who oppose racism and genocide.”

According to Zuroff:
“This is not the first time that Croatian émigrés in Australia have openly displayed their sympathy for the fascist killers of the Ustasha and have defended Croatian Nazi war criminals. It is high time that the authorities in Australia find a way to take the necessary measures to stop such celebrations, which clearly constitute racist, ethnic, and anti-Semitic incitement against Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies.”

[According to local press reports, a large photograph of Pavelic was hung in the restaurant, T-shirts with his picture and that of two other Ustasha commanders were offered for sale at the bar, and the establishment of the fascist state of “Independent Croatia,” which fully collaborated with Nazi Germany was celebrated last weekend.]

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156
www.operationlastchance.org www.wiesenthal.com

Jerusalem - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today criticized the failure of Croatia to prosecute the Ustashe governor of the city of Dubrovnik, who played an important role in the persecution of the city’s Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies, who died several days ago unprosecuted in Buenos Aires. Ivo Rojnica, who assumed control of the city of Dubrovnik upon the creation of the "Independent State of Croatia" (NDH) in spring 1941, began the implementation of a policy of repression and persecution against the city´s minorities, which culminated in the murder of many Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies during World War II. After the war, he escaped together with numerous members of the Ustashe fascist movement which ruled Croatia to Argentina, where he lived until his demise late last week.
In a statement issued in Jerusalem by the its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who headed the Center´s efforts to facilitate Rojnica´s prosecution in Croatia, the Center laid the primary blame for the fact that Rojnica was never punished for his crimes on the Croatin judiciary which has been investigating his case for numerous years but never indicted him or asked for his extradition. "The ultimate responsibility to bring Ustashe criminals to justice is that of Croatia. The fact that Rojnica died unprosecuted in Buenos Aires can be primarily attributed to a lack of political will in Zagreb, which might well be a product of Rojnica´s prominent role in the Croatian emigre community and his substantial wealth," said Zuroff. "At least our efforts exposed his wartime role as an Ustashe criminal and helped prevent his appointment as Croatian ambassador to Argentina," he added.

For further information: Call 972-50-721-4156.
www.operationlastchance.org www.wiesenthal.com

Jerusalem - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today released the full text of its sixth Annual Status Report on the Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals, which covers the period from April 1, 2006 until March 31, 2007 and awarded grades ranging from A (highest) to F to evaluate the efforts and results achieved by more than three dozen countries which were either the site of Nazi crimes or admitted Holocaust perpetrators after World War II. more...

Jerusalem - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today released the full text of its sixth Annual Status Report on the Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals, which covers the period from April 1, 2006 until March 31, 2007 and awarded grades ranging from A (highest) to F to evaluate the efforts and results achieved by more than three dozen countries which were either the site of Nazi crimes or admitted Holocaust perpetrators after World War II. more...

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its opposition to the screening tonight in prime time by Croatian state television (Channel 2) of the recent (June 17) concert by rock singer Marko Perkovic (“Thompson”), at which numerous members of the audience displayed Ustasha uniforms, symbols, and banners. In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that the screening of the concert and especially in such an attractive time-slot would “encourage Croatian extremist nationalists by giving official sanction to an event which constituted a brazen display of the symbols of Croatian racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia.”

According to Zuroff:

“The widespread display of Ustasha and ultranationlist symbols at Thompson concerts is no mistake or coincidence. A singer who sings nostalgically about Ustasha leader Ante Pavelic and favorably about Croatia’s worst World War II concentration camps Jasenovac and Stara Gradiska, is openly urging his fans to identify with the genocidal Ustasha regime which sought to liquidate Croatia’s Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies as well as their Croatian political opponents. By broadcasting Thompson’s concert on state television in prime time the government is in essence expressing its approval for his hateful message.”

For more information please contact: 972-51-214-156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed its sense of outrage and disgust in the wake of a massive show of fascist salutes, symbols and uniforms at a rock concert by popular ultra-nationalist Croatian singer “Thompson” attended by 60,000 people in Zagreb last night. In a letter sent today to Croatian President Stjepan Mesic, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff noted the presence of Croatian dignities, including the Minister of Science, Education and Sports, at the event and called for the banning of concerts by singers like Thompson who glorify fascism and racism.

According to Zuroff:

“According to the Croatian media, the concert turned into a massive fascist demonstration with tens of
thousands of people shouting the infamous Ustasha salute of “Za dom spremni.” In addition,… numerous participants came wearing Ustasha uniforms and symbols. To make matters worse, in attendance last night were officials and members of Parliament, as well as the Minister of Science, Education [!!] and Sports.

“Under the current circumstances, I believe that the time has come to prohibit public concerts by those who write songs of nostalgia for Jasenovac and inspire the show of Ustasha symbols, which constitute open and blatant incitement against all the minorities in Croatia.

“I believe that only if someone of your stature and outstanding anti-fascist credentials will lead the efforts to combat this ugly wave of revived fascism, can this extremely dangerous new trend be stopped before it engulfs Croatia.”

For more information please contact: 972-51-214-156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed satisfaction in the wake of confirmation received via the Austrian Embassy in Tel-Aviv that the Austrian authorities had launched an official criminal investigation into the widespread display of fascist Ustasha symbols at the May 12 gathering of Croatian nationalists in Bleiburg , Austria . The Center's chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff had officially protested the failure of the Austrian authorities to prevent or stop the display of the symbols of the Croatian fascist Ustasha movement which “made a mockery of Austria's ban on Nazi symbols and its law against Holocaust denial,” shortly after the event.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem , Zuroff welcomed the launching of the investigation and urged its expedition “to send an unequivocal message that Austria will not allow the display of symbols which extol the fascist movement which conducted an official policy of genocide against Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies during World War II.”

“In that respect, there was absolutely no difference between the Nazis and their Ustasha allies,” said Zuroff.

For more information please contact: 972-51-214-156

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today protested the utter failure this past Sunday of the Austrian authorities to prevent or stop the widespread use of Croatian fascist Ustasha symbols at a gathering of Croatian nationalist extremists held in Bleiburg, Austria. In a statement issued in Jerusalem and transmitted orally to the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Austrian Embassy in Israel, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director, Dr. Efraim Zuroff called for a full investigation of the events at Bleiburg and for steps to be taken to prevent their recurrence.

According to Zuroff:

“The fascist demonstrators at Bleiburg made a mockery of Austria’s ban on the use of Nazi symbols and its law against Holocaust denial by showing up in Ustasha uniforms and waving photographs of Ustasha leader Ante Pavelic, the person most responsible for the genocide carried out by the Croatian state (NDH) against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies during World War II.

“Is it any wonder that Austria continues to give haven to Croatian war criminal Milivoj Ašner, who lives in nearby Klagenfurt? If nationalist extremists can parade in Ustasha uniforms in 2007, today’s Austria is obviously sympathetic to Ašner, whose extradition to stand trial in Croatia for his crimes as Požega police chief has been blocked by Austria for over a year and a half.”

For more information please contact: 972-51-214-156

Belgrade- The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Serbian leaders to enlist their support in the ongoing efforts to facilitate the prosecution of three war criminals who committed crimes against Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies on the territory of former Yugoslavia during World War II. The cases in question are those of: former Hungarian gendarmerie officer Dr. Sandor Kepiro, who participated in the mass murder of civilians in Novi Sad in January 1942 and is currently living in Budapest; former Croatian police chief of the city of Slavonska Požega Milivoj Ašner, who orchestrated the persecution and murder of hundreds of civilians under his control and is currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria; and the former Croatian governor of Dubrovnik, who carried out a policy of persecution and repression against Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies and presently lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In separate meetings with Prime Minister Koštunica (together with Justice Minister Stojković and President Tadić, Zuroff stressed the need for Serbia to adopt a proactive stance on these cases and urged the Serbs to seek the extradition of all three criminals. Both Koštunica and Tadić expressed unqualified support for the Center’s attempts to facilitate the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators and promised that the Serbian authorities would make every effort to provide evidence and political support for this effort.

According to Zuroff:
“I am encouraged by my meetings with both the Prime Minister and the President, whose support for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals was unequivocal, and hope that it will be translated into practical political and judicial action by the pertinent Serbian authorities as quickly as possible.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today renewed its call for the resignation of Tyrol governor Herwig Van Staa in the wake of his attempts yesterday to falsify the Nazi past of former Innsbruck deputy mayor Ferdinand Obenfeldner. (Late last week, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff had called for Van Staa’s resignation following revelations that he and other local political leaders had celebrated Obenfeldner 90th birthday despite his wartime past as a Gestapo operative in Innsbruck.)

According to press reports, Van Staa yesterday defended his links to the former deputy mayor by claiming that Obenfeldner had “never served in the Gestapo or lied regarding his biography,” in total contradiction to all available historical documentation. Zuroff called Van Staa’s statements, as reported by the Austrian media, “absolutely shocking and incomprehensible,” and sufficient basis for his immediate resignation.

According to Zuroff:
“Perhaps in Austria, which continues to this day to serve as a haven for Nazi war criminals such as Milivoj Ašner and Erna Wallisch, it is acceptable practice for political leaders to cover up the Nazi past of their colleagues, but we find such behavior exceptionally reprehensible. Van Staa’s fabrications cannot erase the fact that Obenfeldner was a Gestapo operative who took part in the anti-Jewish operation in Innsbruck on Kristallnacht, that he was a member of the SS, and served in a Wehrmacht unit which participated in heinous war crimes in Greece and Italy. If Van Staa thinks that such a record is praiseworthy, he obviously does not deserve to wield political power.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem- The Simon Wiesenthal Center today issued a public call for the immediate resignation of Tyrol Governor Herwig von Staa and other local political leaders in the wake of an event they recently organized to honor former Gestapo operative and Innsbruck deputy mayor Ferdinand Obenfeldner. Among the politicians who gathered in Innsbruck several weeks ago to honour the former SS-man on the occasion of his 90th birthday were Innsbruck mayor Hilde Zoch, the head of the Tyrolean SPÖ, Hannes Gschwentner, the chief of the SPÖ in Innsbruck, Ernst Pechlaner and local SPÖ-politician Marie-Luise Pokorny-Reitter.

In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center expressed its anger and frustration that individuals whose deeds during the Nazi period should be publically repudiated, instead are honored by Austrian public figures, who clearly should be acting differently.

According to Zuroff:

“The fact that a person like Obenfeldner, who helped carry out the Kristallnacht pogrom in Innsbruck, in the course of which innocent Jews were murdered, and who is also suspected of participating in the killing of two Polish forced laborers was able to serve for more than 20 years as deputy mayor of Innsbruck and is still presented as a role model by local public figures clearly shows that Austria today remains a virtual paradise for Nazi war criminals. Such behavior makes it more than obvious why not a single Holocaust perpetrator has been successfully prosecuted in Austria in more than three decades and why the country is protecting escaped Croatian Nazi war criminal Milivoj Ašner (currently residing in Klagenfurt), whose extradition to stand trial for his wartime crimes in Požega has been requested more than a year ago by the Croatian judicial authorities.”

“The time has come for Austria not only to acknowledge the truth of extensive complicity in Nazi crimes by Austrians, but also to accept and implement the obvious practical implications,” said Zuroff.

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

JERUSALEM - The Simon Wiesenthal Center today protested the manufacture and distribution throughout Croatia of sugar packets bearing the likeness of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler along with tasteless jokes about Jews incarcerated in concentration camps, by the “Pinki” sugar company of Požega, Croatia.

In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by the its chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center expressed it s revulsion and disgust that such an item could be produced these days in a country in which the Holocaust not only took place, but was for the most part carried out by local Nazi collaborators.

According to Zuroff:
“One finds it hard to understand  what “Pinki” factory owner Anita Ivanesic was thinking when she initiated or approved of such an idea. If nothing else, this is a disgusting expression of nostalgia for the Third Reich and a period during which Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies were mass-murdered in independent Croatia. We urge the Croatian authorities to apply existing laws against incitement on religious, ethnic, and racial grounds against the “Pinki” factory and its owner and force them to recall the offensive sugar packets immediately. In a country in which so many innocent civilians were murdered by the Ustasha and the Nazis, there can be no tolerance for products which not only insult the memory of the fascists’ victims but encourage a revival of the killers’ lethal ideology.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Zagreb – The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff met late last night with Croatian Attorney-General Mladen Bajić and Deputy Attorney-General Antun Kvakan to discuss ongoing efforts by Croatia to prosecute escaped Ustasha police chief Milivoj Ašner (currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria) and investigate former Ustasha governor of Dubrovnik Ivo Rojnica (currently living in Buenos Aires, Argentina). In the course of the meeting, Zuroff urged the Croatian prosecutors to apply increased pressure on the Austrian authorities who have hereto refused to accede to a Croatian request for Ašner’s extradition, which was submitted in September 2005.

Croatian Attorney-General Bajić acknowledged the intransigence of the Austrian authorities and promised to urge the Croatian Justice Ministry to increase its efforts to expedite the Ašner case.

According to Zuroff:

“Time is rapidly running out in this case and therefore a concentrated effort must be made by all involved parties to finally convince the Austrian authorities that there is absolutely no basis for their refusal to turn over the former police chief of Požega to face charges for his role in the persecution and deportation to concentration camps, where they were murdered, of hundreds of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

Jerusalem – Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković expressed his unqualified support for the recent initiative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to encourage Serbia to seek the extradition of three Nazi war criminals, in a meeting held last night in Jerusalem with the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff.

The criminals under discussion are:

Zuroff welcomed the support of Foreign Minister Drašković and said that a proactive stance by the Serbian government might ultimately make the difference whether or not these Nazi criminals would finally be brought to justice.

All three cases have been the focus of intensive recent efforts by the Wiesenthal Center, with the latter two having been discovered by the Center in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project which offers financial rewards for information which facilitates the prosecution and punishment of Holocaust perpetrators.

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Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff urged the Serbian government to rapidly expedite the extradition to Belgrade for trial of three Holocaust war criminals in a meeting this evening in Jerusalem with visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Drašković.

The criminals under discussion are:

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center today demanded that Croatian Attorney General Mladen Bajić conduct an investigation to determine whether escaped Ustasha war criminal Milivoj Ašner entered Croatia in May 2006 without being arrested.

In a letter sent today from Jerusalem by the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center sent Attorney-General Bajić evidence which appears to indicate that Ašner secretly entered Croatia in May 2006 and was not arrested, despite being wanted for his crimes as Ustasha police chief of Požega during World War II. Attached to his letter, Zuroff sent a copy of a power of attorney (Punomoć) in which Ašner designated Karlo Lončar of Požega to represent him in a suit he initiated against Holocaust researcher Alan Budaj who uncovered the evidence which made possible his exposure as a war criminal in the framework of the Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” and prompted Croatia’s request for his extradition from Austria to stand trial for his crimes. The document noted its location as Požega, was dated May 20, 2006, and signed by Ašner.

According to Zuroff:

“Ustasha war criminal Ašner and those helping him are making a mockery of the Croatian legal system and the time has come to put an end to his violations of the law and bring him to trial at the scene of his crimes. Until now, unfortunately, the only person being tried is Alen Budaj, who deserves a prize for helping to expose a major war criminal and instead is being victimized by him in the Croatian courts.”

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Novy Sad – The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter , Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Bishop Iriney, the bishop of the Bačka district, to update him on the Center's efforts to bring escaped Nazi war criminals to justice and the ongoing efforts to combat fundamentalist Islamic anti-Semitism.

In a meeting held at Bishop Iriney's headquarters, Zuroff sought to enlist the support of the Serbian Orthodox Church for the Center's effort to enlist the active involvement of the Serbian government in its campaign to bring escaped Nazi war criminals to justice, and especially Milivoj Asner (former Požega, Croatia police chief now in Austria) and Ivo Rojnica (former Ustasha governor of Dubrovnik, Croatia, now in Buenos Aires), both of whom committed serious crimes against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies during World War II. Bishop Iriney expressed the unqualified support of the Orthodox Church for these efforts, praised the Center's dedication to bring Nazi war criminals to justice, and said that he would speak to Serbian leaders to encourage them to take legal measures against Asner and Rojnica.

Zuroff also discussed the rising threat to Israel and Jewish communities worldwide of the increasingly threatening anti-Semitism against Europe and the fundamentalists of Judeo-Christian civilization. Bishop Iriney expressed his unequivocal revulsion at this wave of the hate directed at Jews and Israel and promised to continue his efforts to combat this ugly phenomenon.

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Belgrade – The Simon Wiesenthal Center 's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here today with Serbian president Boris Tadić in an effort to enlist the active assistance of the Serbian government in its ongoing efforts to bring escaped Nazi war criminals to justice.

At their meeting at the presidential residence, Zuroff submitted dossiers on three escaped Nazi war criminals who committed crimes against Jews, Serbs and Gypsies on the territory of former Yugoslavia during World War II and asked the Serbian government to initiate extradition proceedings against them. The cases in question are those of former Požega [Croatia] police chief Milivoj Ašner who escaped to Austria from Croatia after he was exposed by Zuroff upon the launching of the Center's “Operation: Last Chance” project in Zagreb on June 30, 2004; former Ustasha governor of the city of Dubrovnik, [Croatia] Ivo Rojnica who has been living in Buenos Aires, Argentina for decades and a third case whose details remain confidential.

Following the meeting, Zuroff noted with satisfaction the response of President Tadić who emphasized the importance for Serbia of bringing to justice the war criminals of World War II and praised the work of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in this regard. In conclusion, Zuroff expressed his hope “that the Serbian government would indeed translate President Tadić's support and admiration into concrete action on these cases of escaped Holocaust perpetrators.”

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center today protested the recent appearance of a deeply-anti-Semitic article on the “Požega Online” website which mocked the Center's efforts to bring former Požega police chief Milivoj Ašner to justice and its demands that the vandalized and neglected local Jewish cemetery be restored.

In a letter sent today to Croatian ambassador to Israel Ivan Del Vechio, the Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, whose initiatives on the above issues are the focus of the attacks in the article, calls upon the Croatian authorities to take measures to prevent the appearance of such articles on Croatian websites and to educate the public against such phenomenon.

According to Zuroff:

“The text of the article speaks for itself. It is a classic example of the kind of primitive anti-Semitism, which existed in Croatia in the past, but which we hoped had disappeared forever. Unfortunately that does not appear to be the case. It is bad enough that people harbor anti-Semitic sentiments, but how can such hatred appear on an official website?

“As a native of Požega who has helped in the refurbishing of the local Jewish cemetery, I am certain that you will do your best to deal with this shameful incident. In that regard, while fixing stones and cemeteries is important, the ultimate challenge is to take the necessary measures to wipe out the anti-Semitism which leads to disgusting articles of this sort.”

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Zagreb – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today urged the Croatian government to complete the investigation of suspected Nazi war criminal Ivo Rojnica and expedite the extradition from Austria of “Operation: Last Chance” suspect, Milivoj Ašner, both of whom were Ustasha operatives who played an active role in the persecution and murder of civilians in Croatia during World War II.

Speaking at a special conference convened by the leaders of the Zagreb Jewish community in the wake of several recent anti-Semitic incidents, the Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, called upon the Croatian judicial authorities to maximize the efforts to prosecute the two Ustasha officials who were actively involved in the measures taken against Serbs, Jews, and Roma in the area of Dubrovnik (Rojnica) and Požega (Ašner).

According to Zuroff:

The crimes committed by the Ustasha continue to cast a dark shadow over Croatia and to influence interethnic relations. One of the most effective means of honestly facing the past is by prosecuting those responsible for the crimes of the Holocaust and therefore it is particularly critical that Rojnica and Ašner be brought to trial, while justice can still be achieved.”

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today that it has officially complained to the Austrian authorities regarding the country's lack of progress in extraditing indicted Croatian Nazi war criminal Milivoj (Georg) Ašner (Aschner)-who is currently residing in Klagenfurt- to Croatia to stand trial for the crimes he committed as police chief of Požega during the years 1941-1942. In letters sent to Justice Minister Gastinger and Interior Minister Prokop, the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff complained bitterly that although it is clear that Ašner lost his Austrian citizenship (which would have prevented his extradition), two months have passed with no practical action to expedite his removal to Croatia to stand trial. According to Zuroff:

“Despite the fact that government officials have told the media that Asner forfeited his Austrian citizenship by requesting Croatian citizenship, Asner is still living in Klagenfurt and one can only wonder what has to happen before the Austrian government will finally turn over this Nazi war criminal to face trial in Croatia , the country in which he committed his heinous crimes.

Asner's age is no secret and I believe that it is patently clear that every day that passes without practical progress, only brings him closer to eluding justice. I therefore urge you to take whatever steps can be possibly taken to expedite his extradition to stand trial for his crimes. To do otherwise, might appear to some an act of mercy but there should be no mercy for those like Asner who had no sympathy for their innocent victims.”

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Vienna – The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, met here over the course of the last twenty-four hours with the Austrian ministers of justice and the interior to press the government to expedite the cases of three Nazi war criminals linked to Austria – Mauthausen doctor Dr. Aribert Heim, Požega (Croatia) police chief Milivoj Ašner (currently living in Klagenfurt), and Majdanek guard Erna Wallisch (currently living in Vienna), all of which are part of the Center's “Operation: Last Chance” project which offers financial rewards for information which facilitates the prosecution and punishment of Holocaust perpetrators.

In his meeting with Justice Minister Karin Gastinger, Zuroff pressed for a speedy resolution of the legal obstacles, which have hereto prevented the prosecution of Ašner who has already been indicted in his native Croatia , which has also requested his extradition to stand trial in Pozega. He also protested the recent decision by the Austrians not to prosecute Wallisch who admitted her participation in leading Jews to be gassed at Majdanek and guarding them prior to their murder.

n his meeting with Interior Minister Liese Prokop, Zuroff urged the Austrian government to match the reward of 130,000 euros currently offered by the German government for information leading to the capture of Dr. Aribert Heim who murdered several hundred inmates with lethal injections to the heart during his service at the Mauthausen concentration camp.

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The statement was issued in Jerusalem by the Center's chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, in the wake of media reports that Ašner, who was exposed in the framework of the Center's “Operation: Last Chance” project thanks to the research of Alen Budaj, was seeking the return of his property in Croatia.

“At this point, the most important thing as far as justice is concerned, is that Ašner, who shares responsibility for the persecution, and deportation to concentration camps where they were murdered, of hundreds of Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies from Požega be held accountable for his crimes. His attempts to obtain his property while he refuses to face Croatian justice is the height of hypocrisy,” said Zuroff.

Background

Milivoj Ašner, who served as police chief of the city of Požega during the years 1941-1942, was indicted two months ago in Croatia for the crimes he committed during World War II, but has not yet been brought to trial since he is currently residing in Klagenfurt, Austria and the Austrian government refuses to extradite him since he is an Austrian citizen.

In a statement issued in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter , Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called upon the Austrian authorities to honor the memory of the late Simon Wiesenthal by finally bringing this Nazi war criminal to justice, either by acceding to the Croatian extradition request or by prosecuting him in Austria . He noted that Austria has failed to successfully prosecute a single Holocaust perpetrator in the past thirty years and urged the Austrian justice officials to expedite the case so that justice could finally be achieved.

According to Zuroff:

“The time has come to translate all the words of praise for Mr.Wiesenthal and his quest for justice into practical judicial action. To do otherwise, would turn the glowing praise showered upon him this week into meaningless clichés devoid of any significance.”

I In the course of their meeting, President Mesić expressed unqualified support for the prosecution of Croatian Nazi war criminals and stressed several times that the fact that they are elderly in no way diminishes the necessity of bringing them to justice. He also shared the concern expressed by Dr. Zuroff that more than a year had passed since the Center exposed Ašner, and yet he still had not been indicted by the Croatian judicial authorities. This concern was the subject of the meeting between Dr. Zuroff and Attorney-General Bajić, who reviewed the steps already taken by the Croatian prosecutors and expressed his confidence that Ašner would be charged in early fall 2005.

In a press conference held today at the Požega municipality, Zuroff reiterated the Center's call for the immediate prosecution of Milivoj Ašner, currently in Klagenfurt, Austria, noting that more than a year had passed since he had submitted the evidence (received from researcher Alen Budaj) to Croatian Attorney-General Mladen Bajic, following the launching in Croatia on June 30, 2004 of “Operation: Last Chance”. He also called for immediate steps to stop the ongoing vandalization and desecration of the Požega Jewish cemetery, which had no gate, fence or protection of any sort.

Mayor Ronko condemned the crimes committed against innocent civilians in Požega and called for the prosecution of those guilty. He claimed that plans had been prepared for the preservation of the Požega Jewish cemetery, but pointed to bureaucratic difficulties, which had prevented their implementation. He noted with satisfaction that plaques marking the locations of the town's three pre-World War II synagogues would soon be in place.

Zuroff also met in Požega with the president of the Požega district court Branimir Milijević and the investigative judge of the Ašner case Berislav Devčić.

In a statement issued today in Jerusalem, the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff expressed his fullest confidence in the documents presented by Alen Budaj which unequivocally prove Asner's complicity in the persecution and deportation to concentration camps of hundreds of Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies from the Croatian city of Slavonska Pozega, many of whom were murdered by the Ustasha (Croatian fascists).

According to Zuroff:
“It is utterly ridiculous that Alen Budaj, who has done Croatia an enormous service by researching and proving the wartime crimes of Ustasha war criminal Milivoj Asner, finds himself accused and on trial, when almost an entire year has passed since the Wiesenthal Center exposed Asner in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance,” and he has still not been indicted, let alone extradited from Austria, to which he fled last year following his exposure. We urge the Croatian authorities to finally charge Asner with war crimes and take all the necessary legal measures immediately to ensure that he will be held accountable for his crimes.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

In a letter sent today to Austrian ambassador to Israel Dr. Kurt Hengl, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff noted that Asner’s presence in Klagenfurt has been well-known to the Austrian authorities for months, but yet they have hereto not taken any legal action against him in direct contradiction of the declarations by Austrian leaders of their determination to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice.

According to Zuroff:

“Despite the plethora of incriminating evidence against Asner and his important role in the persecution, and deportation to concentration camps where they were murdered, of hundreds of Serbs, Jews, and Gypsies, the Austrian government has hereto refrained from taking any legal measures against this Nazi war criminal. While it is true that Asner is currently under investigation in Croatia for his crimes, there is no guarantee that he will indeed be indicted and as time goes by without any legal steps being taken, the chances of his prosecution diminish.

“Under these circumstances, I urge you to convey to your government the necessity of urgent legal measures by the Austrian authorities, whose actions in this matter will finally lend practical credence to their professed good intentions and declared determination to hold Holocaust perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

During World War II, Asner served as police chief of the Croatian city of Slavonska Pozega. In a recent (May 5, 2005) interview to the Croatian weekly Hrvatski List, Asner declared that he would gladly repeat his World War II activities.”

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Asner, the police chief of Slavonska Požega, who played an active role in the persecution of hundreds of Jews, Serbs, and Gypsies and their deportation to Ustasha concentration camps where they were murdered, was discovered this past summer in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance.” The case of Ivo Rojnica, the Ustasha governor of Dubrovnik, which was also submitted by the Wiesenthal Center, is still under investigation several years after its submission.

President Mesić stated unequivocally that the prosecution of these cases is of the utmost importance, especially in view of the age of the defendants. He also noted their importance in terms of educating the public about the horrors of the Holocaust, and promised Dr. Zuroff to update him as soon as possible regarding the imminent decision of the Croatian Attorney-General on the indictment of Asner, which would then be followed by a request for his extradition from Austria. (Following his exposure by the Wiesenthal Center on June 30, 2004. Asner fled to Klagenfurt, Austria, where he currently resides.)

Zuroff thanked President Mesic’ for his unflinching support for the prosecution of Nazi war criminals and congratulated him on his recent reelection.

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156/p> www.operationlastchance.org

In a meeting held earlier this week in Zagreb, the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff urged Croatian Attorney-General Mladen Bajic and his deputy Slavko Zadnik to take measures to facilitate the prosecution of Asner for his World War II crimes and discussed various means to achieve that end. On the same day, the Center and the Targum Shlishi Foundation, headed by philanthropist Aryeh Rubin, awarded the first financial reward in the framework of “Operation: Last Chance” to Alen Budaj, of Zagreb, who carried out the research used to expose Asner as a Nazi war criminal. The check for $5,000 dollars was given to Budaj by Dr. Zuroff at a special press conference held at the offices of the Croatian Civic Committee for Human Rights in Zagreb.

Ravnatelj izraelske podružnice Centra Simon Wiesenthal, Efraim Zuroff, rekao je da je na današnjem sastanku s hrvatskim predsjednikom Stjepanom Mesićem, dobio punu potporu za operaciju hvatanja nacističkih ratnih zločinaca nazvanu "Posljednja šansa" koju je taj Centar pokrenuo u Hrvatskoj.

" Od hrvatskog sam predsjednika dobio punu potporu za operaciju hvatanja nacističkih ratnih zločinaca u Hrvatskoj", kazao je Zuroff. "U današnjem su razgovoru istaknute dvije važne činjenice. Najprije, važno je privesti nacističke ratne zločince pred lice pravde, a zatim, nacistički ratni zločinci, znajući da je ova operacija u tijeku, neće imati mira, koji ionako ni ne zaslužuju, iako su u poodmakloj dobi", rekao je Zuroff. Operacijom "Posljednja šansa" Centra Simon Wiesenthal ponuđeno je 10.000 dolara za informacije koje bi dovele do kaznenog progona i sudske presude onima koji su u Drugom svjetskom ratu počinili nacističke ratne zločine.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Targum Shlishi Foundation officially launched their «Operation:Last Chance» project today in Croatia at a special press conference held at the offices of the Croatian Civic Committee for Human Rights which is serving as the Center`s local partner in implementing the project.

At the press conference the Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff revealed that he had already met this morning with Croatian Attorney-General Mladen Bajić and submitted a fully-documented file against Milivoj Ašner, the former Ustaša police chief of the city of Slavonska Požega who had played an active role in the persecution and murder of numerous civilians from that town, and was the first suspect named in Croatia in the framework of «Operation:Last Chance.»(His name was submitted to Dr. Zuroff several weeks ago in the wake of the news that the Center was planning to launch O:LC in Croatia.)Ašner, who still plays an active role in Croatian politics as the founder of the Original Peasants Party, returned to Croatia from Austria after the dismemberment of Yugoslavia.

Zuroff and Dr. Zoran Pusic, president of the Civic Committee, met this morning with Croatian president Stipe Mesić who expressed his fullest support for the project.

Croatia is the seventh country in which the Wiesenthal Center and the Targum Shlishi Foundation, founded and headed by Aryeh Rubin of Miami, Florida,have launched «Operation: Last Chance.»To date,the names of 296 suspects have been submitted,of which 72 have already been turned over to local prosecutors. Fifteen murder investigations have been initiated against approximately 40 suspects.The project will be launched in Hungary (July 13), Argentina (August), Germany (September 21) and the Ukraine (fall 2004).

For more information call: 972-51-214156

Croatian president Stipe Mesić today expressed his fullest support for the Wiesenthal Center’s “Operation: Last Chance” project at a meeting at the Presidential Palace with the Center’s chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff immediately prior to the official launching of the project this morning at a special press conference in Zagreb.

President Mesić stressed two points in explaining the importance of “Operation: Last Chance.”
First of all, it is critical that those who committed the crimes of the Holocaust be held accountable and be brought to justice. Second, the very existence of such a project means that Nazi war criminals will not be able to sleep well at night and that is exactly as it should be.

Besides clearly expressing his support for “Operation: Last Chance,” President Mesić said that he stands ready to personally assist the initiative.