Wiesenthal Center says capture of 97-year-old Ladislaus Csizsik-Csatary was
made possible due to cooperation with British paper. Holocaust
survivors: It's too late because he has already lived his
life.
The most wanted Nazi criminal in the world, Ladislaus Csizsik-Csatary, who was
located in Budapest on Sunday, was captured thanks to information
obtained by the Wiesenthal Center, head of the Israel office
Efraim Zuroff said on Sunday.
Ninety-seven-years-old Laszlo is accused of complicity in
the deaths of 15,700 Jews during World War II.
"I confirm that Laszlo Csatary was identified and located in Budapest," said Zuroff. "This whole operations was 'made in Israel.' It's the product of our work in cooperation
with (British newspaper) The Sun," Zuroff told Ynet.
"It was important for us
to cooperate (with the newspaper) so that it gets wide media
coverage, more than we can ever achieve," he said, adding that The Sun invested large funds in tracking and even confronting
Csatary "in hopes that the coverage would increase the pressure on the courts and public
opinion in Hungary, as well as the world at large."
According to Zuroff, the affair is
a proof of inadequacy of the Hungarian authorities, which
knew for 14 years that he is living in peace and quiet. It
is shocking especially these days, when anti-Semitism is
overflowing in Hungary."
Captured in Hungary. Csatary Laszlo
'Too late'
Holocaust survivors expressed mixed
feelings upon hearing the news of Csatary's capture.
Pension Gesner, 88, said "we
were in Košice until we were transferred to Auschwitz in
April 1944. I don't remember Csatary clearly, but I've heard
his name.
"Why do God give these
people such long lives?" Gesner wondered. "It's too late cause he has already lived his life. As it is you don't have much
of a life at that age."
Holocause survivor Marianna Boaz was
not consoled by the news either: "It's a disgrace for humanity that he has only been captured now and what happened
with Demjanjuk can happen again," she said.
"It might be better than
never, but the world is still silent because he got to live
his life, unlike others, whose deaths are his fault," Boaz noted.
Eva Franick seemed more content, saying
that the news made her feel good. "It's nice to know that there are people out there who still care about serving
justice to those people, because we no longer have the strength.
"Even if he is 97, having
his life end like this is also a punishment," she said.
The British newspaper said Sunday
on its online site that the Hungarian Nazi war criminal "was identified and found" in the Hungarian capital.
"Ten months ago, an informant
gave us information with which we have located Csatary Laszlo
in Budapest. This informant received a $25,000 premium that
we offered in exchange for the information," said Zuroff, adding that "The Sun was able to photograph and film him with information we had provided
them in September 2011."
Zuroff noted that the information
had been forwarded to the Budapest prosecutor's office in
September 2011.
Deputy Prosecutor Jeno Varga has not
been able to confirm the information, merely declaring that "an investigation is underway. The prosecution will examine the information received." ynetnews.com
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