מרכז ויזנטל: גרירת-הרגלים של אוסטריה בהעמדה לדין של ארנה וואליש, שהייתה זקיפה במחנה מאיידנק, אפשר לה בסופו של דבר לחמוק מהצדק למרות שהתיק בעניינה נפתח לאחרונה שנית

והתגוררה בוינה עד לשבת האחרונה, הצליחה לחמוק מהעמדה לדין בגין פשעיה בתקופת השואה עקב מותה בבית חולים בבירה האוסטרית.

בהודעה שהוציא דר' אפרים זורוף, צייד הנאצים ומנהל מרכז ויזנטל בישראל נאמר שמות וואליש מנע ממנה לעמוד לדין לאחר שממש לאחרונה גברה האפשרות לכך , עקב ההתפתחות החדשה ששלטונות פולין איתרו חמש ניצולות ממחנה המוות מאיידנק שראו במו עיניהן פשעים שביצעה שם וואליש. (עדויות אלה הובילו להחלטת רשויות אוסטריה מהעת האחרונה לפתוח מחדש את תיקה של וואליש.)

לדברי זורוף:

"ארנה וואליש ומשפחתה צריכים להודות לכל ממשלות אוסטריה לדורותיהן על גרירת הרגליים המתמשכת לגבי העמדתה לדין ועל העובדה שהיא לא נענשה מעולם על פשעיה במאיידנק ובמחנה הריכוז ראבנסברוק. העובדה שאישה זו, אשר הודתה בהובלת אנשים לתאי הגזים ובשמירה עליהם לבל יברחו, לא הועמדה מעולם לדין בגין פשעיה האכזריים, היא אות קלון לאוסטריה והוכחה ניצחת לחוסר הרצון הפוליטי המתמשך בוינה להעמיד פושעי מלחמה נאצים לדין. מותה חייב לשמש תזכורת לכל הממשלות אשר דנות בתיקים של פושעים נאצים שיש לזרז את העמדתם לדין כדי לא להחמיץ את האפשרות לעשיית דין צדק."

למידע נוסף נא להתקשר לטל. 7214156-050

WIESENTHAL CENTER: ÖSTERREICHS JAHRZEHNTELANGES VERSAGEN BEI DER STRAFVERFOLGUNG VON NS-VERBRECHERN ERMÖGLICHTE ES DER KZ-AUFSEHERIN ERNA WALLISCH, DER GERECHTIGKEIT ZU ENTKOMMEN, TROTZ DER WIEDERAUFNAHME IHRES VERFAHRENS

Jerusalem. Das Simon Wiesenthal Center Center hat heute tiefes Bedauern darüber zum Ausdruck gebracht, dass der Aufseherin des KZ Majdanek, Erna Wallisch, die bis letzten Samstag in Wien wohnte, eine Anklage wegen ihrer Holocaust-Verbrechen durch ihren Tod in einem Krankenhaus erspart geblieben ist. In einer Stellungnahme hat der Nazi-Jäger und Chef des Wiesenthal Büros in Jerusalem, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, heute festgestellt, dass der Tod sie vor einem möglichen Gerichtsverfahren bewahrt hat. Ein solches Verfahren sei kürzlich immer wahrscheinlicher geworden, nachdem polnische Behörden fünf Zeuginnen ausfindig gemacht hatten, die als Majdanek-Überlebende über Verbrechen der Wallisch ausgesagt hatten. Diese Zeugenaussagen hatten letztlich Österreich dazu bewogen, das Verfahren gegen Wallisch wieder aufzunehmen.

Dr. Efraim Zuroff: „Erna Wallisch und ihre Familie können sich bei den früheren österreichischen Regierungen dafür bedanken, dass sie durch jahrzehntelanges Versagen der ehemaligen Aufseherin dazu verholfen haben, dass sie nie für ihre Rolle im Vernichtungslager Majdanek und im KZ Ravensbrück bestraft wurde. Die Tatsache, dass eine Frau, die selbst gestanden hatte, Menschen auf dem Weg zur Gaskammer begleitet und sie dabei bewacht zu haben, nie für ihre grausamen Verbrechen zur Rechenschaft gezogen wurde, ist ein Schandmal für Österreich und ein starker Beweis für den über Jahrzehnte hinweg fehlenden politischen Willen, österreichische NS-Täter zur Rechenschaft zu ziehen. Ihr Tod sollte allen Regierungen, die noch mit der Verfolgung von NS-Verbrechern zu tun haben, in Erinnerung rufen, dass sie alles dafür tun müssen, diese Verbrecher vor Gericht zu stellen, so lange es noch möglich ist.“

Das Wiesenthal Center hatte im Mai 2004 bei der Operation Last Chance erstmals Hinweise auf die KZ-Aufseherin Wallisch erhalten und ihren Fall aufgedeckt.

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Wiesenthal Center: Austria’s Decades-Long Failure to Prosecute Majdanek Guard Erna Wallisch Ultimately Allowed Her to Escape Justice Despite Recent Re-Opening of Her Case

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today expressed deep regret that Majdanek guard Erna Wallisch, until last Saturday a resident of Vienna, was spared prosecution for her Holocaust crimes in the wake of her death in a hospital in the Austrian capital. In a statement issued today in Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted that Wallisch’s death had prevented her from facing prosecution, which recently became a strong possibility in the wake of the discovery by the Polish authorities of five women who had survived the Majdanek death camp and had witnessed crimes committed by Wallisch. (These testimonies led to the recent decision the Austrian authorities to reopen the Wallisch case.)

According to Zuroff:

“Erna Wallisch and her family can thank the decades-long failure of successive Austrian governments for the fact that she ultimately was never punished for her role at the Majdanek death camp and Ravenbruck concentration camp. The fact that a woman who admitted taking people to be gassed and guarding them so that they could not escape was never held accountable for her heinous crimes is a badge of shame for Austria and stark proof of the decades-long lack of political will in Vienna to bring Austrian Holocaust perpetrators to justice. Her death should serve as a reminder to all the governments which are dealing with the cases of Nazi war criminals that they had best expedite these prosecutions while justice can still be achieved.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

www.operationlastchance. org www.wiesenthal.com

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Wiesenthal Center Urges Austrian Justice Minister to Expedite Re-Opened
Case of Majdanek Guard

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today urged Austrian Justice Minister Dr. Maria Berger to expedite the case of Majdanek guard Erna Wallisch, which was recently reopened by the Austrian authorities, in order to ensure that she be held accountable for her crimes at the Nazi death camp on the outskirts of Lublin. In a letter sent today from Jerusalem by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center noted the urgency of the situation due to Wallisch’s age (85) and emphasized the importance of such prosecutions despite the decades that have passed since the crimes were committed.

According to Zuroff:

“The new evidence and witnesses uncovered by the Poles have created an unforeseen opportunity to achieve justice in this case and I therefore urge you to do everything possible to expedite the investigation in Vienna so that justice can be achieved. In this respect, it is important to remember that the passage of time in no way diminishes the guilt of the perpetrators and that murderers do not deserve any consideration just because of longevity.

“Austria’s absolute failure during the past three decades to prosecute Nazi war criminals is well-known, but one of the first steps you took was to add 50,000 euros to the reward for information on escaped Nazi war criminal Dr. Aribert Heim. We hope that you will continue to distinguish yourself from your predecessors by actively expediting the Wallisch case so that she will not be allowed to elude justice.

“People like Erna Wallisch do not deserve any sympathy. The fact that they have not previously been convicted is a travesty of justice which can now be corrected. Doing so, will send a very powerful message that Austria has finally ceased to be a haven for the perpetrators of the Holocaust.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156

www.operationlastchance. org www.wiesenthal.com

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For First Time Ever Poland Gets Failing Grade in Wiesenthal Center 2007 Annual Report on Worldwide Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals

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...
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Wiesenthal Center Urges Polish Authorities to Expedite Case of Suspected Holocaust Murderer Discovered by Israeli Grandson and Nephew of Victims

The Wiesenthal Center announced today that it had submitted an official request to the Polish judicial authorities to expedite the investigation of a suspected Holocaust murderer who was recently discovered alive in Poland by the grandson and nephew of his victims. The case in question is that of Jozef Radczuk, currently living in the village of Przegaliny near the town of Komarowka in the vicinity of Lublin, who is suspected of participating in the murder of Gitel Lerner (then 45 years old), five of her children (ages 13 to 22 – two daughters and three sons) and two additional Jews on the night of October 30, 1943. Radczuk and his accomplices apparently carried out the murder in order to rob their victims who were hiding from the Nazis in the village. The crime was exposed by Israeli businessman Ronny Lerner, who is the grandson of Gitel and the nephew of her murdered children, and discovered Radczuk's current whereabouts in the course of research on the life of his father Yosef who survived the war in Warsaw posing as a non-Jew.

In a letter sent yesterday by the Center's chief Nazi-hunter , Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, to Dr. Janusz Kurtyka, president of the Polish Institute of National Memory, which is responsible for the prosecution of Holocaust crimes, Zuroff stressed the need to expedite the Radczuk investigation. In his words:

“Having carefully read the testimonies of Mr. Lerner and a summary of Mr. Radczuk's admissions on film, I believe that it is abundantly clear that this case is undoubtedly worthy of a comprehensive investigation. I would add, moreover, that given the age of the suspect, it is imperative to expedite the efforts to fully clarify the culpability of Jozef Radczuk with a view toward his possible prosecution and punishment as quickly as possible.”

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156
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Wiesenthal Center Urges Polish Government to seek Extradition From Austria of Unprosecuted Female Majdanek Guard Discovered in Framework of “Operation: Last Chance”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today appealed to the Polish Institute of National Memory to seek the extradition to Poland for trial of a female guard from the Majdanek death camp currently residing in Vienna, who was discovered by the Center in the framework of its “Operation: Last Chance” project. The guard, Erna Wallisch, served in the Ravensbruck and Majdanek concentration camps during the years 1941-1944, but last week in Vienna Austrian Justice Minister Karin Gastinger officially informed the Center's chief Nazi-hunter , Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, that Wallisch's crimes came under statute of limitations and she would therefore not be prosecuted.

In his meeting with Justice Minister Gastinger, Zuroff argued that Wallisch herself had admitted participation in the mass murder of inmates at Majdanek, and that a Polish survivor had testified that she was a sadist and had personally participated in selections, but the Austrian authorities claimed that they could take no legal action against her. Under these circumstances, Zuroff appealed to the Polish authorities based on Wallisch's admission of guilt and the fact that she had committed crimes in Poland and against Polish citizens, the responsibility for which was not limited in Poland by any statute. According to Zuroff, “It is unthinkable that a person who was part of the mass murder of at least thousands of innocent civilians should be protected by Austrian law, and we therefore urge the Polish authorities to try to achieve justice in this case.

For more information call 00-972-50-7214156
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Wiesenthal Center's Chief Nazi-Hunter Meets with Directors of Polish “Institute of National Memory” to Advance Investigation of Majdanek Guard Discovered in Framework of “Operation:Last Chance”

Dr. Zuroff also presented the initial results of “Operation: Last Chance” in Poland , where the Center has already received the names of twenty individuals alleged to have committed crimes against Jews during the Holocaust. Many of the cases involve Poles who are alleged to have murdered, or handed over to the Nazis, Jews who were in hiding in Poland , in some cases after promising to provide them with shelter in return for financial compensation.

According to Zuroff, researching Holocaust crimes by Poles is particularly difficult since, unlike the situation in the Baltics for example, the Nazis did not create Polish police units which they incorporated in the implementation of the Final Solution, and thus the crimes committed by Poles were invariably carried out by individuals acting on their own initiative, which makes them much harder to document and verify.

“Operation: Last Chance(Ostatnia Szansa)” infoline in Poland :(022)498-1507
“Operation: Last Chance” website: www.operationlastchance.org
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WIESENTHAL CENTER PROTESTS REFUSAL OF POLISH DAILY “FAKT” TO PUBLISH AD FOR “OPERATION:LAST CHANCE” INFOLINE IN WARSAW

In a statement issued today in Jerusalem, by its chief Nazi-hunter Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center called the decision “a transparent attempt to curry favor with those afraid of the truth about the participation of some Poles in the persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust.”

According to Zuroff, the Center did not anticipate the refusal by any of the local media to publish the ad whose text said:
“Information on Nazi war criminals Reward of 10,000 euros
Call (022)498-1507 Simon Wiesenthal Center/ Targum Shlishi “

“The refusal by Fakt to publish this ad points to the difficulty of many Poles to deal with the fact that among those who assisted the Nazis in the annihilation of Polish Jewry were some of their countryman,” said Zuroff.

Wiesenthal Center Rejects Criticism of “Operation:Last Chance” Infoline in Poland ; Stresses Urgency of Project in That Country

According to Zuroff:

“…while Poles can be extremely proud of the activities of “ Zegota ” a Polish organization especially founded to rescue Jews, and of the heroism of the other Polish Righteous Among the Nations, the sad truth is that many Poles participated in the murder of their Jewish neighbors and others assisted the Nazis in doing so, and that truth must be confronted honestly. Of course Polish leaders would prefer that their country be regarded exclusively as a victim of the Nazis, but that is not the entire truth and it is extremely important that the whole historical picture emerge clearly and be visible to all.

“I sincerely believe that one of the ways to help do so, is to bring the guilty to justice in Poland , and in that regard we hope that “Operation: Last Chance” will not only succeed, but that even its current detractors will ultimately recognize its importance and value for their country.”

Wiesenthal Center Urges Austrian, Romanian and Polish Officials to Expedite Prosecution of Nazi War Crimes Cases as “Oeration: Last Chance”Enters
Second Phase

During the past ten days Dr. Zuroff met personally with Austrian Justice Minister Dieter Bőhmdorfer, Romanian Prosecutor-General Dr. Ilie Botos, and Prof. Dr. Leon Kieres, director of the Institute of National Memory, which is responsible for the prosecution of Holocaust crimes in Poland, and urged these officials to give highest priority to the cases of Nazi war criminals.

According to Zuroff:

“Given the fact that those who committed the crimes of the Holocaust can only be prosecuted for another few years, it is particularly important that those countries with such suspects give these cases the highest possible priority. This problem is particularly acute in Austria, where despite the existence of numerous suspects, not a single Nazi war criminal has been convicted in over thirty years, and in Romania, which has failed to initiate a single investigation of a Holocaust perpetrator since it became a democracy, despite the active participation of numerous Romanians in the implementation of the Final Solution.”

Simon Wiesenthal Center Launches “Operation: Last Chance”
in Poland to Maximize Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals

“Operation: Last Chance” was officially launched at a press conference in Warsaw which featured Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, who is in charge of the program, Mr. Aryeh Rubin, the founder and president of “Targum Shlishi,” who conceived of the idea, and representatives of the Warsaw Jewish community, which is cooperating in assessing the incoming information.

“With time rapidly running out on the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, the Center believes that dramatic and innovative steps are necessary to help facilitate the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators in Poland, and we are confident that “Operation: Last Chance” is such a step. While Poland has successfully prosecuted one Nazi war criminal, many others remain unprosecuted and we hope that “Operation: Last Chance” will yield important new evidence as it has in the three countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia) in which it was already launched a year ago.

Wiesenthal Center 's Chief Nazi-Hunter to Visit Poland This Week to Launch “Operation: Last Chance”

Dr. Zuroff will be conducting a press conference on Wednesday, September 10 at a time and place to be announced.

He can be reached starting mid-day Tuesday, September 9 at the Radisson Centrum Hotel in Warsaw, tel: 321-8888 or at 972-51-214-156.