Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today released the following statement mourning the death of Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who brought more than a thousand of Hitler’s war criminals to justice.

“Simon Wiesenthal’s life was dedicated to the pursuit of justice.  From the ashes of the Holocaust, he roused the righteous indignation of the world, fighting to bring to account the perpetrators of history’s most notorious mass murder.  He tracked down scores of escaped Nazi criminals and their collaborators in every corner of the globe.  He located Adolph Eichmann, the man who personally directed the machinery of genocide.  And even when the criminals could not be found, they were forced to spend the rest of their days looking over their shoulders and wondering, ‘will Simon Wiesenthal find me?’

“‘When history looks back,’ Wiesenthal said, ‘I want people to know the Nazis weren’t able to kill millions of people and get away with it.’  Thanks to his efforts, and the efforts of those he inspired, many of the perpetrators were not able to get away with it.  More importantly, his work ensured that the world would never forget.

“With his death, the world loses a great voice of conscience, a man who lived the words of the Torah, ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue.’  We should honor his life by carrying on his work, to pursue justice, and to make good the pledge, ‘never again!’”