SWC to German Authorities: Investigation of Neo-Nazi Terror Should Include Possible Cover-Up of Holocaust Crimes

Jerusalem/Muenster-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called upon the German authorities to investigate the possibility that the sameofficials who either colluded with neo-Nazi terrorists or purposely ignored their criminal activities also conspired to prevent the prosecution of Nazi war criminals. In a statement issuedtoday by its chief Nazi-hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, and its chief researcher in Germany Dr. Stefan Klemp, the Center noted that unlike the situation in most of the otherLaender, where numerous Nazi war criminals have been and/or are currently under investigation, in recent years there have no investigations whatsoever of Holocaust perpetrators inThuringia.

According to Zuroff and Klemp:

"In the light of this week's revelations, we cannot totally discount the possibility that the same officials who colluded and/or turned a blind eye toneo-Nazi activity in Thuringia helped made sure that no Nazi war criminals would be investigated, let alone prosecuted. The urgent investigation into the serious crimes committed by theneo-Nazis should therefore also seriously consider the possibility that their activities included efforts to shield their ideological predecessors from the recently increasingly successfulefforts in Germany to bring Nazi war criminals to justice."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. Itis an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe, and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).