Wiesenthal Center Welcomes Conviction of Auschwitz "Accountant" Oscar Groening; Calls Upon German Authorities to Expedite Cases of Death Camp and Einsatzgruppen Operatives

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed the conviction today by a German court in Luneberg of Oscar Groening for his wartime service in the notorious Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. In a statement issued here today by its chief Nazi hunter, Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Centeremphasized the importance of the conviction and expressed hope that the ongoing investigations by German judicial officials of Holocaust perpetrators would be expedited to maximize justice whilethese individuals can still be held accountable for their crimes.

According to Zuroff:

"The well-deserved conviction of Auschwitz 'accountant' Groening will hopefully pave the way for additional prosecutions of individuals who served in death camps and the special mobile killingunits (Einsatzgruppen). It is abundantly clear that the window of opportunity to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice will soon be closed, which makes the expedition of these cases ofexceptional urgency. We therefore call upon the German government to make available the necessary resources and upon the judicial officials to give first priority to these cases."

For more information: Dr. Efraim Zuroff 972.50.721.4156 Twitter: @EZuroff, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter,
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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in theUnited States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).