Wiesenthal Center Welcomes Removal by Vilnius Municipality of Plaque Honoring Lithuanian Nazi Collaborator Jonas Noreika

Jerusalem – The Simon Wiesenthal Center today welcomed the removal early Saturday morning by the Vilniusmunicipality of a plaque honoring Lithuanian Nazi collaborator Jonas Noreika, who played an important role in the annihilation of Jews in northwestern Lithuania during the Holocaust.

In a statement issued here today by its Director of Eastern European Affairs, Holocaust historianDr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center emphasized the importance of the removal of the plaque honoring Noreika from the façade of the library of the Lithuanian Academy of Science.

According to Zuroff:

"The removal of the plaque honoring Noreika is an important step in the efforts to stop theglorification of Lithuanian anti-Soviet heroes who participated in Holocaust crimes. While turning anti-Soviet fighters into national heroes is understandable, those who participated in themurder of Jews should not be granted that status. We hope that other honors granted to members of the 12^th Lithuanian Auxiliary Police Battalion, for example, which murdered thousandsof Jews in Belarus in 1941-1942, will similarly be removed."

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: 972-2-563-1274 or972-50-721-4156, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @EZuroff @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to yourTwitter feed.

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

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