Simon Wiesenthal
Photo: AP
After 9 months: Tomb placed on Wiesenthal’s grave
Almost a year has passed since Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal passed away. Now, after his wife’s remains were brought to Israel to be buried next to him, was a stone placed on their grave. Olmert at memorial ceremony: The mark left by people like Wiesenthal stays with us forever
Many months after the passing of famed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal, a tombstone was finally laid on his grave Friday. A memorial ceremony was held at the Hertzliya cemetery where he was buried, and a stone was placed over the graves of Simon Wiesenthal and his wife Tzila. Contrary to his funeral ceremony, which was not attended by government representatives, on Friday Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and MK Yaakov Edri arrived to take part in the memorial service.
Since his death in September 2005, a tombstone was not laid over the grave, and was only put up now that his wife’s remains were brought to Israel to be buried alongside him. Six black stones each carved with a Magen David similar to the yellow star Jews were forced to wear under the Nazi regime, were placed on the black gravestone.
Tombstones laid on Wiesenthals' grave (Photo: Assaf Shiloh/Israel Sun)
Some 200 people gathered under the pavilion to take part in the memorial service, including representatives from foreign countries. It appeared however that the memorial’s organizers expected more guests, as speakers were placed around the pavilion so guests outside of it could hear the memorial speeches delivered during the ceremony. All the guests, however, managed to fit inside. During the ceremony, guests paid their respects and phrases from Tehilim were read, and various memorial prayers were recited.
Speaking at the ceremony, the prime minister spoke about the Wiesenthal s’ difficult life. Tzila was supposed to be onboard one of the trucks that transported Jews to Majdanek, but was miraculously saved. Simon was standing facing a wall, with his hands folded behind his head, while those standing on either side of him were shot to death, one after the other. When it came his turn, the church bells rang and he was miraculously saved. “If the Nazis only guessed how the young Jewish child would pay them back after the war, they would have killed him first,” Olmert said.
The prime minister added, “Simon was saved but did not ever forget the victims, the crimes or the criminals. He saw his survival as a privilege that came with responsibility, and he carried out that duty in his merciless hunt for Nazi criminals. He believed that capturing Nazi criminals and making them stand trial would be an eternal answer to the loathsome attempt to undermine the truth of the Holocaust. With clear vision he called out their attempt to forget and make others forget not only the crimes against the Jews but also the silence of those who didn’t raise their voices to save the six million victims. Even though he lived in Austria, he loved Israel and believed the existence of the state raised the value of every Jew throughout the world.”
“The mark left by people like Wiesenthal stays with us forever. The matter of anti-Semitism bothered him very much, as it bothers me. Wiesenthal’s dynasty will always be with the State of Israel,” Olmert said.
