Wiesenthal Honoured in Vienna
Political leaders, diplomats and the young and old of all faiths bade farewell to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal on Wednesday, paying tribute to his lifelong pursuit of World War II's most heinous criminals.
The 96-year-old concentration camp survivor died Tuesday. His shrouded coffin lay in the center of a hall filled with friends, Austria's leaders and the media at Vienna's Central Cemetery.
Mayor Michael Haeupl thank-ed Wiesenthal for remaining for decades in Austria's capital, an uncomfortable time when many in the country did not wish to be reminded of the country's actions under Nazi rule.
"He was treated unfairly," Haeupl said. "And when this unfairness comes from friends, it hurts twice as much."
Austria's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel as well as the interior and justice ministers, attended the ceremony, which was open to the public. People of all ages and faiths came.
Schuessel told the crowd that Wiesenthal had offered an example for postwar officials dealing with war criminals, saying his belief that individuals should be held responsible set the tone for U.N. tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Ashbel described Wiesenthal as the conscience that led to justice. "You left us with the task of reminding humanity of the Holocaust and to warn of misanthropy," Ashbel said. "We share your hope for a better world and will carry on your mission and work."
Following the half-hour ceremony, people filed past the casket. Several wreaths, including two large ones with purple and white flowers, lay nearby. Their ribbons, in the blue and white colors of the Israeli flag, carried wishes from Israel and from the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.
"He felt he had to do something for those who didn't come back," Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld said. "He was a witness."
Wiesenthal will be buried Friday in Israel, where his daughter, Pauline Kreisberg, lives. His wife, Cyla, died in 2003.