February 25, 1999
Weitere Beweise
liegen vor: Massenmord
Antanas Gudelis
Commander of various police units which actively
participated in the murder of thousands of civilians
The Simon Wiesenthal Center today asked the
Lithuanian government to extradite or try in absentia a former Lithuanian
police battalion officer currently residing in Adelaide. Dr Efraim Zuroff,
the Center’s Israel director today submitted a file on Antanas Gudelis, who
commanded various police units which actively participated in the
persecution and murder of thousands of civilians (primarily Jews) in Kaunas
and other locations in Lithuania, to the Lithuanian Embassy in Tel-Aviv and
urged the Lithuanian authorities to take immediate action in this case.
"According to Lithuanian law suspects accused of
genocide can be tried in absentia regardless of their state of health
and we therefore are seeking to utilize this option as a means of
bringing this Holocaust perpetrator to trial," said Dr. Zuroff who was
accompanied by Member of Knesset Prof. Alex Lubotzky, whose father is a
survivor of the Vilnius (Lithuania) Ghetto and Adv. Yosef Melamed,
chairman of the Association of Lithuanian Jews, the worldwide umbrella
organization for Jews of Lithuanian origin.
Dr. Zuroff also noted that this case highlighted
the continued failure of the Australian government to take action
against Nazi war criminals following the closure of the Special
Investigations Unit. He expressed the hope that the file on Gudelis,
which included new evidence would finally convince the Australian
government to adopt a policy of denaturalization and/or deportation
against such persons.
Background
Antanas Gudelis was one of
the Nazi war criminals discovered in Australia by the Simon
Wiesenthal Center. He was investigated by the Australian Special
Investigations Unit which confirmed his collaboration with the Nazis
but claimed it was unable to prove his participation in murder.
Following the closure of the Special Investigations Unit in 1992,
the Wiesenthal Center has uncovered substantial additional evidence
proving that Gudelis actively participated in the persecution and
murder of Jews during World War II. Although this evidence was sent
to the Australian authorities, no action has been taken against him,
hence the Center’s request to the Lithuanian government.
Abb.: The Murder of Jewish Women in the
Baltic
Yigal Lossin: Amud haEsch (p.317)
Es stellt sich uns beim Anblick dieser Bilder
die Frage: 'Ist die Veröffentlichung dieser Photographien überhaupt
zulässig? Ist es mit der Würde des Menschen vereinbar in dieser
Weise und in diesem Moment gesehen zu werden?'
Es stellt sich uns ausserdem die Frage: 'Wie
ist es möglich, dass obwohl diese Bilder und das Wissen um diese
Taten seit Jahrzehnten öffentlich zugänglich sind, dennoch die Täter
- obwohl bekannt - obwohl unter uns lebend - so selten zur
Rechenschaft gezogen wurden?''
In diesem Zusammenhang erinnern wir auch an
SS Anton Malloth, der seinen Lebensabend hier in
München ungestört und unbehelligt verbringt - er ist nur einer von
vielen!
Appell des
Wiesenthal-Centers Jerusalem |
|
haGalil onLine -
Freitag 26-02-99 |