July 15, 2015
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) has welcomed the conviction and four-year prison term handed to Oskar Groening, the ‘Bookkeeper of Auschwitz’, after he was found guilty of being an accessory to the mass murder of 300,000 people in the death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“This trial and deserved conviction of Groening sends an unequivocal message that although seven decades have passed since the end of the Holocaust, the day of judgement awaits the remaining Nazi perpetrators and their accomplices. There can be no statute of limitations on justice for the indescribable atrocities of the Shoah, and this trial demonstrates that it is never too late to bring Holocaust perpetrators to justice. We call on the German authorities to remain committed to this cause, and to use all of their available means to pursue individuals who served in the death camps and in the mobile killing units, even as they near their natural ends. These trials serve a critical role in educating the young generation about the Holocaust, and are important vehicles in preserving its memory and in combatting the scourge of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism. In various ways, such trials reassure us that the victims and survivors will never be forgotten, and that their tormentors will be held accountable and punished for their wicked deeds. We urge all states, including the Australian government, to maximise their efforts in identifying, arresting and prosecuting the last surviving Nazi henchman who were part of the Third Reich’s machinery of evil.”
The Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272 5677
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