⚠️ Historical Documentation Notice
This document is part of a historical archive and is presented for scholarly research and educational purposes.
The content reflects historical perspectives and should be understood within its historical context.
Real History and the British Honours System The [images added by this website] Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal knighted The 95-year-old Holocaust survivor is honoured for a life’s work, reports Sean O’Neill SIMON Wiesenthal , the Holocaust survivor who has devoted his life to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen yesterday.
The Foreign Office said the award was made “in recognition of a lifetime of service to humanity”. Mr Wiesenthal, 95, uncovered the evidence that led to the execution of Adolf Eichmann, who supervised the implementation of Hitler’s Final Solution. He also tracked down Karl Silberbauer , the Gestapo officer who arrested Anne Frank , the schoolgirl whose diary became world-famous.
Despite his age, Mr Wiesenthal still works, attending the sparsely-furnished rooms from which he and a staff of three run the Jewish Documentation Centre in Vienna. His mission is aided by the network of Simon Wiesenthal centres in the United States, Europe and Israel.
The honorary KBE is intended to recognise the value of Mr Wiesenthal’s work to Jewish communities from Austria, Germany and central Europe, who made their post-war homes in Britain Jack Straw , the Foreign Secretary, [ Straw (right) with friend ] said: “Mr Wiesenthal has been untiring in his service to the Jewish communities in the UK and elsewhere by helping to right at least some of the awful wrongs of the Holocaust.
“If there is one name which symbolises this vital coming to terms with the past it is Simon Wiesenthal’s.” Mr Wiesenthal was born in Buczacz in the Ukraine in December 1908 and became an architect in Lvov after training at Prague University. He married his wife, Cyla, in 1936 and lived happily until 1939 when the Nazi-Soviet pact saw the Red Army invade Lvov and begin a persecution of the Jewish community.
When the Nazis arrived in 1941, his family was sent to a concentration camp and then into forced labour. David Irving comments: ONLY the meanest spirit could possibly see Jack Straw ‘s award of the knighthood in our helpless Queen’s name as a cynical move designed to attract