Simon Wiesenthal's Moral Courage

“The history of man is the history of crimes, and history can repeat. So information is a defense. Through this we can build, we must build, a defense against repetition” (Wiesenthal). Simon Wiesenthal has shown moral courage throughout his life, whether it comes from growing up or what he has become. He is a Jewish Austrian survivor of the holocaust and deciated is time to gathering information and tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals such as Adolf Eichmann. By seeking justice and not revenge, he inspired many people with courage and respect and has the courage to face up about the truth of the involvement of the Nazi’s. By examining his time in the holocaust, and his display of moral courage, it is clear that Wiesenthal displayed great moral courage during his life. Simon Wiesenthal Was born in Buczacz, Galicia, on December 31, 1908, he became an architect who was imprisoned in five different Nazi concentration camps during World War II. “The holocaust was not only a Jewish tragedy, but also a human tragedy” (NY Times). Wiesenthal and his wife were placed into forced labor at the German Eastern Railway plants. His wife was able to pass as a Polish and was transported out of the camp. Enduring a walking nightmare, Wiesenthal was kept in several different Concentration Camps, during which time he managed to escape, though he was recaptured, and he attempted suicide twice. He was transported to the Janowska camp in 1944. Wiesenthal was released from his final camp in Mausen, Austria in May 1945. He was 6 feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds. He made his way back to health and was reunited with Cyla by the end of 1945. My definition of moral courage is an act of responsibility despite of the consequences, Wiesenthal had shown this everyday. Simon Wiesenthal spent his lifetime gathering information and tracking down fugitive Nazi criminals so that they could be brought to trial. In 1947 Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS- Obersturmbannführer and major organizer of the holocaust , fled to South America using a false name, Wiesenthal set up an independent Jewish Documentation Centre in Lidz to assemble evidence for future trials(Simon Wiesenthal Biography). Wiesenthal then dedicated “a few years” to seeking justice and signed up to work with the Allies gathering war crime evidence.He has been …show more content…
Wiesenthal was a great hero for everyone, he was always fighting for himself and others no matter the numerous threats and insulting letters he had received. Wiesenthal led one of the 20th century’s great lives. His moral authority in matters concerning the destruction of the European Jews was immeasurable. Governments, security agencies and lonely survivors turned their eyes to him when no one else had information or a sympathetic ear. He wrote eleven different books so that the new generation can discover his life in careful tellings. Simon Wiesenthal has set a new perspective on everything to me, all the different complications truly displays the moral courage Wiesenthal has. Wiesenthal was and still is a inspirational man. All his time he had spent in the concentration camps, the moral courage he showed fighting for himself, and his good deeds have truly affected others. Wiesenthal once said “For your benefit, learn for our tragedy. It is not a written law that the next victims must be Jews. It can also be other