109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 248
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Honoring the life and work of Simon Wiesenthal 
and reaffirming the commitment of Congress to 
the fight against anti-Semitism and intolerance 
in all forms, in all forums, and in all nations.
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 248
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas Simon Wiesenthal, who was known as the ‘‘con-
science of the Holocaust’’, was born on December 31, 
1908, in Buczacz, Austria-Hungary, and died in Vienna, 
Austria, on September 20, 2005, and he dedicated the 
last 60 years of his life to the pursuit of justice for the 
victims of the Holocaust;
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Whereas, during World War II, Simon Wiesenthal worked 
with the Polish underground and was interned in 12 dif-
ferent concentration camps until his liberation by the 
United States Army in 1945 from the Mauthausen camp; 
Whereas, after the war, Simon Wiesenthal worked for the 
War Crimes Section of the United States Army gathering 
documentation to be used in prosecuting the Nuremberg 
trials; 
Whereas Simon Wiesenthal’s investigative work and expan-
sive research was instrumental in the capture and convic-
tion of more than 1,000 Nazi war criminals, including 
Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Nazi plan to annihi-
late European Jewry, and Karl Silberbauer, the Gestapo 
officer responsible for the arrest and deportation of Anne 
Frank; 
Whereas numerous honors and awards were bestowed upon 
Simon Wiesenthal, including the Congressional Gold 
Medal, honorary British Knighthood, the Dutch Freedom 
Medal, the French Legion of Honor, the World Tolerance 
Award, and the Jerusalem Medal; 
Whereas the Simon Wiesenthal Center was founded in 1977 
in Los Angeles and named in honor of Simon Wiesenthal 
to promote awareness of anti-Semitism, monitor neo-Nazi 
and other extremist groups, and help bring surviving 
Nazi war criminals to justice; 
Whereas, in 1978, inspired in part by the work of Simon 
Wiesenthal, the Congress enacted a law to deny citizen-
ship and Federal benefits to former Nazis, and the Office 
of Special Investigations of the Department of Justice 
has since conducted more than 1,500 investigations, won
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101 cases, and blocked the immigration of 170 individ-
uals, and the work of the Office continues; 
Whereas, in keeping with the efforts of Simon Wiesenthal, 
many governments have responded to the growing tide of 
anti-Semitism worldwide, elected leaders have spoken out 
against anti-Semitism, and law enforcement officials and 
prosecutors have aggressively pursed the perpetrators of 
anti-Semitic acts; and 
Whereas Simon Wiesenthal’s legacy teaches that the per-
petrators of genocide cannot and will not be allowed to 
hide from their crimes: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the Congress—
(1) honors the life and work of Simon 
Wiesenthal to memorialize the victims of the Holo-
caust and to bring the perpetrators of crimes 
against humanity to justice; 
(2) reaffirms its commitment to the fight 
against anti-Semitism and intolerance in all forms, 
in all forums, and in all nations; and 
(3) urges all members of the international com-
munity to facilitate the investigation and prosecution 
of surviving Nazi war criminals and to continue doc-
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umenting and collecting information on Nazi war 
crimes for archival and historical purposes.
Passed the House of Representatives October 7, 
2005. 
Attest:
Clerk.