Beate Klarsfeld, the renowned Nazi-hunter, warned here last night that neo-Nazism is on the rise in Europe, especially in Italy and France. In West Germany, however, the young generation is strongly anti-Nazi and anti-fascist, she observed.
The German-born Klarsfeld, who was a guest speaker at Dialogue ’79, the discussion forum sponsored by Congregation Bnai Jeshurun on Manhattan’s West Side and moderated by Rabbi William Berkowitz, also warned that there is a resurgence of Ku Klux Klan activities in the United States and called upon Americans to confront and fight fascism in this country.
Klarsfeld, who resides in Paris with her Jewish husband, Serge, also a renowned Nazi-hunter, and their two children, said that since the neo-Nazis were defeated in 1969 in their bid for seats in the German Parliament they now operate in “small, very determined groups.” She said that in order to expose them they should be confronted in their meeting places and at public functions. She said that everyone who is concerned about the resurgence of neo-Nazism should personally engage in exposing them.
Noting the increase in neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic incidents in France, Klarsfeld accused French police of not doing very much to fight this phenomenon.
Discussing neo-Nazism in the U.S. Klarsfeld urged that it be combated while it is still “small,” noting that Hitler’s movement was also ignored and dismissed at the beginning as unimportant. “Neo-Nazism in America should be stopped at the beginning,” she said. In response to a question as to whether she had any “message” to the American people, she replied she would ask them “to fight Nazism and neo-Nazism in America.”
URGES ATTENDING NAZI WAR TRIALS
Klarsfeld, who was interrupted a few times by prolonged ovations from the more than 1500 people in the audience, many of whom are survivors of the Holocaust, called on Jews in America and Israel to try and attend the trials of Nazi war criminals in Germany and see for themselves that justice is done. “We cannot trust German society and German justice and for that reason people should go to Germany and see for themselves,” she said. She warned that if the Holocaust survivors do not show greater interest in the trials of Nazis then the Germans themselves will not be interested in it.
Although she noted that German-youth is generally anti-Nazi, she pointed out that in the last decade there has been growing anti-Israel feelings in Germany among the youth who identify with Palestinian aspirations and is therefore anti-Israel and anti-Zionist.
Asked about the refuge many Nazis found in South American countries, Klarsfeld said that certain “fascist countries” in that part of the world refuse to extradite the Nazis and there is no one who is willing to take actions such as Israel took when it kidnapped Adolf Eichmann from Argentina. She noted that Israel has too many problems and cannot involve itself now with such action, and cannot, therefore, kidnap the notorious “Angel of Death,” Dr. Joseph Mengele, who is still residing in Paraguay. “It is not hard to identify him, I can give you his address,” she said.
Klarsfeld said she and her lawyer husband are “determined” to continue to pursue Nazis, despite the risk and the disruption to their “normal life.” She disclosed that recently a package containing explosives was sent to her, but she said threats of that kind and others will not stop her from pursuing Nazis.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
