Efforts to Track Down Mengele Lauded

Brooklyn District Attorney Elizabeth Holtzman believes that “The President of the United States must take personal steps” to make sure that the government of Paraguay understands that the American people want Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz death camp doctor, brought to justice.

Holtzman, a member of Congress until 1981 and of the House Judiciary Committee, was instrumental in getting the Justice Department to crack down on war criminals living in the United States after obtaining entry and in many cases citizenship by lying about their Nazi past.

In a statement just released, she noted that “Finally, after 40 years, the U.S. has agreed to participate in a coordinated, comprehensive search for the infamous Dr. Mengele” who is believed to be living in Paraguay.

She was referring to the coordinated effort recently undertaken by the U.S., Israel and West Germany to track down Mengele and bring him to justice. The representatives of the Attorneys General of the three countries met for two days in Frankfurt last week and agreed to exchange information on the legal and investigative levels with the goal of eventually having Mengele tried for “crimes against humanity.”

SAYS REAGAN MUST TAKE STEPS

Holtzman said, “Having travelled to Paraguay last November, I am convinced that Mengele is alive and that he can be found. I am pleased that the U.S., Israel and West Germany have agreed to undertake this search for him. This action is significant because it is a recognition that the evil done by Mengele can never be forgotten.”

Holtzman added that she was “confident that this international effort will be carried out with vigor and dedication (but) it may not be enough. Paraguay may not be persuaded by the desires of the prosecutors alone to bring Mengele to justice. The President of the United States must take personal steps to insure that Paraguay understands that the American people and government want Mengele brought to justice.”

‘WANTED’ POSTERS TO BE PLACED IN PAPERS

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, in another step in its efforts to track down Mengele, announced that it will place full-page “Wanted” poster ads in major newspapers in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Chile next week pointing out that there is now a total of $2,375,000 in rewards offered for information leading to Mengele’s arrest and extradition.

The posters, which carry a photograph of the 74-year-old Mengele in his 40’s and an artist’s sketch of how he might look now, details his crimes which include the selection of Auschwitz victims for the gas chambers and inhuman medical experiments which proved fatal or left the victims physically and psychologically maimed for life.

The Wiesenthal Center also applauded the joint efforts by the U.S., Israel and West Germany and sent telegrams to President Reagan, Israeli Premier Shimon Peres and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl urging them to establish a joint “Mengele Strike Force.”