Kalman Sultanik, executive co–chairman of the World Confederation of United Zionists, charged tonight that thousands of Nazi war criminals still rooming free and unmolested throughout Germany and other parts of the world would be exonerated and enjoy immunity if the West German Bundestag (Parliament) fails to abolish the statute of limitations for the prosecution of these criminals. The existing statute will go into effect Jan. 1, 1980 unless the Bundestag votes for its abolition by June 10, the date of its adjournment.
Sultanik, himself a former inmate of a Nazi concentration camp, who now serves as a member of the World Zionist Organization Executive, spoke at a rally in observance of the 36th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising held at the America-Israel Friendship House under the joint auspices of Bnai Zion, Tomid, its youth division and its Anne Frank Chapter.
Underscoring his contention that there is no limitation on ferreting out and punishing Nazi criminals, Sultanik disclosed that only last month a now mass grave of 8000 to 9000 Jews killed by the Nazis was discovered in a forest in Lambach, in upper Austria. The grave, which is near the site of a wartime labor camp, included documents indicating that the victims were Hungarian deportees marched to the area by the Germans in 1944.
Sultanik emphasized that failure to abolish the statute would be tantamount to condoning the propaganda that is being promoted by neo-Nazi elements throughout the world in characterizing the Holocaust as a “hoax.” He further urged that a Day of Vigilance be proclaimed to demonstrate to the government and lawmakers of West Germany the deep concern of the civilized world with the kind of action that will be taken before June 10, the day the Bundestag is scheduled to adjourn.
Presided over by Sheldon Crane, president of the chapter, the evening featured the lighting of six candles in memory of the six million martyrs of the Holocaust. Each of the candles was lit by children of Holocaust survivors.
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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.
