Seeking Justice: The Real Life Nazi Hunters
The Holocaust Memorial Museum of San Antonio is proud to host a special exhibit on Seeking Justice: The Real Nazi Hunters. The exhibit will be on display until October 2022.
In the aftermath of the Second World War many Nazis were prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials, however, many escaped justice.
Some Nazis were able to flee Germany due to their expertise in certain fields. The United States and the USSR recruited former Nazis with experience in rocket science to bolster their own space and defense programs. Others were able to hide in South America with help from foreign countries. Argentinian President, Juan Perón, for example, aided Nazis by creating “rat lines” – smuggling routes from southern Europe to Argentina.
Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor of five concentration camps, dedicated his life to hunting and prosecuting Nazis who evaded prosecution. He worked for the War Crimes Sections of the United States Army after liberation, and in 1947 opened the Jewish Historical Documentation Center in Austria.
Wiesenthal pressured Western governments for decades to locate and prosecute escaped Nazis and provided leads that sometimes led to their extradition. He supplied information that led to the capture of Adolf Eichmann, the “Architect of the Holocaust”.
Simon Wiesenthal
Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies
“When history looks back I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it.”
—Simon Wiesenthal
Seeking Justice: The Real Nazi Hunters is available as a traveling exhibit for use in libraries and classrooms.