Simon Wiesenthal, who died September 20, 2005 aged 96, was to truth, liberty and justice what Harold Shipman was to caring physicians and Robert Maxwell was to honest pension providers. Wiesenthal, a proven liar and propagandist for the greatest fraud and hoax of the twentieth century, had numerous contradictory versions of his wartime exploits, which in any case were so far fetched that they are virtually a benchmark test of gullibility.

This self-styled "Nazi-hunter" claimed, for instance, to have escaped death by firing squad on three separate occasions. The first time, tolling of church bells at the critical moment resulted in the firing squad knocking off for worship. Next, he was spared because his drawing skills were necessary to produce German insignia. Finally, the executioners aimed at point blank range, but missed!

After the Simon Wiesenthal Center was caught red-handed forging fake "smoke" onto wartime photographs of Auschwitz, they concocted a lame excuse about an innocent 'error' arising from a "smudge" on the photo. The smudge conveniently just happened to emanate from the top of a distant chimney. It didn't exist in 1944 or 1978, appeared in 1999 on cue when the SWC published the image on its website, and vanished again following the forgery accusations. This is a typical example of Wiesenthal mendacity.

One would have thought that years of persecution and incarceration in so-called "death camps", where millions were allegedly despatched by gas chambers, would have had a negative effect on lifespan. Maybe Wiesenthal has discovered a novel programme for human longevity: poor nutrition, a typhoid epidemic, and constant threat of execution. It is much more likely that money was the key.

Revised November 18, 2005