Simon Wiesenthal known as Nazi hunter dies

Simon Wiesenthal, who dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazi leaders and war criminals, has died at his home in Vienna.

The news was provided by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles. Wiesenthal, who spent most of World War II in labour or concentration camps, dedicated his life to identifying those responsible for the Holocaust.

Wiesenthal was born in Buczacz, in what is now part of the Ukraine, and was married and working as an architect when the second world war broke out. He spent most of it in Nazi concentration camps. He was rescued by US troops when the Mauthausen camp was liberated in May 1945.

He went on to work for the US army, in gathering documentation for the Nazi war-crime trials. He dedicated the rest of his life, until retirement, to being a voice for the six million Jews exterminated by the Nazi death machine.

By the time he retired in April 2003, Wiesenthal said he had helped track down 1,100 Nazis, the AKI reports.