Toronto (January 16, 2018) - A decision on the clemency request of Oskar Groening - a 96-year-old former Auschwitz guard, also known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz," who lives in Germany - will likely be made this week. Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) calls for justice to be served by having Groening, who was convicted for his role in the Holocaust, serve the time he was sentenced to.

"Regardless of age, any individual who took part in the atrocities of the Holocaust and supported the work of the Nazis must pay for the crimes committed," said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo. "For too many years these former Nazis have lived freely, leading normal lives after committing heinous crimes. People who commit crimes cannot get away with it, and society shouldn't let them get away with it."

"Justice must be served for the millions of women, men and children whose lives were cut short due to hatred."

Groening worked as an accountant at Auschwitz during the Holocaust, sorting and counting money taken from prisoners. He was convicted of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews and sentenced to four years in prison in 2015. Due to the appeals process, with his attorneys arguing imprisonment at his age violates his "right to life," Groening has not yet spent time in prison. Yesterday German authorities announced that, in a final attempt to avoid serving his sentence, Groening filed a request for clemency.

Avi Benlolo is available to speak about the case of Oskar Groening and other Holocaust-related issues.

To request an interview, contact:

Avital Borisovsky 
Communications Associate   
416.864.9735 x 29
aborisovsky@fswc.ca

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Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC for latest news and organization updates.

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educationalprograms including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimedTour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca.

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