He knew the horror of the camps and the Holocaust; he understood the reality of SIX MILLION. He was there, and he survived.

After it was over he could have moved to America, moved on, like so many European survivors who rose from the ashes, and began a new life. But he didn’t. He set up shop and went after those Nazi motherf*ckers. His work led to the capture of dozens of murderers, most notably Adolf Eichman, and declared two years ago that he had done his best to bring as many as he could to justice.

“I found the mass murderers I was looking for, and I have outlived all of them,” he told an Austrian magazine. “If there’s a few I didn’t look for, they are now too old and fragile to stand trial. My work is done.”

Certainly he is the inspiration for the aging Nazi hunter in Walk on Water who explains his tenacity by saying “I want to get them before God does.”

Even more important than his detective work, he fought for the dignity of all people, and leaves a legacy of conscious humanitarianism and righteous action. He tirelessly implored us to “never forget.” Let’s make sure we don’t.

He was 96. (Excellent biography here.)

Ach, may he finally rest.