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161-682: AZA was founded on May 3, 1924, in Omaha, Nebraska , by a group of 14 Jewish teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17. It arose as a response to the fact that the Jewish community was, for the most part, not allowed into the Greek fraternities. The letters were chosen to spite the fraternity the Alephs were denied, Alpha Zeta Alpha, by naming their fraternity the Hebrew counterparts. However, others maintain that AZA

322-506: A curriculum vitae Wiesenthal prepared after World War II as stating he worked as a supervisor at a factory until 1939 and then worked as a mechanic in a different factory until the Nazis invaded in 1941. Wiesenthal's 1961 book Ich jagte Eichmann (I chased Eichmann) states that he worked in Odessa as an engineer from 1940 to 1941. Walters says that there is no record of Wiesenthal attending

483-483: A major tornado , along with a major blizzard , caused more than $ 100 million in damages in 1975 dollars. Downtown Omaha has since been rejuvenated in numerous ways, starting with the development of Gene Leahy Mall and W. Dale Clark Library in the late 1970s. In the 1980s, Omaha's fruit warehouses were converted into a shopping area called the Old Market . The demolition of Jobber's Canyon in 1989 led to

644-478: A "Jewish fascist", a remark he later denied making. Wiesenthal discovered that he would be unable to sue, because under Austrian law Kreisky was protected by parliamentary immunity . When his re-election in 1975 seemed unsure, Kreisky proposed that his Social Democratic Party should form a coalition with the Freedom Party , headed by Friedrich Peter . Wiesenthal had documents proving that Peter had been

805-727: A German-language Jewish school. The family returned to Buczacz in 1917 after the Russians retreated. The area changed hands several more times before the war ended in November 1918. Wiesenthal and his brother attended high school at the Humanistic Gymnasium in Buchach, where classes were taught in Polish . There Simon met his future wife, Cyla Müller, whom he would marry in 1936. Hillel fell and broke his back in 1923 and died

966-888: A claim the WJC denied. Biographer Tom Segev speculates that the loss may have been because of the negative publicity over the Waldheim affair. In 1992, Wiesenthal was awarded the Erasmus Prize by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. In 2004, he was awarded an honorary KBE by the British Government . Wiesenthal received many death threats over the years. After a bomb placed by neo-Nazis exploded outside his house in Vienna on 11 June 1982, police guards were stationed outside his home 24 hours

1127-523: A closet at the Scheimans' apartment. He then moved to the apartment of Paulina Busch, for whom he had previously forged an identity card. He was arrested there, hiding under the floorboards, on 13 June 1944 and taken back to the remains of the camp at Janowska. Wiesenthal tried but failed to commit suicide to avoid being interrogated about his connections with the underground. In the end there was no time for interrogations, as Soviet forces were advancing into

1288-542: A committee to explore the matter, headed by Henry Monsky . A fellow Omaha resident, Monsky brought the issue of adopting "junior auxiliaries" to the forefront of the organization. Following B'nai B'rith's international convention, in which Monsky's committee recommended the adoption of AZA as the official youth organization of B'nai B'rith, the executive committee met and immediately adopted the recommendation. B'nai B'rith lodges often adopted AZA chapters, collaborated on joint programming, and served in an advisory capacity. AZA

1449-447: A company which threatened to relocate if Omaha did not allow them to raze the city's historic district. The Jobber's Canyon warehouses had before then been allowed to deteriorate and were the scene of several fires set by the homeless population that had come to live in the abandoned buildings. At the time, there were no plans in place for revitalizing the buildings. In the 1980s and 1990s, Omaha also saw major company headquarters leave

1610-675: A day. Cyla found the stressful nature of her husband's career and the dragged-out legal matters regarding Kreisky to be overwhelming, and she sometimes suffered from depression. Wiesenthal spent time at his office at the Documentation Centre of the Association of Jewish Victims of the Nazi Regime in Vienna even as he approached his 90th birthday. He finally retired in October 2001, when he was 92. The last Nazi he had

1771-507: A dossier with the assistance of Austrian Minister of Justice Hans Klecatsky. Stangl was arrested outside his home in São Paulo on 28 February 1967 and was extradited to Germany on 22 June. A month later Wiesenthal's book The Murderers Among Us was released. Wiesenthal's publishers advertised that he had been responsible for locating over 800 Nazis, a claim that had no basis in fact but was nonetheless repeated by reputable newspapers such as

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1932-455: A hand in bringing to trial was Untersturmführer Julius Viel, who was convicted in 2001 of shooting seven Jewish prisoners. "I have survived them all. If there were any left, they'd be too old and weak to stand trial today. My work is done," said Wiesenthal. Cyla died on 10 November 2003, at age 95, and Wiesenthal died on 20 September 2005, age 96. He was buried in Herzliya , Israel. In

2093-669: A letter shown to him in 1953 that Eichmann had been seen in Buenos Aires , and he passed along that information to the Israeli consulate in Vienna in 1954. Fritz Bauer , prosecutor-general of the state of Hesse in West Germany , received independent confirmation of Eichmann's whereabouts in 1957, but German agents were unable to find him until late 1959. When Eichmann's father died in 1960, Wiesenthal made arrangements for private detectives to surreptitiously photograph members of

2254-409: A lie,' ... [Wiesenthal replied] 'Sometimes you need to do that to get the results for things you think are essential.'" According to Bauer and other historians, Wiesenthal chose the figure of 5 million non-Jewish victims because it was just lower than the six million Jews who were murdered, but high enough to attract sympathy from non-Jews. The figure of eleven million Nazi victims became popular and

2415-567: A man named Bodnar, who was now a member of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police. There are several versions of the story, which may be apocryphal. In late 1941, Wiesenthal and his wife were transferred to Janowska concentration camp and forced to work at the Eastern Railway Repair Works. He painted swastikas and other inscriptions on captured Soviet railway engines, and Cyla was put to work polishing

2576-463: A member of the 1 SS Infantry Brigade , a unit that had exterminated over 13,000 Jewish civilians in Ukraine in 1941–42. He decided not to reveal this information to the press until after the election, but forwarded his dossier to President Rudolf Kirchschläger . Peter denied having participated in, or having knowledge of, any atrocities. In the end, Kreisky's party won a clear majority and did not form

2737-729: A new independent office, funded using donations and his stipend from the Mossad. As the 20-year statute of limitations for German war crimes was about to expire, Wiesenthal began lobbying to have it extended or removed entirely. In March 1965 the Bundestag deferred the matter for five years, effectively extending the expiration date. Similar action was taken by the Austrian government. But as time went on, it became more difficult to obtain prosecutions. Witnesses grew older and were less likely to be able to offer valuable testimony. Funding for trials

2898-510: A portion of the trial. Eichmann was sentenced to death and was hanged on 1 June 1962. Meanwhile, both of Wiesenthal's employers terminated his services in 1960, as there were too few refugees left in the city to justify the expense. Wiesenthal opened a new documentation centre (the Documentation Centre of the Association of Jewish Victims of the Nazi Regime ) in Vienna in 1961. He became a Mossad operative, for which he received

3059-583: A roadwork detail in Linz in May 1948. After he made his way to Rome, the Caritas relief agency provided him with a Red Cross passport and a boat ticket to Syria . His family joined him there a year later and they emigrated to Brazil in 1951. It was probably Stangl's former son-in-law who informed Wiesenthal of Stangl's whereabouts in 1964. Concerned that Stangl would be warned and escape, Wiesenthal quietly prepared

3220-469: A similar organization of the same name. Mnookin's departure paved the way for the next AZA advisor in Omaha, Sam Beber . As Beber continued to serve as an advisor for the local Omaha group, he also began planning for a much larger undertaking: an international Jewish youth group. Beber called a meeting of friends and associates in the area on May 3, 1924, where they reached an understanding of goals and formed

3381-539: A single chapter. Some BBYO programs (such as summer programs in Israel) do not require membership in BBYO. The organization is steered by a democratically elected board of officers on the international, regional, council, and chapter levels. The officers elected may vary from one level to the other and between different chapters and regions. A group of elected officers is often referred to as the "executive board" or just simply

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3542-451: A six- or seven-foot wide barbed wire corridor to the execution ground. The victims were shot and their bodies allowed to fall into the pit. Wiesenthal, waiting to be shot, heard someone call out his name. He was returned alive to the camp; Kohlrautz had convinced his superiors that Wiesenthal was the best man available to paint a giant poster in honour of Hitler's birthday. On 2 October 1943, according to Wiesenthal, Kohlrautz warned him that

3703-402: A statement on Wiesenthal's death, Council of Europe chairman Terry Davis said, "Without Simon Wiesenthal's relentless effort to find Nazi criminals and bring them to justice, and to fight anti-Semitism and prejudice, Europe would never have succeeded in healing its wounds and reconciling itself. He was a soldier of justice, which is indispensable to our freedom, stability and peace." In 2010

3864-543: A story in March 1986—during his campaign for the presidency of Austria—that Waldheim had been a member of the Sturmabteilung (SA). The New York Times soon reported that Waldheim had failed to reveal all of the facts about his war service. Wiesenthal, embarrassed, attempted to help Waldheim defend himself. The World Jewish Congress investigated the issue, but the Israeli attorney general concluded that their material

4025-670: A three-year sentence in Austria for her activities in Ravensbrück, but had not yet been charged for any of her crimes at Majdanek when she emigrated to the United States in 1959. She became an American citizen in 1963. Wiesenthal was first told about Braunsteiner in early 1964 via a chance encounter in Tel Aviv with someone who had seen her performing selections at Majdanek—deciding who was to be assigned to slave labour and who

4186-406: A walking stick, he was one of the few who survived the march. From Chemnitz, the prisoners were taken in open freight cars to Buchenwald , and a few days later by truck to Mauthausen concentration camp , arriving in mid-February 1945. Over half the prisoners did not survive the journey. Wiesenthal was placed in a death block for the mortally ill, where he survived on 200 calories a day until the camp

4347-486: A way of visually displaying one's membership in the organization. It is supposed to be worn on one's shirt, over the heart, to symbolize that the principles (which are inscribed on the AZA logo on the pin) are being kept close to one's heart. Aleph Pins are never to be worn straight, to represent that "no Aleph is perfect." Many of the AZA spirit songs date back to the earliest days of the organization. The most commonly sung song

4508-516: A way to memorialise and remember all the people that had been lost. He told biographer Alan Levy in 1974: When the Germans first came to my city in Galicia, half the population was Jewish: one hundred fifty thousand Jews. When the Germans were gone, five hundred were alive. ... Many times I was thinking that everything in life has a price, so to stay alive must also have a price. And my price

4669-481: Is "Up You Men", the official pep song of the organization which dates to 1931, when it was the winning entry in a song contest. It was composed by Heinie Krinsky and Wes Bercovich from Oakland, and in modern times is sung both at a fast pace as a rally song, and sometimes in a slow and somber tone as a brotherhood song. "Come Join Us In Our Song" is a popular song to be sung at conventions and summer programs. It

4830-555: Is 23.5 °F (−4.7 °C), with lows reaching 0 °F (−18 °C) on 11 days annually. The lowest temperature recorded in the city was −32 °F (−35.6 °C) on January 5, 1884, and the highest 114 °F (45.6 °C) on July 25, 1936 . Average yearly precipitation is 30.6 in (777 mm), falling mostly in the warmer months. Snow is the most common precipitation in winter, with average seasonal snowfall being 28.7 in (72.9 cm). Based on 30-year averages obtained from NOAA 's National Climatic Data Center for

4991-439: Is AZA #2. Abe Babior, the new group's first president, said that it was started "as a social and Zionist youth group." The group's meetings would usually feature speakers on several both Judaic and non-Judaic topics. The group held social events, including parties and dances. The group's first advisor was Nathan Mnookin. An accomplished chemist, he moved back to his hometown of Kansas City in November 1923 and immediately started

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5152-433: Is a Magen david (Star of David), and inside it are the Hebrew letters Aleph Zadik Aleph. The password "Ami" (My People) to enter an AZA meeting is now widely known and is used for ceremonial and traditional purposes only. When members ("Alephs") are inducted into the organization, they receive a pin containing the AZA logo. This pin is to be worn at all AZA functions (including meetings, programs, and conventions) as

5313-437: Is a one-person show written and performed by Tom Dugan that premiered in 2014. A number of Wiesenthal's books contain conflicting stories and tales, many of which were invented. Several authors, including Segev and British author Guy Walters , feel that Wiesenthal's autobiographies are not reliable sources of information about his life and activities. For example, Wiesenthal would describe two people fighting over one of

5474-401: Is considered as being in the "Heartland" of the United States. Important environmental impacts on the natural habitat in the area include the spread of invasive plant species, restoring prairies and bur oak savanna habitats, and managing the whitetail deer population. Omaha is home to several hospitals, mostly along Dodge Street (US6). Being the county seat, it is also the location of

5635-566: Is expected that all AZA events fall into at least one of these folds, and it is encouraged that programs span multiple folds. A program that incorporates every fold, a "six-fold program", is considered a significant undertaking and is particularly special. AZA is administered internationally by BBYO, Inc. 's professional staff in the international office in Washington, D.C. Organizational units outside of North America are affiliated with BBYO, Inc. but are operated independently. In North America,

5796-716: Is that Columbus came from the Republic of Genoa , on the northwestern coast of present-day Italy.) Wiesenthal argued that the quest for the New World was not motivated by wealth or fame, but rather by Columbus's desire to find a place of refuge for the Jews, who were suffering immense persecution in Spain at the time (and in 1492 would be subjected to the Edict of Expulsion ). Wiesenthal also believed that Columbus's concept of "sailing west"

5957-524: Is the longest of the AZA songs. It was originally called "Meyer Levin's Marching Song" and was written for AZA Invite by the members of Meyer Levin AZA in Chicago in 1964. The verses are sung to the tune of " The Ballad of the Greenland Whalers ", and the chorus is sung to the tune of "The Coast Guard Hymn". "Sweetheart of AZA", also composed by Krinsky and Bercovich, is traditionally recited when

6118-587: The New York Times . Stangl was sentenced to life in prison and died of heart failure in June 1971, having confessed his guilt to biographer Gitta Sereny the previous day. Known as "the Mare of Majdanek", Hermine Braunsteiner was a guard who served at Majdanek and Ravensbrück concentration camps. A cruel and sadistic woman, she earned her nickname for her propensity to kick her victims to death. She served

6279-486: The Amazon Prime Video series Hunters (2020). Wiesenthal has been the subject of several documentaries. The Art of Remembrance: Simon Wiesenthal was produced in 1994 by filmmakers Hannah Heer and Werner Schmiedel for River Lights Pictures. The documentary I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal , narrated by Nicole Kidman , was released by Moriah Films in 2007. Wiesenthal

6440-489: The Bell System affiliate for Northwestern states, had its headquarters in Omaha from its founding in 1896 until it moved to Denver in 1991 as US West . Level 3 Communications , a large Tier 1 network provider, was founded in Omaha in 1985 as Kiewit Diversified Group, a division of Kiewit Corporation , a Fortune 500 construction and mining company still headquartered in Omaha; Level 3 moved to Denver in 1998. World Com

6601-489: The Council Bluff at a point about 20 mi (32 km) north of present-day Omaha. Immediately south of that area, Americans built several fur trading outposts in succeeding years, including Fort Lisa in 1812; Fort Atkinson in 1819; Cabanné's Trading Post , built in 1822, and Fontenelle's Post in 1823, in what became Bellevue . There was fierce competition among fur traders until John Jacob Astor created

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6762-838: The Douglas House or the Cozzens House Hotel . Dodge Street was important early in the city's early commercial history; North 24th Street and South 24th Street also developed independently as business districts. Early pioneers were buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery and Cedar Hill Cemetery. Cedar Hill closed in the 1860s and its graves were moved to Prospect Hill, where pioneers were later joined by soldiers from Fort Omaha , African Americans and early European immigrants . There are several other historical cemeteries in Omaha , historical Jewish synagogues and historical Christian churches dating from

6923-653: The First transcontinental railroad in 1863, provided an essential developmental boom for the city. In 1862, the U.S. Congress allowed the Union Pacific Railroad to begin building westward railways; in January 1866 it commenced construction out of Omaha. The Union Stockyards , another important part of the city's development, were founded in South Omaha in 1883. Within 20 years, Omaha had four of

7084-601: The Great Flood of 1881 did not slow down the city's violence. In 1882, the Camp Dump Strike pitted state militia against unionized strikers, drawing national attention to Omaha's labor troubles. The Governor of Nebraska had to call in U.S. Army troops from nearby Fort Omaha to protect strikebreakers for the Burlington Railroad , bringing along Gatling guns and a cannon for defense. When

7245-696: The Janowska concentration camp (late 1941 to September 1944), the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp (September to October 1944), the Gross-Rosen concentration camp , a death march to Chemnitz , Buchenwald , and the Mauthausen concentration camp (February to May 1945). After the war, Wiesenthal dedicated his life to tracking down and gathering information on fugitive Nazi war criminals , so that they could be brought to trial. In 1947, he co-founded

7406-641: The Jewish Documentation Center in Linz to gather information for future war crimes trials. They collected 3,289 depositions from concentration camp survivors still living in Europe. However, as the US and the Soviet Union lost interest in conducting further trials, a similar group headed by Tuviah Friedman in Vienna closed its office in 1952, and Wiesenthal's closed in 1954. Almost all of

7567-570: The Jewish Historical Documentation Centre in Linz , Austria, where he and others gathered information for future war crime trials and aided Jewish refugees in their search for lost relatives. He opened the Documentation Centre of the Association of Jewish Victims of the Nazi Regime in Vienna in 1961, and continued to try to locate missing Nazi war criminals. He played a small role in locating Adolf Eichmann , who

7728-597: The Midwest . The Indian Congress , which drew more than 500 American Indians from across the country, was held simultaneously. More than 2 million visitors attended these events at Kountze Park and the Omaha Driving Park in the Kountze Place neighborhood. With dramatically increasing population in the 20th century, competition and fierce labor struggles led to major civil unrest. In 1900, Omaha

7889-534: The National Register of Historic Places . Much of the push toward preservation came after Omaha gained the notorious designation of having, in 1989, demolished the largest-ever National Register historic district in the United States, a record that still stands as of 2013. The Jobbers Canyon Historic District , along the Missouri River, was felled for a new headquarters campus for ConAgra Foods,

8050-748: The Near North Side , joined by the European Jews and black migrants from the South ; and Little Italy and Little Bohemia in South Omaha. Beginning in the late 19th century, Omaha's upper class lived in posh enclaves throughout the city, including the south and north Gold Coast neighborhoods, Bemis Park , Kountze Place , Field Club and throughout Midtown Omaha . They traveled the city's sprawling park system on boulevards designed by renowned landscape architect Horace Cleveland . The Omaha Horse Railway first carried passengers throughout

8211-791: The North Omaha Freeway , spurred development. There was also controversy, particularly in North Omaha, where new routes bisected several neighborhoods. Creighton University hosted the DePorres Club , an early civil rights group whose use of sit-in strategies for integration of public facilities predated the national movement. Following the development of the Glenn L. Martin Company bomber manufacturing plant in Bellevue at

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8372-409: The Omaha Tribe ceded most of east-central Nebraska. Logan Fontenelle , an interpreter for the Omaha and signatory to the 1854 treaty, played an essential role in those proceedings. Before it was legal to claim land in Indian Country , William D. Brown operated the Lone Tree Ferry that brought settlers from Council Bluffs, Iowa to the area that became Omaha. Brown is generally credited as having

8533-429: The Reuben sandwich ; cake mix, developed by Duncan Hines ; center-pivot irrigation ; Raisin Bran ; the first ski lift in the U.S.; the Top 40 radio format as first used in the U.S. at Omaha's KOWH Radio ; and the TV dinner . Various Native American tribes had lived in the land that became Omaha since the 17th century, including the Omaha and Ponca , Dhegihan-Siouan language people who had originated in

8694-483: The Slowdown / Film Streams development at North 14th and Webster Streets. Construction of the new TD Ameritrade Park , also in the North Downtown area, began in 2009 and was completed in 2011. TD Ameritrade Park is now the home of the College World Series , an event tourists flock to each year. The Union Pacific Center and the Holland Performing Arts Center opened in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Important retail and office developments occurred in West Omaha, such as

8855-405: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 130.58 sq mi (338.20 km ), of which 127.09 sq mi (329.16 km ) is land and 3.49 sq mi (9.04 km ) is water. Situated in the Midwestern United States on the bank of the Missouri River in eastern Nebraska, much of Omaha is built in the Missouri River Valley . Other significant bodies of water in

9016-444: The "board". Elections are typically held annually or semi-annually. The executive board positions that are elected at an international level (and the foundation for all other boards at all levels) are: In some places, additional officers may be elected based on need. Each region, council, and chapter may have its constitution detailing the positions to be elected and their specific responsibilities, so long as it does not conflict with

9177-465: The 1950s, development of highways and new housing led to the movement of the middle class to suburbs in West Omaha. Some of the movement was designated as white flight from racial unrest in the 1960s. Newer and poorer migrants lived in older housing close to downtown; those residents who were more established moved west into newer housing. Some suburbs are gated communities or have become edge cities . Recently, Omahans have made strides to revitalize

9338-587: The 42nd-largest city in the United States, and is the core city of its 60th-largest metropolitan area. There are no consolidated city-counties in the area; the City of Omaha studied the possibility extensively through 2003 and concluded, "The City of Omaha and Douglas County should merge into a municipal county, work to commence immediately, and that functional consolidations begin immediately in as many departments as possible, including but not limited to parks, fleet management, facilities management, local planning , purchasing and personnel." Geographically, Omaha

9499-431: The AZA advisor and as the vice president of the B'nai B'rith lodge in Omaha. Soon thereafter, the new organization was able to secure funding from the regional B'nai B'rith lodge. At the first AZA international convention in 1924, it was resolved that the organization should seek affiliation with B'nai B'rith. Beber commenced communication, and at the executive committee meeting in January 1925, President Adolf Kraus appointed

9660-410: The American Office of Strategic Services for a year, and continued to collect information on both victims and perpetrators of the Holocaust. He assisted the Bricha , an underground organisation that smuggled Jewish survivors into the British Mandate for Palestine . Wiesenthal helped arrange for forged papers, food supplies, transportation, and so on. In February 1947, he and 30 other volunteers founded

9821-462: The Austrian and Israeli governments jointly issued a commemorative stamp honouring Wiesenthal. Wiesenthal became an avid stamp collector after the war, following advice from his doctors to take up a hobby to help him relax. In 2006 his collection of Zemstvo stamps sold at auction for €90,000 after his death. Wiesenthal was portrayed by Israeli actor Shmuel Rodensky in the film adaptation of Frederick Forsyth 's The Odessa File (1974). After

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9982-404: The Greek island of Kythnos in 1960, Cairo in 1961, in Spain in 1971, and in Paraguay in 1978, the latter 18 years after he had left. In 1982, he offered a reward of $ 100,000 for Mengele's capture and insisted as late as 1985—six years after Mengele's death—that he was still alive. The Mengele family admitted to authorities in 1985 that he had died in 1979; the body was exhumed and its identity

10143-473: The Greek population. The civil rights movement in Omaha has roots that extend back to 1912, when the first chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People west of the Mississippi River was founded in the city. The Omaha Easter Sunday Tornado of 1913 destroyed much of the city's African-American community, in addition to much of Midtown Omaha. It was during that same year that future United States President Gerald R. Ford

10304-418: The Holocaust were revealed in the lead-up to the 1986 Austrian presidential elections . Wiesenthal, embarrassed that he had previously cleared Waldheim of any wrongdoing, suffered negative publicity as a result of this event. With a reputation as a storyteller, Wiesenthal was the author of several memoirs containing tales that are only loosely based on actual events. In particular, he exaggerated his role in

10465-460: The Janowska camp, decided to shoot 54 Jewish intellectuals in celebration of Hitler's 54th birthday. Unable to find enough such people still alive at Janowska, Wilhaus ordered a roundup of prisoners from the satellite camps. Wiesenthal and two other inmates were taken from the Eastern Railway camp to the execution site, a trench 6 feet (1.8 m) deep and 1,500 feet (460 m) long at a nearby sandpit. The men were stripped and led through "the Hose",

10626-447: The Jews in Europe, finalised at the Wannsee Conference , at which Eichmann took the minutes. After the war, Eichmann hid in Austria using forged identity papers until 1950, when he left via Italy, and moved to Argentina under an assumed name. Hoping to obtain information on Eichmann's whereabouts, Wiesenthal continuously monitored the remaining members of the immediate family in Linz until they vanished in 1952. Wiesenthal learned from

10787-400: The Lwów Polytechnic for an advanced degree. He designed a tuberculosis sanatorium and some residential buildings during the course of his studies and was active in a student Zionist organisation. He wrote for the Omnibus , a satirical student newspaper, and graduated in 1939. Author Guy Walters states that Wiesenthal's earliest autobiography does not mention studies at Lwów. Walters quotes

10948-426: The Mossad at the time, has stated that Wiesenthal had no role in the capture of Eichmann. Walters and Segev both noted inconsistencies between Wiesenthal's stories and his actual achievements. Segev concluded that Wiesenthal lied because of his storytelling nature and survivor guilt . Daniel Finkelstein described Walters's research in Hunting Evil as impeccable and quoted Ben Barkow : "Accepting that Wiesenthal

11109-406: The Nazis had set up the Lwów Ghetto using Jewish forced labour. All Jews had to give up their homes and move there, a process completed in the following months. Several thousand Jews were murdered in Lvov by Ukrainian nationals and German Einsatzgruppen in June and July 1941. In his autobiographies, Wiesenthal tells how he was arrested on 6 July, but saved from execution by his former foreman,

11270-407: The Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area and consisted of only five counties: Pottawattamie in Iowa, and Washington, Douglas, Cass, and Sarpy in Nebraska. The Omaha-Council Bluffs combined statistical area comprises the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan statistical area and the Fremont Micropolitan statistical area ; the CSA has a population of 858,720 (2005 Census Bureau estimate). Omaha ranks as

11431-411: The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area include Lake Manawa, Papillion Creek , Carter Lake , Platte River and the Glenn Cunningham Lake . The city's land has been altered considerably with substantial land grading throughout Downtown Omaha and scattered across the city. East Omaha sits on a flood plain west of the Missouri River. The area is the location of Carter Lake, an oxbow lake . The lake

11592-539: The United States and more than 40 other countries. Following is a partial list of chapters. Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( / ˈ oʊ m ə h ɑː / OH -mə-hah ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County . It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River , about 10 mi (15 km) north of

11753-646: The United States spurred the city to become an important national transportation hub . Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the transportation and jobbing sectors were important in the city, along with its railroads and breweries . In the 20th century, the Omaha Stockyards , once the world's largest, and its meatpacking plants gained international prominence. Omaha is the home to the headquarters of four Fortune 500 companies: Berkshire Hathaway , Kiewit Corporation , Mutual of Omaha , and Union Pacific Corporation . Other companies headquartered in

11914-531: The United States. In 1968, Wiesenthal published Zeilen der hoop. De geheime missie van Christoffel Columbus (translated in 1972 as Sails of Hope: The Secret Mission of Christopher Columbus ), which was his first non-fiction book not on the subject of the Holocaust. In the book, Wiesenthal put forward his theory that Christopher Columbus was a Sephardi Jew from Spain who practised his religion in secret to avoid persecution. (The consensus of most historians

12075-586: The Village Pointe shopping center and several business parks. The site of the former Ak-Sar-Ben arena was redeveloped into a mixed-use development Aksarben Village . In January 2009, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska announced plans to build a 10 story, $ 98 million headquarters in the Aksarben Village which it completed in Spring 2011. Another major mixed-use development to come to Omaha

12236-418: The area. SS- Hauptsturmführer Friedrich Warzok, the new camp commandant, rounded up the remaining prisoners and transported them to Przemyśl , 97 kilometres (60 mi) west of Lvov, where he put them to work building fortifications. By September Warzok and his men were reassigned to the front, and Wiesenthal and the other surviving captives were sent to the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp . By October

12397-630: The beginning of World War II, the relocation of the Strategic Air Command to the Omaha suburb in 1948 provided a major economic boost to the area. From the 1950s through the 1960s, more than 40 insurance companies were headquartered in Omaha, including Woodmen of the World and Mutual of Omaha . By the late 1960s, the city rivaled, but never surpassed, the United States insurance centers of Hartford, Connecticut , New York City and Boston . After surpassing Chicago in meat processing by

12558-466: The brass and nickel. In exchange for providing details about the railways, Wiesenthal obtained false identity papers for his wife from a member of the Armia Krajowa , a Polish underground organisation. She travelled to Warsaw, where she was put to work in a German radio factory. She spent time in two labour camps as well. Conditions were harsh and her health was permanently damaged, but she survived

12719-650: The camp and its prisoners were about to be liquidated. Kohlrautz gave Wiesenthal and fellow prisoner Arthur Scheiman passes to go to town, accompanied by a Ukrainian guard, to buy stationery. The two men escaped out the back of the shop while their guard waited at the front counter. Wiesenthal did not mention either of these events—or Kohlrautz's part in them—when testifying to American investigators in May 1945, or in an affidavit he made in August 1954 about his wartime persecutions, and researcher Guy Walters questions their authenticity. Wiesenthal variously reported that Kohlrautz

12880-653: The capture of Eichmann in 1960. Wiesenthal died in his sleep at age 96 in Vienna in 2005, and was buried in the city of Herzliya in Israel. The Simon Wiesenthal Center , headquartered in Los Angeles, is named in his honour. Wiesenthal was born on 31 December 1908, in Buczacz ( Buchach ), Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria , then part of Austria-Hungary , now Ternopil Oblast , in Ukraine . His father, Asher Wiesenthal,

13041-461: The capture of Eichmann, claiming that he prevented Veronika Eichmann from having her husband declared dead in 1947, when in fact the declaration was denied by government officials. Wiesenthal said that he had retained his Eichmann file when he sent his research materials to Yad Vashem in 1952; in fact he sent all his materials there, and it was his counterpart, Tuviah Friedman in Vienna, who had retained materials on Eichmann. Isser Harel , director of

13202-449: The character of Yakov Liebermann (called Ezra Liebermann and played by Laurence Olivier in the film ) is modelled on Wiesenthal. Olivier visited Wiesenthal, who offered advice on how to play the role. Wiesenthal attended the film's New York premiere in 1978. Ben Kingsley portrayed him in the HBO film Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989). Judd Hirsch portrayed him in

13363-515: The city include First National Bank of Omaha , Gallup, Inc. , Green Plains , Intrado , Valmont Industries , Werner Enterprises , and three of the nation's ten largest architecture and engineering firms ( DLR Group , HDR, Inc. , and Leo A Daly ). Notable cultural institutions include the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium , Old Market , Durham Museum , Lauritzen Gardens , and annual College World Series . Modern Omaha inventions include

13524-543: The city was founded by speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa . The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname, the "Gateway to the West". Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it played host to the World's Fair, dubbed the Trans-Mississippi Exposition . During the 19th century, Omaha's central location in

13685-534: The city's sports community , as well as a showcase for redevelopment in the downtown area. In the 2020s, a number of large projects have been either completed or planned in an attempt to revitalize downtown Omaha. These include the redevelopment of the Gene Leahy Mall , a large park near Omaha's Riverfront, and the Omaha Streetcar , a nearly $ 500 million system of public transit. According to

13846-778: The city, as did the later Omaha Cable Tramway Company and several similar companies. In 1888, the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company built the Douglas Street Bridge , the first pedestrian and wagon bridge between Omaha and Council Bluffs. Gambling, drinking and prostitution were widespread in the 19th century, first rampant in the city's Burnt District and later in the Sporting District . Controlled by Omaha's political boss Tom Dennison by 1890, criminal elements enjoyed support from Omaha's "perpetual" mayor, "Cowboy Jim" Dahlman, nicknamed for his eight terms as mayor. Calamities such as

14007-591: The city, including Enron , founded in the city in 1930 and taken to Houston in 1987 by the now-notorious Kenneth Lay . First Data Corporation, a large credit-card processor, also was founded in Omaha in 1969; as of 2009, its headquarters are in Atlanta. Inacom , founded in Omaha in 1991, was a technology company that customized computer systems for large businesses, and was on the Fortune 500 list from 1997 until 2000, when it filed for bankruptcy. Northwestern Bell ,

14168-553: The city. After the tumultuous Great Depression of the 1930s, Omaha rebounded with the development of Offutt Air Force Base just south of the city. The Glenn L. Martin Company operated a factory there in the 1940s that produced 521 B-29 Superfortresses , including the Enola Gay and Bockscar used in the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II. The construction of Interstates 80 , 480 and 680 , along with

14329-590: The coalition. In a press conference a short time after the election and Wiesenthal's revelations, Kreisky said Wiesenthal used "the methods of a quasi-political Mafia." Wiesenthal filed a libel lawsuit (although Kreisky had the power to declare immunity if he so chose), and when Kreisky later accused Wiesenthal of being an agent of the Gestapo, working with the Judenrat in Lvov, these accusations were incorporated into

14490-675: The county courthouse. Omaha is generally divided into six geographic areas: Downtown, Midtown, North Omaha, South Omaha, West Omaha, and East Omaha. West Omaha includes the Miracle Hills, Boys Town , Regency, and Gateway areas. The city has a wide range of historical and new neighborhoods and suburbs that reflect its socioeconomic diversity. Early neighborhood development happened in ethnic enclaves, including Little Italy , Little Bohemia , Little Mexico and Greek Town . According to U.S. Census data, five European ethnic enclaves existed in Omaha in 1880, expanding to nine in 1900. Around

14651-744: The creation of the ConAgra Foods campus. Several nearby buildings, including the Nash Block , have been converted into condominiums. The stockyards were taken down; the only surviving building is the Livestock Exchange Building , which was converted to multi-use and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A historic preservation movement in Omaha has led to a number of historic structures and districts being designated Omaha Landmarks or listed on

14812-483: The documentation collected at both centres was forwarded to the Yad Vashem archives in Israel. Wiesenthal, employed full-time by two Jewish welfare agencies, continued his work with refugees. As it became clear that the former Allies were no longer interested in pursuing the work of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, Wiesenthal persisted, believing the survivors were obliged to take on the task. His work became

14973-741: The downtown and Midtown areas with the redevelopment of the Old Market, Turner Park, Gifford Park, and the designation of the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District . Omaha, due to its latitude of 41.26˚ N and location far from moderating bodies of water or mountain ranges, displays a hot-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dfa ). July averages 76.7 °F (24.8 °C), with average relative humidity around 70% which then leads to relatively frequent thunderstorms. Temperatures reach 90 °F (32 °C) on 29 days and 100 °F (38 °C) on 1.7 days annually. The January daily average

15134-560: The equivalent of several hundred dollars per month. He maintained files on hundreds of suspected Nazi war criminals and located many, about six of whom were arrested as a result of his activities. Successes included locating and bringing to trial Erich Rajakowitsch  [ de ] , responsible for the deportation of Jews from the Netherlands, and Franz Murer , the commandant of the Vilna Ghetto . In 1963 Wiesenthal read in

15295-524: The event ended, one man was dead and several were wounded. In 1891, a mob hanged Joe Coe , an African-American porter after he was accused of raping a white girl. There were also several other riots and civil unrest events in Omaha during this period. In 1898, Omaha's leaders, under the guidance of Gurdon Wattles , held the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition , touted as a celebration of agricultural and industrial growth throughout

15456-508: The family, as Otto Eichmann was said to bear a strong resemblance to his brother Adolf, and there were no current photos of the fugitive. He provided these photographs to Mossad agents on 18 February. Zvi Aharoni , one of the Mossad agents responsible for Eichmann's capture in Buenos Aires on 11 May 1960, said the photos were useful in confirming Eichmann's identity. On 23 May, Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion announced Eichmann

15617-494: The film's release, Wiesenthal received many reports of sightings of the subject of the film, Eduard Roschmann , commandant of the Riga Ghetto . These sightings proved to be false alarms, but in 1977 a person living in Buenos Aires who saw the movie reported to police that Roschmann was living nearby. The fugitive escaped to Paraguay, where he died of a heart attack a month later. In Ira Levin 's novel The Boys from Brazil ,

15778-637: The first Supreme Advisory Committee (SAC) consisting of seven men, and officially founding the Aleph Zadik Aleph for Young Men. The new organization's first chapter charter was granted to the existing AZA group in Omaha, dubbed "Mother Chapter" with Mnookin's second chapter in Kansas City receiving a charter a week later. By the end of the month, new chapters had been launched in Lincoln, Nebraska , and Des Moines, Iowa . The first AZA convention

15939-599: The first vision for a city where Omaha now sits. The passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act in 1854 was presaged by the staking out of claims around the area to become Omaha by residents from neighboring Council Bluffs. On July 4, 1854, the city was informally established at a picnic on Capital Hill, current site of Omaha Central High School . Soon after, the Omaha Claim Club was formed to provide vigilante justice for claim jumpers and others who infringed on

16100-490: The five major meatpacking companies in the United States. By the 1950s, half the city's workforce was employed in meatpacking and processing. Meatpacking, jobbing and railroads were responsible for most of the growth in the city from the late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century. Immigrants soon created ethnic enclaves throughout the city, including Irish in Sheelytown in South Omaha; Germans in

16261-527: The following year. Rosa remarried in 1926 and moved to Dolyna with her new husband, Isack Halperin, who owned a tile factory there. Wiesenthal remained in Buczacz, living with the Müller family, until he graduated from high school—on his second attempt—in 1928. With an interest in art and drawing, Wiesenthal chose to study architecture. His first choice was to attend the Lwów Polytechnic , but he

16422-605: The founders of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee , presented his ideas for the original "Five-Fold-and-Full Plan" to AZA's governing body, the Supreme Advisory Council. He proposed the addition of the original five programming folds: Social, Athletics, Community Service / Social Action, Education, and Judaism (S.A.C.E.J.) In 2020, the 97th Executive Body voted to add a sixth programming fold, 'health'. It

16583-405: The inmates were evacuated to Gross-Rosen concentration camp , where inmates were suffering from severe overcrowding and a shortage of food. Wiesenthal's big toe on his right foot had to be amputated after a rock fell on it while he was working in the quarry. He was still ill in January when the advancing Soviets forced yet another evacuation, this time on foot, to Chemnitz . Using a broom handle for

16744-883: The inmates. He left the camp in January 1945 as the Red Army approached and was briefly in American custody in Weiden in der Oberpfalz , but was released. He took work as a farmhand in rural Germany, remaining until 1949, when he decided to flee the country. He acquired a Red Cross passport and left for Argentina, setting up a business in Buenos Aires in 1951. Acting on information received from Wiesenthal, West German authorities tried to extradite Mengele in 1960, but he could not be found; he had in fact moved to Paraguay in 1958. He moved to Brazil in 1961 and lived there until he drowned while swimming in 1979. Wiesenthal claimed to have information that placed Mengele in several locations: on

16905-463: The intent and character of the organization. They are patriotism , Judaism , filial love , charity , conduct, purity, and fraternity . These principles are inscribed on the AZA logo. They are often recited during opening rituals of business meetings. The Motto is "More Jewish Teens, More Meaningful Jewish Experiences" Six programming "folds", or considerations, are used as the basis for all program planning. In 1928, Dr. Boris D. Bogen , one of

17066-457: The international constitution. Additionally, each chapter may have a different variation of the positions. For example, Ruach AZA #2388 has the Mazkir and Gizbor merged into one position: The MazGiz. AZA's sister organization, for teenage girls, is the B'nai B'rith Girls . The connection between AZA and B'nai B'rith dates back to AZA's earliest days when Sam Beber was simultaneously serving as

17227-588: The land of many of the city's founding fathers . Some of this land, which now wraps around Downtown Omaha, was later used to entice Nebraska Territorial legislators to an area called Scriptown . The Territorial capitol was in Omaha, but when Nebraska became a state in 1867, the capital was relocated to Lincoln , 53 mi (85 km) southwest of Omaha. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled against numerous landowners whose violent actions were condemned in Baker v. Morton . Many of Omaha's founding figures stayed at

17388-498: The late 1950s, Omaha suffered the loss of 10,000 jobs as both the railroad and meatpacking industries restructured. The city struggled for decades to shift its economy as workers suffered. Poverty became more entrenched among families who remained in North Omaha. In the 1960s, three major race riots along North 24th Street destroyed the Near North Side's economic base, with recovery slow for decades. In 1969, Woodmen Tower

17549-536: The lawsuit as well. The suit was decided in Wiesenthal's favour in 1989, but after Kreisky's death nine months later his heirs refused to pay. When the relevant archives were later opened for research, no evidence was found that Wiesenthal had been a collaborator. When Kurt Waldheim was named secretary-general of the United Nations in 1971, Wiesenthal reported—without checking very thoroughly—that there

17710-657: The lists he had prepared of survivors of the Holocaust; the two look up and recognise each other and have a tearful reunion. In one account it is a husband and wife, and in another telling it is two brothers. Wiesenthal's memoirs variously claim he had spent time in as many as eleven concentration camps; the actual number was five. A drawing he made in 1945 that he claimed was a scene he witnessed in Mauthausen had actually been sketched from photos that appeared in Life magazine that June. He particularly over-emphasised his role in

17871-609: The lower Ohio River valley and migrated west by the early 17th century; Pawnee , Otoe , Missouri , and Ioway . The word Omaha (actually Umoⁿhoⁿ or Umaⁿhaⁿ ) in the Omaha language means "Upstream People" or "Against the Current". In 1804 the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the riverbanks where the city of Omaha would be built. Between July 30 and August 3, 1804, members of the expedition, including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark , met with Oto and Missouria tribal leaders at

18032-548: The merged company from Omaha to Mississippi. Around the start of the 21st century, several downtown skyscrapers and cultural institutions were built. One First National Center was completed in 2002, surpassing the Woodmen Tower as the tallest building in Omaha and the state at 634 ft (193 m). The creation of the city's new North Downtown included the construction of the CenturyLink Center and

18193-561: The monopoly of the American Fur Company . The Mormons built a town called Cutler's Park in the area in 1846. While it was temporary, the settlement provided the basis for further development. Through 26 separate treaties with the United States federal government, Native American tribes in Nebraska gradually ceded the lands that now make up the state. The treaty and cession involving the Omaha area occurred in 1854 when

18354-450: The months of December, January and February, Weather Channel ranked Omaha the 5th coldest major U.S. city as of 2014. Simon Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal (31 December 1908 – 20 September 2005) was a Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor , Nazi hunter , and writer. He studied architecture, and was living in Lwów at the outbreak of World War II . He survived

18515-548: The mouth of the Platte River . The nation's 40th-most populous city , Omaha had a population of 486,051 as of the 2020 census . It is the anchor of the eight-county Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area , which extends into Iowa and is the 58th-largest metro area in the United States, with a population of 967,604. Furthermore, the greater Omaha–Council Bluffs–Fremont combined statistical area had 1,004,771 residents in 2020. Omaha's pioneer period began in 1854, when

18676-498: The newspaper that Karl Silberbauer , the man who had arrested famed diarist Anne Frank , had been located; he was serving on the police force in Vienna. Wiesenthal's publicity campaign led to Silberbauer being temporarily suspended from the force, but he was never prosecuted for arresting the Frank family. Despite Wiesenthal's protests, in late 1963 his centre in Vienna was taken over by a local community group, so he immediately set up

18837-401: The organization is broken down into 43 geographic regions, each of which has a professional staff that reports to the international office. Some regions may be further split into councils and cities depending on their size and geography, and each of these may also employ staff. The final level is the chapter, which employs volunteer advisors, and reports to their local staff. All members belong to

18998-663: The organization rewarded him by making him, at the age of 19, their first executive director. By the third annual convention in July 1925, the group had 800 members and twenty chapters. In 1940, AZA had 21,152 members, 417 chapters, and 9,875. Chapters were located in Bulgaria, Palestine, Syria, and the United States. In 1974, AZA was at its height with 40,000 members. Membership had declined to 15,000 in 2005. The letters Aleph Zadik Aleph and stands for Ahava (fraternal love), Tzedakah (benevolence), and Ahdoot (harmony). The letters were also

19159-600: The pioneer era, as well. Two sculpture parks, Pioneer Courage and Spirit of Nebraska's Wilderness and The Transcontinental Railroad , celebrate the city's pioneering history. The economy of Omaha boomed and busted through its early years. In 1858, the Omaha Daily Republican was founded by the Omaha Printing Company (rebranded Aradius Group, 2016) , it was Nebraska's first regional newspaper–founded before Nebraska claimed statehood. Omaha

19320-643: The press that four of his new cabinet appointees had been members of the Nazi Party . Kreisky, angry, called Wiesenthal a " Jewish fascist ", likened his organisation to the Mafia, and accused him of collaborating with the Nazis . Wiesenthal successfully sued for libel, the suit ending in 1989. In 1986, Wiesenthal was involved in the case of Kurt Waldheim , whose service in the Wehrmacht and probable knowledge of

19481-411: The press that four of his new cabinet appointees had been members of the Nazi Party . In an address in June, Kreisky's Minister of Education and Culture Leopold Gratz characterised Wiesenthal's Documentation Centre of the Association of Jewish Victims of the Nazi Regime as a private spy ring, invading the privacy of innocent parties. In an interview a week later, Kreisky himself described Wiesenthal as

19642-594: The prize, travelling to France, Ethiopia and Oslo for speaking tours and humanitarian work. Rabbi Hier of the Wiesenthal Centre urged Wiesenthal to lobby for the prize as well, but other than delivering a lecture in Oslo, Wiesenthal did little to promote his candidacy. When Wiesel was awarded the 1986 prize, Wiesenthal claimed the World Jewish Congress must have influenced the committee's decision,

19803-457: The riot, prevent more crowds gathering in South Omaha, and to protect the black community in North Omaha. The culture of North Omaha thrived throughout the 1920s through 1950s, with several creative figures, including Tillie Olsen , Wallace Thurman , Lloyd Hunter , and Anna Mae Winburn emerging from the vibrant Near North Side. Musicians created their own world in Omaha, and also joined national bands and groups that toured and appeared in

19964-456: The same as those of Alpha Zeta Alpha, a local fraternity in Omahah that banned Jewish members at the time. The AZA logo is a menorah , a seven-branched candelabrum, which is one of the central symbols of Judaism. The menorah has a hexagonal shape in its center, with each side of the hexagon and the base of the menorah containing one of the 7 Cardinal Principles. In the center of the hexagon

20125-580: The same time, a Ukrainian policeman shot Cyla's mother to death on the front porch of her home in Buczacz while she was being evicted. Between Cyla and Simon Wiesenthal, 89 of their relatives were murdered during the Holocaust . Forced labourers for the Eastern Railway were eventually kept in a separate closed camp, where conditions were a little better than at the main camp at Janowska. Wiesenthal prepared architectural drawings for Adolf Kohlrautz,

20286-450: The second annual convention, held in Kansas City, AZA in July 1925, membership had ballooned to 250, and new chapters were inaugurated in eight more cities. Philip Klutznick , among AZA's most accomplished alumni, was elected as the 2nd Grand Aleph Godol. During his term, he installed ten chapters in the eastern part of the country and oversaw the creation of The Shofar, the organization's international newsletter. Following his term in office,

20447-624: The senior inspector, who submitted them under his own name. To obtain contracts, construction companies paid bribes to Kohlrautz, who shared some of the money with Wiesenthal. He was able to pass along further information about the railroads to the underground and occasionally left the compound to obtain supplies, even clandestinely obtaining weapons for the Armia Krajowa and two pistols for himself, which he brought with him when he escaped in late 1943. According to Wiesenthal, on 20 April 1943, Second Lieutenant Gustav Wilhaus, second in command at

20608-523: The start of the 20th century. the City of Omaha annexed several surrounding communities, including Florence , Dundee and Benson . At the same time, the city annexed all of South Omaha, including the Dahlman and Burlington Road neighborhoods . From its first annexation in 1857 (of East Omaha) to its controversial annexation of Elkhorn in 2007, Omaha has continually had an eye towards growth. Starting in

20769-681: The sweetheart (a well-liked BBG member chosen to serve in the role at various levels) enters the room, although its use in modern times varies from region to region. Lastly, Simon Wiesenthal AZA #2524 in Central Region West is noted for writing the widely sung cheer "AZA All the Way." Other official songs include "Stand Together," "Tomorrow and Today," "This Is Our Order", "No Man Is An Island", and "The General". There are Seven Cardinal Principles through which all AZA members (Alephs) are expected to conduct their lives. These principles underline

20930-929: The university at Lwów, and that he does not appear in the Katalog Architektów i Budowniczych (Catalogue of Architects and Builders) for the appropriate period. In Europe, World War II began in September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union. As a result of the subsequent partitioning of Poland under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , the city of Lwów was annexed by the Soviets and became known as Lvov in Russian or Lviv in Ukrainian. Wiesenthal's stepfather, still living in Dolyna,

21091-460: The war. The couple was reunited in 1945, and their daughter Paulinka was born the following year. Every few weeks, the Nazis staged a roundup in the Lvov ghetto of people unable to work. These roundups typically took place while the able-bodied were absent doing forced labour. In one such deportation, Wiesenthal's mother and other elderly Jewish women were transported by freight train to Belzec extermination camp and murdered in August 1942. Around

21252-429: Was Midtown Crossing at Turner Park . Developed by Mutual of Omaha , the development includes several condominium towers and retail businesses built around Omaha's Turner Park. There have also been several developments along the Missouri River waterfront near downtown. The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge was opened to foot and bicycle traffic on September 28, 2008. Started in 2003, RiverFront Place Condos first phase

21413-525: Was a showman and a braggart and, yes, even a liar, can live alongside acknowledging the contribution he made". In 1979, Wiesenthal told The Washington Post : "I have sought with Jewish leaders not to talk about 6 million Jewish dead [in the Holocaust], but rather about 11 million civilians dead, including 6 million Jews." In a 2017 interview, Yehuda Bauer said that he had told Wiesenthal not to use this figure. "I said to him, 'Simon, you are telling

21574-414: Was a stopping point for settlers and prospectors heading west, either overland or by the Missouri River. The steamboat Bertrand sank north of Omaha on its way to the goldfields in 1865. Its massive collection of artifacts is on display at the nearby Desoto National Wildlife Refuge . The jobbing and wholesaling district brought new jobs, followed by the railroads and the stockyards. Groundbreaking for

21735-640: Was a wholesaler who had emigrated from the Russian Empire in 1905 to escape the frequent pogroms against Jews. A reservist in the Austro-Hungarian Army , Asher was called to active duty in 1914 at the start of World War I. He died in combat on the Eastern Front in 1915. The remainder of the family—Simon, his younger brother Hillel, and his mother Rosa—fled to Vienna as the Russian army took control of Galicia. The two boys attended

21896-419: Was always that, if I lived, I must be deputy for many people who are not alive. Though most of the Jews still alive in Linz had emigrated after the war, Wiesenthal decided to stay on, partly because the family of Adolf Eichmann lived a few blocks away from him. Eichmann had been in charge of the transportation and deportation of Jews in the Nazi Final Solution to the Jewish Question : a plan to exterminate all

22057-535: Was arrested as a capitalist; he later died in a Soviet prison. Wiesenthal's mother moved to Lvov to live with Wiesenthal and Cyla. Wiesenthal bribed an official to prevent his own deportation under Clause 11, a rule that prevented all Jewish professionals and intellectuals from living within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the city, which was under Soviet occupation until the Germans invaded in June 1941. By mid-July Wiesenthal and other Jewish residents had to register to do forced labour. Within six months, in November 1941

22218-427: Was based on Biblical prophecies (certain verses in the Book of Isaiah ) rather than any prior geographical knowledge. Wiesenthal was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, the 40th anniversary of the end of the war. Rumour had it that the Nobel Committee would give the prize to a Holocaust-related candidate. Fellow Holocaust survivor and author Elie Wiesel , also nominated, began a campaign in hopes of winning

22379-514: Was born in Omaha. Today, there is a museum dedicated to his birthplace. Six years later, in 1919, the city was caught up in the Red Summer riots when thousands of whites marched from South Omaha to the courthouse to lynch a black worker, Willy Brown, a suspect in an alleged rape of a white woman. The mob burned the Douglas County Courthouse to get the prisoner, causing more than $ 1 million damage. They hanged and shot Will Brown, then burned his body. Troops were called in from Fort Omaha to quell

22540-411: Was captured by Mossad in Buenos Aires in 1960, and worked closely with the Austrian justice ministry to prepare a dossier on Franz Stangl , who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1971. In the 1970s and 1980s, Wiesenthal was involved in two high-profile events involving Austrian politicians. Shortly after Bruno Kreisky was inaugurated as Austrian chancellor in April 1970, Wiesenthal pointed out to

22701-404: Was commander at the Sobibor extermination camp and in August of the same year he was transferred to Treblinka . During his time at these camps, he oversaw the deaths of nearly 900,000 people. While under US detention for two years, he remained unidentified as a war criminal because so few witnesses had survived Sobibor and Treblinka that authorities never realised who he was. He escaped while on

22862-417: Was completed and became Omaha's tallest building and first major skyscraper at 478 ft (146 m), a sign of renewal. Since the 1970s, Omaha has continued expanding and growing, mostly to available land to the west. West Omaha has become home to the majority of the city's population. North and South Omaha's populations continue to be centers of new immigrants, with economic and racial diversity. In 1975

23023-404: Was completed in 2006 and the second phase was opened in 2011. The development along Omaha's riverfront is attributed with prompting the City of Council Bluffs to move their own riverfront development time line forward. In the summers of 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2021 the United States Olympic Team swimming trials were held in Omaha, at the Qwest/Century Link Center. These events were highlights in

23184-541: Was confirmed. Earlier that year Wiesenthal had served as one of the judges at a mock trial of Mengele, held in Jerusalem. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los Angeles was founded in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier , who paid Wiesenthal an honorarium for the right to use his name. The centre helped with the campaign to remove the statute of limitations on Nazi crimes and continues the hunt for suspected Nazi war criminals, but today its primary activities include Holocaust remembrance, education, and fighting antisemitism . Wiesenthal

23345-437: Was eventually combined with the B'nai B'rith Girls (BBG) into what would become known as the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO). As the male wing of BBYO , AZA continued to maintain its unique character, traditions, and rituals, even though it was administered jointly with BBG under the BBYO umbrella. BBYO split from B'nai B'rith in 2002 and was re-formed as an independent non-profit organization. Chapters are located across

23506-418: Was founded by a merger with Omaha's MFS Communications, started as Metropolitan Fiber Systems in 1993. MFS, backed by Kiewit Corporation CEO Walter Scott Jr. and Warren Buffett , purchased UUNET , one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, for $ 2 billion in 1996. The now-infamous Bernie Ebbers purchased the much larger MFS for $ 14.3 billion in 1997 under his World Com . He moved headquarters of

23667-489: Was held that summer at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, July 4–6, 1924. Over two-thirds of the new organization's membership was present to elect their first-ever Grand Aleph Godol (international president). In a tight race that required a referral to the SAC to break a tie vote, Charles Shane emerged victorious. In other business conducted, the boys chose to commit a third of their membership dues (at that time $ 3) to charity. AZA became an official junior group in 1925. By

23828-416: Was inadequate, as the governments of Austria and Germany became less interested in obtaining convictions for wartime events, preferring to forget the Nazi past. Franz Stangl was a supervisor at the Hartheim Euthanasia Centre , part of Action T4 , an early Nazi euthanasia programme that was responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 mentally ill or physically deformed people in Germany. In February 1942, he

23989-473: Was insufficient evidence for a conviction. Waldheim was elected president in July 1986. A panel of historians tasked with investigating the case issued a report eighteen months later. They concluded that, while there was no evidence that Waldheim had committed atrocities, he must have known they were occurring, yet did nothing. Wiesenthal unsuccessfully demanded that Waldheim resign. The World Jewish Congress successfully lobbied to have Waldheim barred from entering

24150-453: Was killed on the Soviet Front in 1944 or in the Battle of Berlin on 19 April 1945. After several days in hiding, Scheiman rejoined his wife, and Wiesenthal was taken by members of the underground to the nearby village of Kulparkow, where he remained until the end of 1943. Soon afterwards the Janowska camp was liquidated; this made it unsafe to hide in the nearby countryside, so Wiesenthal returned to Lvov, where he spent three days hiding in

24311-503: Was liberated by the Americans on 5 May 1945. He weighed 41 kilograms (90 lb) when he was liberated. Within three weeks of the liberation of Mauthausen, Wiesenthal had prepared a list of around a hundred names of suspected Nazi war criminals—mostly guards, camp commandants, and members of the Gestapo —and presented it to a War Crimes office of the American Counterintelligence Corps at Mauthausen. He worked as an interpreter, accompanying officers who were carrying out arrests, though he

24472-569: Was no evidence that he had a Nazi past. This analysis had been supported by the opinions of the American Counterintelligence Corps and Office of Strategic Services when they examined his records right after the war. However, Waldheim's 1985 autobiography did not include his war service following his recuperation from a 1941 injury. When he returned to active duty in 1942, he was posted to Yugoslavia and Greece, and had knowledge of murders of civilians that took place in those locations during his service there. The Austrian news magazine Profil published

24633-423: Was not always happy with the way the centre was run. He thought the centre's Holocaust museum was not dignified enough and that he should have a larger say in the overall operations. He even wrote to the board of directors requesting Hier's removal, but in the end had to be content with being a figurehead. Shortly after Bruno Kreisky was inaugurated as Austrian chancellor in April 1970, Wiesenthal pointed out to

24794-406: Was not founded as a form of protest against Greek fraternities. Rather, conversations with the founding members years later revealed that the organization's name was chosen specifically in an attempt to mimic Greek fraternities. The first chapter, formed in 1923, was Mother Chapter AZA #1, which continues to operate. The second oldest chapter also continues to operate out of Kansas City Council and

24955-413: Was once the site of East Omaha Island and Florence Lake, which dried up in the 1920s. The Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area consists of eight counties; five in Nebraska and three in Iowa. The metropolitan area now includes Harrison , Pottawattamie , and Mills Counties in Iowa and Washington , Douglas, Sarpy , Cass , and Saunders Counties in Nebraska. This area was formerly referred to only as

25116-490: Was part of a joint indictment with nine other defendants accused of killing 250,000 people at Majdanek. She was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1981, was released on health grounds in 1996, and died in 1999. Josef Mengele was a medical officer assigned to Auschwitz concentration camp from 1943 until the end of the war. As well as making most of the selections of inmates as they arrived by train from all over Europe, he performed unscientific and usually deadly experiments on

25277-485: Was still very frail. When Austria was partitioned in July 1945, Mauthausen fell into the Soviet-occupied zone, so the American War Crimes Office was moved to Linz . Wiesenthal went with them, and was housed in a displaced persons camp. He served as vice-chairman of the area's Jewish Central Committee, an organisation that attempted to arrange basic care for Jewish refugees and tried to help people gather information about their missing family members. Wiesenthal worked for

25438-401: Was the center of a national uproar over the kidnapping of Edward Cudahy, Jr. , the son of a local meatpacking magnate. The city's labor and management clashed in bitter strikes, racial tension escalated as blacks were hired as strikebreakers, and ethnic strife broke out. A major riot by earlier immigrants in South Omaha destroyed the city's Greek Town in 1909, completely driving out

25599-414: Was to murdered immediately in the gas chambers . When he returned to Vienna he had an operative visit one of her relatives to clandestinely collect information. Wiesenthal soon traced Braunsteiner's whereabouts to Queens , New York, so he notified the Israeli police and the New York Times . Despite Wiesenthal's efforts to expedite the matter, Braunsteiner was not extradited to Germany until 1973. Her trial

25760-607: Was turned away because the school's Jewish quota had already been filled. He instead enrolled at the Czech Technical University in Prague , where he studied from 1928 until 1932. He was apprenticed as a building engineer through 1934 and 1935, spending most of that period in Odessa . He married Cyla in 1936 when he returned to Galicia. Sources give differing reports of what happened next. Wiesenthal's autobiographies contradict each other on many points; he also over-dramatised and mythologised events. One version has Wiesenthal opening an architectural office and finally being admitted to

25921-446: Was under arrest and in Israel. The next day Wiesenthal, while he was being interviewed by reporters, received a congratulatory telegram from Yad Vashem. He immediately became a minor celebrity, and began work on a book about his experiences. Ich jagte Eichmann: Tatsachenbericht (I chased Eichmann. A true story) was published six weeks before the trial opened in spring 1961. Wiesenthal helped the prosecution prepare their case and attended

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