WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining the rising tide of antisemitism, Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) entered into the hearing record a letter from The Simon Wiesenthal Center applauding Grassley’s efforts to “expose the hidden truth about Swiss banks’ collaboration with the Nazis before, during, and after World War II.”
Grassley’s investigation of Credit Suisse has uncovered thousands of buried records documenting the bank’s historic servicing of Nazi-linked accounts. At Grassley’s request, Argentine President Javier Milei has committed to provide relevant records to assist in the investigation.
Read The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s full letter below.
Dear Chairman Grassley,
I had the honor and privilege of knowing and working for nearly thirty years with the late Simon Wiesenthal. Mr. Wiesenthal survived six Nazi concentration camps and later became the original "Nazi Hunter." I learned many life lessons from this giant of humanity, who was first a victim of the Nazis and then a pursuer of justice. His constituency was six million Jewish ghosts, and the families and survivors who continue to cry out for justice.
Two of his statements guide me and define The Simon Wiesenthal Center: "Hope lives when people remember" and "Freedom is not a gift from heaven, it must be fought for every day."
Chairman Grassley, these statements perfectly describe your devotion and tenacity in helping The Simon Wiesenthal Center to expose the hidden truth about Swiss banks' collaboration with the Nazis before, during, and after World War ll.
As the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we want to thank you again for your leadership and commitment to the finding truth. Your recent letter to Argentine President Milei inspired him to order the opening of all Argentina's archives for the first time in history. This will provide a full picture of the activities of the Nazis and their enablers, notably including more details about the post-WWII ratlines that allowed major Nazi war criminals escape to South America.
Your steadfast support and President's Milei's unprecedented response also means that millions of people, many born long after that horrific era, will learn crucial lessons from the Nazi era that have major relevance today in a world riven with unprecedented antisemitism. The Simon Wiesenthal Center knows that with your leadership, this Committee will expose the complete truth about the economic components of genocide and antisemitism, and those who have escaped the full weight of accountability will receive history's reckoning.
-30-