Lauder: Priebke's remains must not become shrine for neo-Nazis

NEW YORK -- World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder welcomed reports that Argentine, Roman, and Catholic authorities are moving to block a funeral for notorious Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke, who died Friday at age 100: "The entire world is expressing its revulsion at this unrepentant Nazi war criminal. We commend the government of Argentina, the Mayor of Rome, and the Church for refusing to give Erich Priebke posthumous rehabilitation and credibility. His corpse should be cremated and its ashes scattered in an unknown location, as was done with Adolf Eichmann and Osama Bin Laden, lest his grave become yet another shrine for Neo-Nazis and other anti-Semites."

Priebke was an SS captain who took part in a 1944 massacre outside of Rome that killed 335 men and boys, including around 75 Jews. He was living under house arrest in Rome when he died. Extradited from Argentina in 1995, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1998 but was allowed to live under house arrest because of his age and ill health. He remained unrepentant to the end, saying he was only obeying orders.