September 29, 2005
A German-language Namibian paper is to publish an apology after an advertisement appeared in its pages celebrating the death of "the big monster" Simon Wiesenthal, the publisher said on Wednesday. Hans Feddersen, of the "Plus" weekly, admitted that it was "not a good idea" to publish the advertisement, which drew strong reactions from readers and criticism from the German ambassador in Windhoek. The ad published in this week's edition said: "With joy and satisfaction, we take notice of the death of the big monster. On September 20th, the earth and its inhabitants were delivered from Simon. His biggest crime was to live 96 years." The text was signed by a group called International Action against Forgetting. Wiesenthal, who survived Nazi concentration camps to become a lifelong hunter of Nazi war criminals, died at age 96 at his home in Vienna on September 20. He was buried in Israel. His targets included Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, one of the foremost planners of Jewish extermination. German ambassador Wolfgang Massing sent an open letter to Feddersen demanding an apology.
