CRIME
Documenting antisemitism and neo-Nazism after WW2
In the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, survivors in Austria and around the world were confronted with antisemitism, including anti-Jewish sentiments by the church, as well as the persistence of certain Nazi ideas. In North-Tyrol, for example, the cult of a popular saint, Anderl von Rinn (Andreas Oxner), continued to spread lies about the alleged ritual murder of a three-year-old child in the 15th century. Jewish cemeteries were vandalized and neo-Nazis held marches in several locations. Wiesenthal himself received anonymous threatening letters, which he kept in a special collection, the so-called “Meschugene” (Yiddish for “crazy”).
As documented in the “Linz collection,” Wiesenthal frequently and openly spoke out against these movements in various public forums as well as through verbal and written campaigns.