Hess ad and Holocaust deniers
The Simon Wiesenthal Center was deeply disturbed and angered by The Christian Science Monitor's decision to run a recent advertisement for Adolf Hitler's former right-hand man Rudolf Hess. The ad, placed by an organization which purports to speak on behalf of 82 million German Americans, asked the Monitor's readers to pressure world leaders, including President Reagan, to release the elderly Hess from Spandau prison in Berlin. Not surprisingly, the advertisement failed to include the following parts:
1.As the promulgator and one of the signatories of the infamous Nuremberg Laws, this man, more than any other with the exception of Adolph Hitler, set in motion and instigated the events which led to the Holocaust and the wanton murder of innocent people who were systematically stripped of human rights and murdered under racist rules.
2.Hess (who has spent four decades in jail) has never - from 1941 to 1986 - made any written or verbal statement in which he has indicated remorse for the suffering brought upon tens of millions of men, women, and children as a result of his dedication to Nazi ideology.
3.Many of those in Germany seeking the release of Hess are concerned with the whitewashing of the crimes of the Nazi era and the revision of German history. By doing so, they not only besmirch the efforts of decent Germans to deal responsibly with their past, they also denigrate the memory of thousands of anti-Nazi Germans who perished in places such as Dachau.
There is certainly room for paid advertising promoting unpopular or controversial causes. One would hope, however, that in the future The Christian Science Monitor would not make available space for professional Holocaust deniers. Rabbi Abraham Cooper Associate Dean Simon Wiesenthal Center Los Angeles
Old idea, new agency We commend The Monitor for the article on the fledgling United States Institute of Peace (USIP) [``Controversial peace institute finally gets (just) off the ground,'' Dec. 23]. Since it took nearly 200 years for the US government officially to create an agency solely devoted to the furtherance of peace, we who are totally supportive of the agency welcome positive feedback.
The article failed to note, however, that the terms of six USIP board members expire in January 1987, thus giving peacemakers a chance to petition the President and our senators and representatives to ``balance'' the board with women, minorities, and professionals in conflict resolution. Larry & Pearl Miles Redlands, Calif.
