Simon Wiesenthal, 96, the controversial Nazi hunter who pursued hundreds of war criminals after World War II and was central to preserving the memory of the Holocaust for more than half a century, died today in Vienna, Austria, his base of operations.

Dubbed the “deputy for the dead” and “avenging archangel” of the Holocaust, Wiesenthal created after the war a repository of concentration camp testimonials and dossiers on Nazis at his Jewish Documentation Center. The information was used to help professional lawyers prosecute those responsible for some of the 20th century’s most abominable crimes.

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