<a href=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/08/news/obits.php>Obituary: Heinrich Harrer, 93, of 'Seven Years in Tibet' fame</a>

Another Nazi bites the dust.

Former Nazi to be precise and apparently quite redeemed.

R.I.P.

[ 01-08-2006, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]

Do you think crimes like those can ever be redeemed?

While it said he joined the SS, his history in the SS was never specifically mentioned. Thus, you can't really judge how "horrible" of a man he was if you don't know what he actually did.

But while I think those crimes can never be redeemed, I think Heinrich Harrer came the closest. And I'm sure he was never proud of his actions, which is why he devoted his life to the betterment of mankind.

I for one, respect this man.

Let's ask him...

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http://www.tibet.ca/en/wtnarchive/1997/7/6_3.html


HUTTENBERG, July 2, Austria--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 2, 1997--In
response to inquiries from the media concerning his membership in Nazi
organizations during the 1930s, the famous Austrian mountaineer and
explorer Heinrich Harrer issued the following statement from his home in
Huttenberg:

A number of stories have appeared recently in the media reporting on my
involvement with Nazi organizations some 60 years ago. Many of the facts
cited in these stories are true. It is the implications in many of the
reports that are in error.

I was a member of the SS for a limited period in 1938 after I had gained
national attention in Germany for my feat as one of four climbers of the
Eiger North Face (the first to accomplish this famous climbing challenge in
the Alps), I was asked to join the SS as an athletic instructor and agreed.
I was issued an SS uniform at that time. As it turned out, I did not give a
single lesson in my teaching capacity due to my participation in an
expedition to India. I wore the uniform only once -- at the time of my
wedding in December 1938, which was heavily publicized by the government.

Other than this involvement, I had a purely ceremonial group picture taken
with Hitler and other officials during a 1938 sports festival in Breslau
which was cut to show just the two of us when published recently. I was
never a member of the SA.

Thus, though the facts concerning these events of 60 years ago are
generally accurate, any implications that these facts indicate I was a
dedicated Nazi supporter or was involved in any way in the heinous crimes
of the Hitler period are totally false. First, the events in question took
place in my youth and I was then interested in athletics - mountain
climbing and skiing - and not in politics. Second, my association with the
SS was very brief. I departed on the expedition to India in early 1939 and
did not return to Austria until 1952.

My life in that 1939-1952 period is the subject of my book "Seven Years in
Tibet" which has been made into a movie scheduled for opening in October of
this year. My personal political philosophy grew out of my life in Tibet.
It is outlined in my book. It is a belief that reflects many tenets of
Buddhism and places great emphasis on human life and human dignity. It is
this philosophy that has guided my life during my return visits to Tibet
and my explorations in many parts of the world over the past four and a
half decades. And it is a philosophy which leads me to condemn as strongly
as possible the horrible crimes of the Nazi period.

My conscience is clear on my record during the Hitler regime. Nevertheless,
I regard the events that involved the SS as one of the aberrations in my
life, maybe the biggest, and I regret deeply that these events may give
rise to false impressions.

I conveyed these facts and sentiments on Monday, June 30, in Vienna to Mr.
Simon Weisenthal in a meeting to which he graciously agreed and it is my
belief that he has accepted them as a sincere and forthright statement on
my part.

Well of course he's not going to Sieg Heil and yell out "Long live the holocaust", what the hell did you expect him to say?

You know, I doubt there would be the lack of general reaction at your comment if an american had died instead of a former nazi.

He might actually have told the truth, no? You shouldn't believe everything some papers write. There can be times in one country when you are forced into being a member of a party, because if you don't, then you get killed. This happened in Germany during and prior to World War 2 and happened from after World War 2 in Communist Block countries. So at some times former Nazi might not mean that someone was a former war criminal, but some forms of press will try to make people believe that. Strange thing is that you don't hear people whining about some russian politician's today (there are some converted communists), yet during Stalin, who was a communist there were millions killed in Russia. And then whenever someone hears the word Nazi they jump at it and shout killer and criminal...

Note: nearly any Eastern Block country could work instead of Russia.

In response to both the above and dplax's reply: we all know Sir Degrader has the habit of painting things in black and white all too often. This can vary from his countless "Who would win in a fight between...?", in all its simplicity, to various controversial subjects such as this one. If he wants to see the world without compromises, it's his choice, but it might help him to buy some spectacles that actually show true colors.