Born on December 31, 1908 to Jewish traders in Ukraine, Wiesenthal lived through a century of much violence. His father was killed in World War I. Turned away from the Polytechnic Institute in Lvov because of restrictions on Jewish students, a young Wiesenthal went on to study in Prague and Warsaw, receiving a degree in architectural engineering in 1932.
He married Cyla Mueller in 1936 and lived happily until the Germany-Russia 'non-aggression' pact of 1939 that led to the partition of Poland. The Red purge of Jewish merchants and other professionals began soon after. Wiesenthal's stepfather was arrested, his stepbrother shot. He saved himself, his wife and mother by bribing a commissar. After the Russians, the Germans arrived. Wiesenthal's family didn't escape this time. From a concentration camp, he and his wife were sent to a forced labour camp. The darkness had set in.
Simon Wiesenthal pictured in 1923 with a group of Boy Scouts of which he was the leader in Buczacz, Poland. Only one of these boys survived the Holocaust.
Photo Credit: Simon Wiesenthal Center
Also see: The spy who loved Hitler