In serious remembrance of Simon Wiesenthal 1908-2005

In memory of Simon Wiesenthal "The Conscience of the Holocaust". A Holocaust survivor himself, Wiesenthal dedicated his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals, aiding in the arrest and prosecution of over 1000, including Adolf Eichmann, the chief planner of the Holocaust.

Conscience of the Land
(To the tune of "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg)

A peaceful man
A hostile land
One of Abraham's sons
His life began
With modest plans
But his fate
A tragic one
They took his home
And he alone
Survived those tragic days
And he gave to us
A gift we know we never can repay

A quiet man of study
Denied a simpler fate
He tried to flee his prison once
But for most was no escape
He saved his life
Through quick thinking
And chance it sure played a hand
The torments of those tortured souls
We will never understand

The conscience of the land is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his message changed society
And his cause in in our souls
If we could make a poor attempt
To imitate the man
We'd be a living legacy
To the conscience of the land

His family's fate was different
They met a ghastly end
Some died in the prison camps
Some were shot by evil men
Lonely Simon Wiesenthal
Made sure we'd remember well
For justice was the life he chose
He sent those men to hell

We thank you for your efforts
And your stories we can keep
We thank you for remembrance
That some wanted buried deep
We thank you for staying strong
When the times they were real rough
And Simon I don't think we said
We thank you near enough

The conscience of the land is tired
And his eyes are growing old
But his message changed society
And his cause in in our souls
If we could make a poor attempt
To imitate the man
We'd be a living legacy
To the conscience of the land