Operation Last Chance : one man's quest to bring Nazi criminals to justice

Sixty years after the end of World War II, not all those who were faithful to the Third Reich are dead—some members of the Nazi party and their collaborators are still alive, and increasingly difficult to track down. Time is rapidly running out, but Efraim Zuroff won’t give up. Launching Operation Last Chance in 2002, he spearheaded a vast public campaign to locate and bring to justice the worst suspected Nazi criminals before ill health or death spare them from potential punishment. Despite the passage of many years, the reluctance of many governments to cooperate, and even death threats and a price on his head, Zuroff's project yielded the names of over 520 hereto unknown suspects in 24 different countries and led to dozens of murder investigations, as well as several indictments and extradition requests currently pending.Combining the thrill of a detective story with the inherent poignancy of the history of World War II and its aftermath, Operation Last Chance delivers the important and moving story of one man’s heroic efforts to honor the victims of the Holocaust.

Launching Operation Last Chance in 2002, Efraim Zuroff spearheaded a vast public campaign to locate and bring to justice the worst suspected Nazi criminals before ill health or death spare them from potential punishment. Zuroff’s project yielded the names of over 520 previously unknown suspects in 24 different countries, which has led to many convictions. Combining the thrill of a detective story with the inherent poignancy of the history of World War II and its aftermath, Operation Last Chance delivers the important and moving story of one man’s heroic efforts to honor the victims of the Holocaust.

Kirkus Reviews

A grim tale of one man's dedication to a legal and moral cause and a shocking expose of the widespread indifference and even antagonism that he has encountered. Historian Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Israel, describes himself as one-third detective, one-third historian and one-third political lobbyist, all of which combine to constitute a twenty-first-century Nazi hunter. A scholar of the Holocaust, he began doing research for the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Investigations (OSI), which had been set up in 1979 to take legal action against Nazi war criminals living in America. During his time with the OSI, Zuroff learned of the major role played by collaborators in Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and Croatia, many of whom had escaped notice when they fled to the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain. Zuroff, who later joined the Wiesenthal Center, details his determined and often futile efforts to convince the governments in what he refers to as Anglo-Saxon democracies to prosecute Nazi war criminals. He reports that political will was lacking and legal actions were minimal. Political changes in eastern Europe following the breakup of the Soviet Union then led him to turn his attention to this region with the additional aims of fighting local anti-Semitism and promoting the accuracy of Holocaust accounts. The indifference he had met earlier was now combined with open antagonism, including death threats. With the financial aid of an American, Aryeh Rubin, in 2002 Zuroff launched Operation Last Chance, a campaign that offered rewards of $10,000 to anyone supplying information leading to the conviction and punishment of a Holocaustperpetrator. Acknowledging that time is no longer on his side, the author describes his dogged pursuit of those whose names the campaign has brought to his attention. That Zuroff continues his efforts is a tribute to his determination to ensure that the Holocaust will neither be forgotten, nor ignored, nor denied, nor distorted and that the historical record of its crimes that we leave to future generations will be as accurate as humanely possible.A sobering, valuable resource for future historians.

Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 One: Milivoj Ašner, A Suspected Nazi at Euro 2008......Page 16 Two: First Encounters with the Holocaust......Page 28 Three: “I Did Not Forget You”......Page 42 Four: The Office of Special Investigations and the Case of Kazys Palčiauskas......Page 50 Five: The Search for Dr. Mengele and Its Unexpected Bonuses......Page 64 Six: Nazis Down Under......Page 72 Seven: Nazis in Great Britain......Page 84 Eight: Nazis Under the Maple Leaf......Page 96 Nine: A New Office and the Fall of Communism......Page 106 Ten: Lithuania: A Struggle for Justice and Truth in the Land of My Forefathers......Page 110 Eleven: Latvia: A Mass Murderer as a Contemporary Hero......Page 128 Twelve: Estonia: The Best Justice Money Can Buy......Page 136 Thirteen: Croatia's Past and the Search for Dinko Šakić......Page 146 Fourteen: A Historic Trial in the Land of the Ustasha......Page 158 Fifteen: A Difficult Beginning......Page 166 Sixteen: The She-Devil of Majdanek......Page 176 Seventeen: Charles Zentai......Page 188 Eighteen: Dr. Heim, The Most Wanted Nazi in the World......Page 200 Nineteen: Képíró: The Suspected Nazi Who Lives Opposite a Synagogue......Page 224 Twenty: Conclusion......Page 236 Notes......Page 240 B......Page 248 G......Page 249 L......Page 250 R......Page 251 V......Page 252 Z......Page 253 Milivoj Asner, a Nazi at Euro 2008 The arrest of Eichmann I did not forget you The Office of Special Investigations The search for Dr. Mengele and its unexpected bonus Nazis down under Nazis in Great Britain Nazis under the maple leaf A new office and the fall of communism Lithuania : the struggle for justice and truth in the land of my forefathers Latvia : a mass murderer as a contemporary hero Estonia : the best justice money can buy Croatia's past and the search for Dinko Sakic A historic trial in the land of the Ustasha A difficult beginning The she-devil of Majdanek The Zentai case : children defending a parent Dr. Heim, the most wanted Nazi in the world Kepiro : the Nazi who lives opposite a synagogue. Documents the author's 2002 campaign to find dozens of hidden Nazi criminals, describing his diligent advertisements throughout the world and the sometimes violent opposition he faced from numerous governments. The gripping personal journey of the world's last Nazi hunter as he scours the globe looking for the men and women responsible for the atrocities of the Holocaust.