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The incredible story of the special investigations unit that tracked down the Nazis who called Australia home after World War II.In 1986 journalist Mark Aarons presented a Radio National series, which established that a significant number of Nazi collaborators and war criminals - particularly from Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Yugoslavia - had settled in Australia after World War II.
Aarons' explosive reporting led to the formation in 1987 of the Special Investigations Unit, which investigated over 800 suspected war criminals living in Australia. This book gathers the recollections of historians, archaeologists, police investigators, SIU leaders, translators and lawyers to create a detailed insiders' account of the unit's efforts to prosecute Australian residents and citizens believed to have participated in horrific war crimes.
The SIU left an important legacy. As well as pursuing justice for victims of the Holocaust, it demonstrated that historical investigation of war crimes was possible, even decades later. In the words of former SIU director Graham Blewitt, 'Australia should be proud that, for a brief period in our legal history, we stood up and did the right thing. There was a time when Nazi collaborators living in Australia were wondering when the SIU knock on the door would come.'
For this special event, Mark Aarons will be in conversation with Tim McCormack, and the event will be opened by Julia Flint. Join them at the Afterword Café.
Mark Aarons is the author of several books, including War Criminals Welcome and The Family File. He worked as an ABC broadcaster and investigative documentary producer from 1973 until 1990 and has written many feature articles for Australia’s leading newspapers.
Tim McCormack is Professor of International Law at the University of Tasmania and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. He is the former Special Adviser on War Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (2010-2024).
Julia Flint is the Chair of the Australian Red Cross (Tasmania) International Humanitarian Law Advisory Committee.
Tickets available through TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/DJPIQ
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Event Venue
131 Collins Street, Hobart, TAS, Australia, Tasmania 7000
Tickets
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