Operation Last Chance
One Man's Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A tragic fact about WWII veterans is that, well into their 80's and 90's, we are rapidly losing them-including Nazi war criminals who have, for six decades, evaded prosecution. In 2002, Zuroff, a historian in Israel, established Operation Last Chance to find these war criminals and bring them to justice before it's too late. In detailed episodes, Zuroff follows leads to communities in Latvia, Croatia and Austria, tracks down war criminals, contacts the local justice department and watches as his efforts are largely ignored-typically because of governmental embarrassment over their countrymen's (perceived) support of fascism and genocide. Around the world, Zuroff faces the same blank face of institutional denial, an official and seemingly universal attempt to ignore the problem until it goes away-or, in this case, until it dies of old age. The repetitive nature of Zuroff's quest can make for tough going, and readers will likely hang on waiting for a breakthrough case that never comes. Still, Zuroff's log is an important record of free Nazis, and their atrocious crimes, which may yet spur their neighbors to action.
