Jewish World Man with a mission Indefatigable Efraim Zuroff, 67, has no intention of retiring By Paul Alster

HALFWAY THROUGH my interview Report, “but obsessive is not spectacled, and wears a crocheted kippa. with Efraim Zuroff, famed Nazi hunter one of them. I realized from the get-go that If he doesn’t have a photographic memory, and head of the Jerusalem offi ce of the Si- this is the kind of subject that can destroy then he must have something close to it as mon Weisenthal Center (SWC), we took a a person. If you let this subject take over his recall of names, dates and events is un- 10-minute break. He left to participate in your life, you are in big trouble. I’ve man- nervingly fast and accurate. afternoon prayers at a synagogue across aged to avoid that ‒ until last summer.” He has a fi ne sense of humor, a surpris- the road. When he returned, we resumed In summer 2015, Zuroff co-authored a ing side to a man often characterized as our conversation and I asked what he plans groundbreaking book “Our Own,” togeth- something of a bulldozer, but one that has to do when he retires. er with popular Lithuanian writer Rūta clearly helped this veteran sleuth/historian “Oh, I’m going to move to Tahiti, sit un- Vanagaitė. The book, dealing with Lith- keep a grip on reality while cataloguing der a coconut tree, and drink Piña Cola- uanian complicity in the mass murder of and pursuing some of the most despicable das,” he smiled, easing back in his chair. Jews during , was published people on the face of the planet. “But you wouldn’t fi nd a minyan there on January 26. It caused a sensation in “I’ve said this many times,” he smiles, for prayers, would you?” I ventured to and the original 2,500 copies “but I’m likely the only Jew who wishes suggest. sold out within 48 hours of its release. A for a long life for Nazis. As long as they “OK,” he says with a hearty laugh. “Now much bigger reprint has been ordered and stay alive I still have a chance of catching that’s a problem. Listen, I’m 67, and I con- the signs are it could prove an unexpected them.” sider myself very lucky as I’m one of those best seller in a country that at last may be Old Nazis might be dying off quickly people who enjoy what they are doing and ready to look at itself in the mirror. and the SWC’s high-profi le “Operation feel they are doing something important.” Zuroff has worn his heart on his sleeve Last Chance” is “in injury time,” to use He has no intention of being sent out to for almost 40 years, ruffl ing feathers in Zuroff’s sports metaphor, but the fi nal pasture just yet. the highest places, determinedly taking whistle hasn’t yet blown and, according to Few would argue with the statement that on governments and fi gures of authority, the man who has made it his life’s work, the task of attempting to bring Nazis to many of whom wanted nothing more than justice has been tremendously important, to sweep the crimes of their society under but enjoyable? Is it a vocation one can en- the carpet and get on with creating a new Efraim Zuroff, director of the Jerusalem joy? Surely, you have to be somewhat ob- order. Office of the Center, sessive to dig and dig, ferreting out mass A tall, imposing man, he still speaks gives a news conference on the center’s murderers. with a strong Brooklyn accent (despite ‘Operation Last Chance – Late But Not Too “I may be a lot of things,” he tells The making his home since 1970), is be- Late’ in Munich, 2013

28 THE JERUSALEM REPORT MARCH 21, 2016 CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP 29 Jewish World ILIYA PITALEV / RIA NOVOSTI / AFP / NOVOSTI RIA / PITALEV ILIYA Sympathizers rally at the Freedom Monument in Riga to commemorate the Latvian Legion of the Nazi Waffen-SS, March 2015

“there are hundreds, if not thousands left of their getting independence in the early “Would I have done things differently,” to hunt.” ’90s, was flawed. he asks rhetorically, “I’m not sure. It had The truth, though, is that providing to be clear from the very beginning that sufficient evidence to bring about the As long as I’m working, these were issues. What I did succeed in successful prosecution of Nazi war crimi- doing is getting the issues on the table. We nals is very, very difficult. Even when the no Nazi in the world managed to get a joint Lithuania-Israel Shoah was fresh in the collective mind of commission of inquiry on the rehabilita- world opinion it was tough, all the more can rest easy knowing tions that they gave. According to the law, so nearly three generations later. anyone participating in genocide is ineligi- “The prosecution of Nazis in the late that he will die in ble to get rehabilitation ‒ which is a pardon 20th and early 21st century is all a matter peace and tranquility with all sorts of financial benefits – and ul- of political will,” Zuroff contends. “The timately 200 of these rehabilitations were question is whether the countries that canceled. could have prosecuted them had the po- “I realize I made a mistake when I came “The problem is that the Lithuanians litical will to proceed and bring them to in the early stages and made such demands didn’t keep a single promise they made to justice. The bottom line is that the truth on the Lithuanians who really weren’t the commission. They proceeded on their should be known. I am convinced that jus- able to do it ‒ to stop the rehabilitation own. These are people who give Righ- tice is one of the most effective education- and prosecute the Nazis,” he admits with teous Gentile honors to people that have al tools there is.” surprising candor. “They were still in the been rejected by ! In other However, he acknowledges that his ag- euphoria of independence. They actually words, they maximize the ‘righteous’ and gressive approach in the Baltic states, said to me ‘You spoiled the wedding ‒ and minimize the killers.” specifically Lithuania, in the aftermath you weren’t even invited!’” If you’ve ever wondered what steps you

30 THE JERUSALEM REPORT MARCH 21, 2016 COURTESY Intrepid Lithuanian writer Rūta Vanagaitė must go through to settle the score with a had a share in it, so I would say to you that authorities will say, ‘You were a guard Nazi, here is Zuroff’s six-point guide to I had a share in about 40 different cases in in Majdanjek [in ]’, or ‘You were concluding a successful investigation: 1) which some action was taken against Nazi a commander of Jasenovak [in ]’. expose a war criminal; 2) get some sort of war criminals. Given the circumstances I You will never hear me say at a press con- legal action going; 3) get an indictment; would say that is an achievement.” ference that I’m giving up. That press con- 4) go to trial; 5) achieve a conviction; ference will never take place.” 6) punishment. DESPITE SUSPICIONS that many thou- His detractors charge Zuroff with pur- “And how many times have you got to sands of cases could have been brought suing helpless old men, saying it’s too late No. 6?” against Lithuanians who took part in or and they are often too infirm to face justice He pauses before answering. “There assisted the Nazis, only three people have even if they are guilty. He insists that he, are some cases where, very often, success ever been prosecuted since the country personally, has yet to meet a Nazi who re- has a lot of partners. For example, the gained independence in March 1990. I gretted what he or she did. Lithuanians put [former wartime chief suggested that while convictions have For some years now, the Simon Weisen- of the Vilnius secret police] Aleksandras been the main objective, is it not the case thal Center, based in , led by Lileikis on trial in absentia [he was that, in essence, Zuroff’s work is a lot more Marvin Hier and Abraham Coo- eventually deemed too sick to attend], symbolic ‒ more about sending a message per, and named in honor of the famous but he was discovered, denaturalized and to Nazi fugitives? He smiles. Nazi hunter and Austrian Holocaust sur- deported by the Americans. He ended up “Of course. As long as I’m working, no vivor, has been increasingly prominent in in Lithuania, and I put pressure on the Nazi in the world can rest easy knowing the fight against anti-Semitism, in warn- Lithuanian government to put him on that he will die in peace and tranquility. ing of the dangers of the Iranian nuclear trial. So, the ones who deserve most of the There is always a danger there will be a deal, and in opposing the Boycott, Divest- credit are the Americans ‒ not me. But I knock on the door and someone from the ment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

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Jewish World

The SWC has also developed a significant- tries in the industrialized killing of Jews grandfather and her uncle were involved ly increased presence on social media. remains, according to Zuroff, a huge em- in killing Jews. In Lithuania, they very “The Wiesenthal Center in America has barrassment to them. They prefer to bun- rarely speak about the role of local killers been dealing with fighting against Iran dle the loss of their Jews with the wartime even though that role was very important.” and the delegitimization of Israel, which, losses suffered by their population as a He suggests there are people who run quite frankly, are more important than whole and present themselves all as the the Holocaust industry in Lithuania, peo- what I’m doing,” Zuroff concedes. “I’ll be victims ‒ first of the Nazis, then of the So- ple with cushy jobs, some working for the the first person to say that, but I always say viet Union. It’s a more comfortable narra- government, who put out their version of that we have an obligation on Holocaust tive and an integral part of the troubling the Holocaust and don’t want questioning issues. The [SWC] is happy to let me do double genocide theory that is proving voices like those of Zuroff and Vanagaitė this work and supports me in my efforts. more and more amenable to many Eastern to be given a platform, despite the fact Only last year, I was appointed in charge European historians and governments. that most of the Jews of Lithuania were of Eastern European affairs because they murdered in the Holocaust by enthusiastic trust me with tackling the issues in East- In Lithuania, they very Lithuanian Nazi sympathizers. ern Europe.” “Rūta is not Jewish; she is Lithuanian. Zuroff continues to concentrate on his rarely speak about the She is an amazing person. Her last book two strong suits ‒ the pursuit of surviv- was the No. 1 best seller there for the last ing Nazis, and attempting to draw atten- role of local killers even year. All of a sudden, it seems that she is tion to what he insists is the disturbing though that role was the one who is going to save the whole trend of Eastern European and Baltic project because I did not succeed. Basi- governments rewriting the narrative of very important cally, I’m passing the torch to Rūta. I’m the Holocaust in their countries. saying, “You’re Lithuanian, your relatives He is at the forefront of warning were involved in killing Jews, and you are of the creeping return of neo-Nazi “They are determined to undermine the one who can convince your people. I, organizations riding along on a wave the uniqueness of the Shoah. We finally obviously, had tremendous difficulty con- of nationalism that has risen in tandem convinced the world that the Shoah was vincing them, as an outsider, as someone with the fear of neighboring countries unique. Then along came the Eastern Eu- with an axe to grind. My dream would be that Vladimir Putin’s Russia has growing ropeans who say, ‘No, you got it all wrong. to replicate this scenario in every other territorial ambitions in the region. An It wasn’t unique. The Shoah was terrible, country in Eastern Europe, to find a local example is Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian but was just as bad.’ It is a partner.” leader who collaborated with the Nazis very insidious, very sophisticated agenda. He summarizes the book as being about and allegedly sent many thousands of If a country has the choice between being a descendant of the killers who goes with Ukrainian Jews to their deaths before a country of victims or a country of killers, the world’s last Nazi hunter ‒ “pardon me later struggling against the Red Army. it’s a no-brainer. Of course everyone wants for shvitzing,” he laughs – on a mission of Bandera, who was assassinated in to go along with this.” discovery and analysis. 1959, has become an iconic symbol of “We go to 30 mass murder sites in Lith- Ukrainian resistance. IT’S A damning allegation, but one that uania, and five in Belarus, because Lithu- According to Zuroff and his long-term is rarely heard with the exception of the anian units were sent to Belarus to carry academic colleague and Lithuania-based small minority of voices in Europe who out the murders. We went to some places Yiddish scholar , history opposed the 2008 , a where people hadn’t been in years and in- in the Baltics, Ukraine, and document that appears to legitimize many terviewed eye witnesses who saw the mur- elsewhere in the region is being rewritten elements of the double genocide theory. It ders as children. All the information came to suggest equivalence between the crimes was a declaration whose individual signa- from local sources and, in some cases, of the Nazis and the communist Soviet tories include the now president of Ger- local scholars and local trial records from Union and to whitewash the role of local many, Joachim Gauck, one-time Federal the Vilna archive.” Nazi collaborators. Commissioner for the Stasi archives. The last word goes to Vanagaitė, the “All these countries, these new democ- So what is it about the new book that woman who has capably picked up the ba- racies, are desperate for heroes, which has had such a profound effect on Zuroff, ton from Zuroff in Lithuania. is only normal. So who are the heroes? a man who, until compiling this volume, “This is a book for those who try to They’re the people who fought against the had apparently never let his work get to cover up the truth in the hope that it will Communists, like Bandera in Ukraine. In him? disappear. The book tells the story of the some cases, though, they are the same peo- “Well, first, it was very personal. The killers and the killed. About Lithuanians ple who murdered Jews during the Shoah, person I’m named for was murdered and Jews. About what happened 75 years which in theory should disqualify them during the Shoah in Ponar, Lithuania. ago in Lithuania.” ■ from being heroes, but that has not stopped This book came about because Rūta the authorities from glorifying people who Vanagaitė, a person with tremendous Paul Alster is an Israel-based journalist. had a role in the mass murder of Jews.” credibility in the eyes of the Lithuanian Follow him on Twitter @paul_alster and The willing participation of these coun- public, discovered two years ago that her visit his website: www.paulaster.com

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