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The Nazi Hunters
by Andrew Nagorski is a revealing overview of the story of
a group of men and women who refused to let the crimes committed
by Nazi war criminals be "forgotten." Since this
historical pursuit for justice has drawn to a close due to
deaths of these war criminals, Nagorksi lays out the argument
that this post WWII drive for justice "transformed our
fundamental notions of right and wrong" and was without
historical precedence.
This pursuit for justice was not without its controversy,
given the diverse countries involved, various trials held,
and strong determined personalities involved. Among the areas
the book delves into are the Nuremberg trials right after
WWII; West Germany's struggle to acknowledge its Nazi past
through several large show trials, although a number of ex-Nazi
officials were not prosecuted; the relentless pursuit of criminals
by Nazi Hunters Simon Wiesenthal, German prosecutor Fritz
Bauer, and French couple Beate and Serge Klarsfeld; Israeli
efforts to exact both revenge and justice in the case of Adolph
Eichmann; and the belated American efforts to go after aging
accused Nazi war criminals living in the US.
Nagorski does a good job navigating us through the politics
of hunting, capturing and putting on trial Nazi war criminals.
Nagorski describes in detail the tensions and disagreement
on priorities and approaches in bringing to justice these
criminals. What stands out is the lack of an overall consensus
on pursuing specific legal remedies. Nagorksi reminds us that
even the Nuremberg Trials were not without controversy and
detractors in the US.
The real evil of these criminals was that most were "little
people" who blindly followed bureaucratic directives
and were guilty because of their complicity and actions in
the Nazi criminal enterprise. Above all, this is a story of
dedicated Nazi Hunters who, through personal commitment, sacrifice
and absolute dedication, sought to bring these criminals to
justice.
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