The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) 1987-1994
It is with much pleasure that I can announce that my second book – Nazis in Australia – has been published.
The book traces the history of Australia’s attempts in the mid 1980s and early 1990s to bring Nazi collaborators, who migrated to this country following World War II, to justice.
Little is known today about these attempts which represent an important part of Australia’s legal history.
‘Nazis in Australia’ consists of contributions by seventeen key personnel involved in the work of the SIU including investigators, historians, prosecutors, defence counsel, forensic experts and others.
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.
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.
