The search for Nazi war criminals in Australia. Review and Further Background

Journal article

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In Journal Issue

Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal, 21, 2 (2013)

Author(s) Mark Aarons AbstractBook Review: Leslie Caplan. The Road to the Menzies Inquiry: Suspected War Criminals in Australia. The Jewish community commenced campaigning against the entry of Nazi war criminals into Australia soon after they started arriving in 1947 under the Labor government's Displaced Persons immigration scheme. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) and state Boards of Deputies worked closely with the Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism, compiling dossiers on arriving Nazis, lobbying the federal government, and publicising allegations in the media. Formed in 1942, the Jewish Council's members included prominent Jewish leaders and represented both sides of politics, but with a distinctly leftist leaning. In fact, some leading members were communists, causing bitter schisms inside the community and eventually resulting in the Council's exclusion from the Jewish mainstream as the Cold War intensified in the early 1950s.
Year2013
Pages244-255