Brand new SBS Original documentary The Hunt for the Last Nazis investigates how hundreds – if not thousands – of alleged Nazi war criminals were able to immigrate to Australia after World War II and remain hidden for decades, until the government launched a belated attempt to bring them to justice in the 1980s.
Led by multi-award-winning writer, producer and director Dan Goldberg, the film draws on rare, never-before-seen video footage and audio tapes from the SIU, or Special Investigations Unit, which Bob Hawke established in 1987. As a result of the SIU, 841 Nazi suspects were tracked down, but only one case ever went to trial.
Goldberg bravely follows the trail from Holocaust survivors in suburban Australia to aging eyewitnesses in remote European villages. Here, time is the greatest enemy. Paper records endure, voices fade and tapes deteriorate. With each discovery made, the window for testing facts and pursuing accountability narrows.
We spoke with Goldberg about the alleged Nazi war criminals who settled in Australia, and the uncomfortable truths behind stories that unfolded in suburbs across the country.
What first inspired you to investigate the history of alleged Nazi war criminals living in secret in Australia?
When I was working as a journalist (and later as editor) of The Australian Jewish News some 25 years ago, we covered the controversial cases of the ‘last’ Nazis. And each article would invariably end with a paragraph saying, “In 1987, the Special Investigations Unit was established by PM Bob Hawke. But it was shut five years later with zero convictions.” I wanted to go back there and find out what actually happened.
In the documentary, it’s revealed that successive governments from the 1940s to the ’80s turned a blind eye to alleged Nazis living in the Australian suburbs. Do you feel Australia’s postwar migration program was the main reason this occurred, or were there other reasons?
Yes, ultimately the priority was nation-building under the 'populate or perish’ mantra. The government at the time needed strong, white, European men. And so the so-called ’beautiful Balts’ were central casting, regardless of their history.
In addition, the post-WWII enemy was now communists, not fascists, and who’s going to be useful for intelligence gathering on communists? The fascists. When you add these together, you begin to understand why so many Nazis were allowed into this country.
With 841 investigations, one trial, and no convictions, do you think the Special Investigations Unit was successful? Or was it doomed to fail from the start?
I think it was probably doomed to fail from the start because the legal bar was so high. You could argue that a jury of 12 people from Adelaide in 1993 may have convicted an alleged murderer who had killed people in Byron Bay in NSW or Balaclava in Victoria. But Serniki in faraway Ukraine?
Add to that eyewitnesses who were genuine peasants, who didn't speak English, and had never left their village…and of course it had to be a unanimous verdict. It meant the defence had a far easier job of proving “reasonable doubt” and the prosecution had a massive mountain to climb, even though they had exhumed the crime scene, found the alleged perpetrator and flown dozens of eyewitnesses to Adelaide. It was, on reflection, an act of futility but a valiant act.
Throughout the documentary, there are many disturbing revelations. What was the most shocking discovery you made during the creation of the documentary?
Probably that there was a cover-up at the highest levels of government. That the authorities knew there were Nazis hiding 'next door’, and in plain sight. And they did nothing about it. In some cases they actively embraced it. It is shocking.
You've mentioned before that for many alleged Nazi war criminals, having an Australian passport was a "get out of jail card". Do you think the country's willingness to let alleged Nazis enter, settle in, and raise families unscathed has had lasting negative effects?
It is a moral stain on our country. Many of these alleged Nazis escaped prosecution because they had an Australian passport, and like Konrads Kalejs, they could always call Australia home. In the end, successive governments – Labor and Liberal – lacked the political will to take action on Nazi suspects.
The documentary discusses how different governments were approached by Jewish groups advocating for action. Why do you feel their appeals went unanswered, and what do you think this meant for the nation more broadly?
Our pleas fell on deaf ears because alleged Nazis fell into the too-hard basket and hunting them was not a vote-winner. As Professor Ruth Balint says, Australia has a track record of historical amnesia. We have not managed to look in the mirror as a nation regarding many of our uncomfortable histories.
What do you hope people, and especially Australians, take from The Hunt for the Last Nazis?
I hope people will learn about a dark chapter of history, and be outraged. But also demand that history does not repeat itself, as is alleged in the film with war criminals from modern-day theatres of war.
The Hunt for the Last Nazis premieres Sunday 31 May at 7:30pm on SBS and SBS On Demand.
