Efraim Zuroff
No one who took part in such crimes should be allowed to go unpunished…the most important reason is to send a warning to perpetrators of would-be war crimes in the future, to say to them: ‘If you dare to act on your horrible impulses, or you dare to follow a criminal order, and you participate in genocide or other crimes against humanity, there is a good chance that what remains of the civilized world will pursue you aggressively, and if necessary for the rest of your life, and that you'll never be able to put this behind you.’
Brief audio excerpts from Zuroff’s interview for Jewish Sages of Today
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“The Shoah was not a topic in our house.”
(6:55 min)
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“You can't build a model society on foundations of mass murder.”
(3:12 min)
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How Zuroff became a Nazi hunter.
(7:07 min)
written excerpt from and video of book launch talk for Zuroff’s book Operation Last Chance: One Man’s Quest to Bring Nazi War Criminals to Justice (Palgrave MacMillan, 2009)
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“Lithuania: A Struggle for Justice and Truth in the Land of My Forefathers,” chapter 10 from Operation Last Chance
Zuroff recounts of the successes and failures his work with Lithuanian leadership and his personal quest to find information about the great-uncle for whom he was named.
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Lecture at book launch for Operation Last Chance, Simon Wiesenthal Center/New York Tolerance Center, November 9, 2009
Zuroff recalls the genesis and evolution of the Operation Last Chance initiative, including the moral justification for taking action and the lack of remorse felt by most of the war criminals he has met (from C-Span Video Library).
(video, 1:06)
Zuroff's books
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Operation Last Chance: One Man's Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice
(Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)
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Response of Orthodox Jewry in the United States: The Activities of the Vaad Ha-Hatzala Rescue Committee, 1939-1945
(Ktav Publishing House, 2000)
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Occupation: Nazi-Hunter: The Continuing Search for the Perpetrators of the Holocaust
(Ktav Publishing House, 1994)
Related to Zuroff's work
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The Simon Wiesenthal Center and its Israel Office
Zuroff is director of the Israel Office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The Center is a global Jewish human rights organization. The Israel Office was established to locate and help bring to justice Nazi war criminals around the world.
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Operation: Last Chance
Zuroff is the coordinator of Operation: Last Chance, launched in 2002. This effort offers financial rewards for information that will help facilitate the prosecution of Holocaust perpetrators.
CNN coverage of Zuroff and more
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CNN article “The Holocaust in Lithuania: One man's crusade to bring justice” and short videos (5:30 min and 3 min) on Zuroff’s work in Lithuania (June 3, 2010).
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“The Scales of Justice and the Angel of Death,” insightful review of Zuroff’s career and of the book Operation Last Chance by Michael Berenbaum (also profiled in Jewish Sages of Today) from The Jewish Journal (February 1, 2010).
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“Dr. Efraim Zuroff, Nazi Hunter: Lithuania Has Not Changed,” Zuroff’s response in Israel National News to Yisrael Rosenson’s claims that Lithuania is facing up to its murderous Holocaust past (December 26, 2010).
Zuroff’s official statements on receiving awards/honors from Croatia and Serbia.
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Croatia: On February 1, 2010 Zuroff was awarded an official Croatian state decoration by President Mesić. The Order of Trpimir with Ribbon and Star was conferred on Zuroff for his outstanding contribution to the fight against historical revisionism and the re-assertion of the anti-fascist foundation of the modern-day Republic of Croatia and for the establishment of good relations between the Republic of Croatia and State of Israel.
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Serbia: On January 19, 2009 Zuroff was granted honorary citizenship of Novi Sad, Serbia.