Operation Last Chance: One Man's Quest to Bring Nazi Criminals to Justice

A tragic fact about WWII veterans is that, well into their 80's and 90's, we are rapidly losing them-including Nazi war criminals who have, for six decades, evaded prosecution. In 2002, Zuroff, a historian in Israel, established Operation Last Chance to find these war criminals and bring them to justice before it's too late. In detailed episodes, Zuroff follows leads to communities in Latvia, Croatia and Austria, tracks down war criminals, contacts the local justice department and watches as his efforts are largely ignored-typically because of governmental embarrassment over their countrymen's (perceived) support of fascism and genocide. Around the world, Zuroff faces the same blank face of institutional denial, an official and seemingly universal attempt to ignore the problem until it goes away-or, in this case, until it dies of old age. The repetitive nature of Zuroff's quest can make for tough going, and readers will likely hang on waiting for a breakthrough case that never comes. Still, Zuroff's log is an important record of free Nazis, and their atrocious crimes, which may yet spur their neighbors to action.