The Road to the Menzies Inquiry: Suspected War Criminals in Australia - Leslie Caplan.

In 1986 the Nazi war crimes debate resurfaced in Australia, reignited by an investigative journalist, Mark Aarons. While Aarons instigated the public debate, Leslie Caplan moved it into the political arena. In his capacity as President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ, he embarked on an overseas journey to discuss the renewed international efforts to bring Nazi war criminals to justice with the World Jewish Congress and his counterparts in the USA, Canada and Israel.

Upon his return Leslie, known as the 'quiet achiever', began to lobby the Hawke government to take action. A few years later he pursued his keen interest in war crimes in a different domain. He returned to university and submitted, under my supervision, a BA Honours thesis that shed light on the campaigns and decision-making process leading to the Menzies Inquiry and amendment of the Australian war crimes legislation. As he told me many times, one specific consideration determined his quest for justice: prosecuting Nazi war criminals was presented not as a Jewish but as an Australian issue, as a matter of current political concern to prosecute crimes against humanity.

Leslie's highly acclaimed thesis reconstructs The Road to the Menzies Inquiry. Combining historical findings and personal memoir, it bears witness to the achievements of a great Australian Jewish leader.

Konrad Kwiet

Pratt Foundation Professor in Holocaust Studies Resident Historian at the Sydney Jewish Museum

Australian Jewish Historical Society 2012, softcover