Diwan lecture by Olga Kartashova (CEU/VWI, Vienna): "Hunting Nazis in Vienna: Jewish Agency Investigations and ..."

Abstract: In the aftermath of the Second World War, Jewish institutions set out to identify and pursue Nazi perpetrators—often before states themselves had developed the capacity or will to do so. While such efforts are often associated with figures such as Simon Wiesenthal, who began his work in nearby Linz, this talk shifts attention to a lesser-known but revealing figure: Tuviah Friedman, a young survivor whose activities in Vienna intersected with the investigative network of the Jewish Agency.

The talk traces the work of Jewish Agency operatives between 1943 and 1948, from the compilation of war-crimes dossiers in Palestine to the pursuit of suspects across postwar Europe. In Vienna, Jewish investigators tracked down perpetrators, organized arrests, and sought to turn survivor testimony into legal action through improvised cooperation with Allied authorities, local police, and transnational Jewish networks.

At the same time, efforts to secure recognition within institutions such as the United…