For more than seventy years, Australia has been a safe haven for war criminals. After World War II, hundreds of Nazi war criminals illegally entered this country. Governments, both Labor and Liberal, decided to turn a blind eye. Some known killers were even recruited by Australian intelligence in the Cold War battle against communism. Others became active in Australian party politics.
Half a century later, nothing has changed. Australia continues to be a sanctuary for war criminals - including members of the Khmer Rouge, the Afghan and Chilean secret police, and Serbs and Croats who committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 1990s Balkans wars. Why is this still happening? Why did the federal government close the Special Investigations Unit set up to investigate war criminals? In War Criminals Welcome, Mark Aarons reveals a history that successive Australian governments would prefer forgotten, and puts the case for offical action.