Language and Culture issue 8 march 09 - The University of Sydney

to serve as the chief historian of the Special
Investigation Unit (SIU), Australian War Crimes
Commission. He also became a historical consultant
to other war crimes offices and an expert witness in
judicial proceedings in Australia, Canada and the
United States.
As a chief historian with the SIU, Konrad “searched
for and evaluated historical records kept in archives
as well as judicial material transmitted in post-war
Nazi war crimes investigations and trials” for each
case under investigation. He was part of a tiny circle
of “in-house” historians and became one of the
first Westerners to gain access to “Secret Archives”
located in the Soviet Block. He made countless
trips to Europe but describes those to Prague as
of particular importance. “On our second visit to
Prague, we were told that there might be some Nazi
records of interest to us. When we returned a few
weeks later, we entered the Secret Military Archives.
I can assure you that opening dusty and sealed
record boxes and discovering a plethora of SS
records which had until then been regarded as lost,
was one of the most memorable moments of my
professional career.”
No convictions were made in Australia as a result
of war crimes investigations. Issues arose for
instance around insufficient testimonial evidence
which led to the acquittal of those that did stand
trial. Konrad has since adopted a more critical
approach to “Oral History” and he is in the process
of collecting accounts which he describes as falling
into the realm of historical legends and fairy tales.
He considers it important to clarify the actuality of
such stories, as Holocaust deniers may use them
adversely.
After leaving the SIU, Konrad returned to academic
life and for the last 15 years, he has continued to
conduct archival studies both in Australia and
abroad. As a result of the findings of various study
trips, Konrad is currently engaged in two important
research projects. The first of these is concerned with
the sources of the Arolsen Archives. In June 2008
the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington
DC set up a small task force to explore the research
prospects of the monumental record collections
housed at the International Tracing Service (ITS)
of the Red Cross in Bad-Arolsen/Germany. Kept
under strict lock and key for almost 50 years, they
feature iii. cont’d.
“This Arolsen material is
of current interest, as it
provides new evidence
that survivors of the
Holocaust did talk about
their experiences in the
first few years after the War.
Konrad believes that these
testimonies challenge the
“Myth of Silence” and will
provide fresh stimulus to
the research on Holocaust
History and Holocaust
Memory.”