Book Description

An authorized English translation of the unpublished report submitted in German by the International Commission of Historians set up in 1987 at the request of Kurt Waldheim, then President of Austria. Its assignment was to determine the facts concerning Waldheim's wartime service and his participation in National Socialist organizations. The Commission (six members, chaired by Prof. Hans Rudolf Kurz) examined accusations against Waldheim advanced by U.S. Justice authorities, the World Jewish Congress, and Yugoslav accusations submitted to the United Nations War Crimes in 1944. The report deals mainly with Waldheim's activities in Yugoslavia and Greece. Ch. 6 (p. 97-109) analyzes Waldheim's involvement in the deportation of Jews from the Greek mainland and islands. The Commission disproved Waldheim's assertion that he knew nothing about those deportations. In general, the Commission concluded that Waldheim repeatedly assisted in unlawful actions and it established his complicity in clear cases of wrongful acts. The introduction by Manfred Messerschmidt (p. 7-23), a member of the Commission, discusses the Commission's establishment and its work, and how the Austrian Federal Republic prevented publication of the report.