Gideon Greif

Gideon Greif (Hebrew: גדעון גרייף‎; born 16 March 1951) is an Israeli historian who specializes in the history of the Holocaust, especially the history of the Auschwitz concentration camp and particularly the Sonderkommando in Auschwitz.[1] He served as a visiting lecturer for Jewish and Israeli History at the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Texas at Austin during the academic year 2011-2012.[2]

Gideon Greif
גדעון גרייף
Greif in 2002
Born (1951-03-16) 16 March 1951
OccupationHistorian
Academic background
EducationTel Aviv University
Alma materUniversity of Vienna
Academic work
Notable worksWe Wept Without Tears

Education

From 1965 until 1969 Gideon Greif attended Municipal High School (Gymnasium) in Tel Aviv. Later, from 1974 to 1976 he attended Tel Aviv University where he received his bachelor's degree in Jewish history, studying the history of the land of Israel. Between 1976 and 1982 he did his master's degree in Jewish History at Tel Aviv University. From 1996 until 2001 he studied at the University of Vienna from which he was awarded his PhD.[3]

Exhibitions

Greif was the scientific advisor and historical consultant for the exhibition "With Me Here Are Six Million Accusers" which marked the 50th anniversary of Adolf Eichmann's trial in 1961, inaugurated April 11, 2011, at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.[4] The exhibition describes Eichmann's career at the SS, his personal responsibility for the deportation of millions of Jews to the ghettos and extermination camps, his attempts to hide after the war and the operation of his discovery and seizure in Argentina in 1960. The exhibition aims to prove that Eichmann was not the "murderer behind the desk", but a fanatic foe of the Jews, determined to send them to their deaths.[4]

Special projects

Greif initiated in 2006 the project of the "Authentic Box Car", which is now standing on the ramp of Birkenau, not far from the main entrance to the camp, as an eternal memory to the hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews, murdered by the Germans in the gas chambers of Birkenau in 1944, and dedicated to the memory of Hugo Lowy.

Greif's book We Wept Without Tears inspired Hungarian director László Nemes to create the film Son of Saul dedicated to the Sonderkommando.[5] The film won the 2016 Academy Awards for the best foreign language film, and also won the 2016 Golden Globe for the Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language.[6]

In January 2017, together with representatives of Serbian and Jewish academic societies and the Serbian government representatives to the USA, Greif assisted the exhibition Jasenovac 75 in New Jersey covering crimes committed by Croatian Ustashe in the Jasenovac concentration camp, including crimes against the Serbs.[7] In January 2018, with Serbian representatives Greif co-organised the exhibition Jasenovac - pravo na nezaborav at the United Nations in New York.[8] The exhibition was criticized by the Croatian MVEP for spreading false information and propaganda,[9][10] while the UN distanced itself from the content of the exhibition.[11] Dr. Greif spent four years examining every known archive of the genocide[12] Through his intense research, he discovered that more than 800 000 Serbians and 40 000 Jews were killed by the Croatian Ustase. In addition to Roma and anti-fascists.[13]

Srebrenica massacre research

In 2019, Grief was appointed by Bosnia's Serb-dominated entity Republika Srpska to head a commission to probe the events of the Srebrenica massacre during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995).[14][15] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia as well as the International Court of Justice and domestic courts have characterised these killings as genocide. American and U.N. diplomats and the Srebrenica Genocide Memorial Center commented that the commission was a bid to rewrite history, as the Republika Srpska's officials, including Milorad Dodik, had minimised the number of killed or denied it was a genocide.[16][17][18]

Awards

For his involvement in defense of the truth about the suffering of the Jewish, Serbian and other peoples during the World War II he was awarded the Golden Medal for Merits of the Republic of Serbia.[19]

References
  1. Royle, Trevor (October 27, 2002). "They helped the Nazis murder their fellow Jews now these Holocaust victims' grim secret has been unveiled on film". Sunday Herald. p. 2. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  2. "Schusterman Center welcomes Visiting Professor Gideon M. Greif". The Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  3. Aderet, Ofer (2012-08-17). "A German-Israeli Team Undertakes the Reconstruction of Auschwitz". Haaretz. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
  4. Exhibit showcases Eichmann, 50 years after trial. Associated Press via Kyiv Post (11 April 2011). Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  5. Gross, Terry. "'Son Of Saul' Brings Viewers To The Heart Of The Nazi Death Machine At Auschwitz". npr. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  6. "Winners & Nominees". goldenglobes. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  7. "The Balkans Today: 23rd - 27th January 2017". Balkan Insight.
  8. "Tko je profesor koji je postavio spornu izložbu o Jasenovcu u UN-u?". Tportal.hr (in Serbo-Croatian). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  9. "Hrvatska optužila Srbiju da izložbom o Jasenovcu 'plasira lažne podatke'". Tportal.hr (in Serbo-Croatian). 25 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  10. Sandra Veljković (25 January 2018). "'Lažima o Jasenovcu nije mjesto u UN-u, tražili smo da se maknu falsifikati'". Večernji list (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  11. "Srbija otvara izložbu o Jasenovcu u UN-u, UN se ograđuje". Tportal.hr (in Serbo-Croatian). 28 January 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  12. https://www.b92.net/eng/news/region.php?yyyy=2019&mm=02&dd=01&nav_id=106124
  13. https://www.b92.net/eng/news/region.php?yyyy=2019&mm=02&dd=01&nav_id=106124
  14. "Israeli Holocaust historian to head new Srebrenica commission". The Times of Israel. 9 February 2019.
  15. Template:Cite news Expert: 800,000 Serbs were killed in Croat WW2 death camp. ''B92'' 1 February 2019. Retrieved on 25 January 2021.
  16. Mladen Lakic (8 February 2019). "Western Diplomats Criticise Bosnian Serb Srebrenica Commission". Balkan Insight.
  17. "Bosnian Serb Lawmakers Reject 2004 Srebrenica Report, Call For New Probe". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 5 August 2018.
  18. "Srebrenica Memorial Center does not accept Historical Revision funded by the Authorities in RS". Sarajevo Times. 19 April 2020.
  19. Serbia, RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of. "Dodeljena odlikovanja povodom Dana državnosti Srbije". www.rts.rs. Retrieved 2019-02-15.
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