Australia never convicted a Nazi but the investigations were not a waste 

 On numerous occasions I have been confronted with the argument that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was a waste of time, effort and money because no convictions were recorded as a result of its work. 

If the number of convictions was the only barometer to gauge the success of the SIU, then it was less than successful, but this is an oversimplified way to judge the importance and impact of the initiative. Such an approach is not the proper test. 

The SIU clearly established that it was possible to investigate crimes committed on the other side of the world over forty-five years beforehand. It also established that it was possible to gather sufficient evidence to bring criminal prosecutions in this country, in the ordinary Australian criminal courts, and for such cases to be presented before a jury. 

In doing so, it also established the feasibility of undertaking historical research in archives throughout the world, many of which had never been visited by Western historians. The unit was able to negotiate an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow Soviet citizens to travel outside the USSR to testify in Australia – a world first. The SIU also demonstrated its ability to undertake exhumations, recovering over a thousand bodies, victims of the Nazi genocide in Ukraine. 

Most importantly, the SIU developed the skills and experience of those involved in the process, paving the way for them to participate in other war crimes tribunals.  

With a degree of bias, I would say the SIU was a tremendous success despite the lack of courtroom convictions. On the question of convictions, too, I have no doubt that the Wagner case was the strongest of the three cases commenced by the unit. Had it gone to trial, it would surely have resulted in a conviction. Similarly, if the case of Karlis Ozols had not been stymied by the federal government, it would have been a landmark prosecution of a major Nazi war criminal who took refuge in this country.