Shortly after his release in 1945 from the Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Austria, 41-year-old Simon Wiesenthal began his search for Nazi war criminals. He had been trained as an architect and had no experience in conducting investigations. Initially he worked alone, interviewing survivors, collecting newspaper articles and searching old records. Contrary to many stories, he never operated a worldwide dragnet but worked from a small apartment surrounded by “piles of old newspapers and yellowing index cards.”

Tom Segev’s “Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends” (Doubleday, $35), relates that Adolf Eichmann was a particular passion for Wiesenthal. In 1953 Wiesenthal discovered and reported to Israeli authorities that Eichmann was hiding in Argentina. At the time neither Israel, nor Germany, nor the United States gave high priority to catching war criminals like Eichmann. This lack of interest reflected “the marginality of the Holocaust in the consciousness of the world in the 1950s.” The United States and Western Europe had a more compelling problem – the Cold War.

The capture and then the trial of Eichmann in 1961 revealed the horrors of the Holocaust to the entire world. According to Segev, a native Israeli: “The trial and execution of Eichmann ignited a process that turned the Holocaust into the central component of Israeli identity.” Wiesenthal made the astute observation that it was probably a good thing that Eichmann was not caught earlier. If he were tried and executed at Nuremberg as just another war criminal right after the war, the Holocaust might not have received the world’s attention that it deserved.

The trial of Eichmann was a turning point in Wiesenthal’s life. Almost overnight he became a celebrity. He moved his office from Linz, Austria to larger quarters in Vienna. He wrote books and articles and was asked to speak all over the world. His advice was sought by the rich and powerful. Laurence Olivier and Ben Kingsley portrayed him in films.

But all did not go well for Wiesenthal. The Mossad, Israel’s secret service, was furious with him for hogging the glory when he had nothing to do with the actual capture of Eichmann. Wiesenthal’s prickly character and giant ego antagonized many. He had feuds with David Ben Gurion, Elie Wiesel and even Rabbi Marvin Hier who named his new Center for Holocaust studies after Wiesenthal. His feud with Bruno Kreisky, the Jewish-born Chancellor of Austria lasted 15 years and ended up in court.

The book goes into great detail about the worst scandal of Wiesenthal’s career – the defense of his friend and former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim. Even after it was proven that Waldheim had lied about his military past and had served in a German army unit that had committed war crimes, Wiesenthal continued to defend him. American Jewish organizations issued scathing condemnations of Wiesenthal. The Waldhieim affair probably cost Wiesenthal the Nobel Peace Prize, which he desperately wanted and fully expected to win. Segev also chronicles, in perhaps too much detail, Wiesenthal’s other faults – his tendency to embellish the truth and his inconsistencies in relating the facts of his own life.

In the end, these flaws are minor compared to his achievements. The meaning of Wiesenthal’s life was not in the number of Nazi perpetrators who were convicted as a result of his efforts. It was that he kept the names of the perpetrators and the crimes they committed in the public domain at a time when they could easily have been forgotten. Today we take for granted that everyone knows about the Holocaust. Wiesenthal had a vital role in keeping knowledge about the Holocaust and its perpetrators alive before it penetrated the world’s consciousness in the 1960s.

Segev concedes that despite his shortcomings, Wiesenthal was able to achieve his goals “because he radiated an idealistic commitment to the principles of law and justice, uncompromising devotion to duty, courage, and faith in himself.” Wiesenthal was a complex and fascinating personality, and Segev does a fine job in bringing his essence to life.

Arthur Gale, M.D. is a physician who practices internal medicine. He writes on various topics for local and state medical society journals. He lives in Creve Coeur.

Tom Segev

WHO: Author of “Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 4

HOW MUCH: Free, but ticket required

MORE INFO: Segev and author Eric Metaxas will be featured during the Community Kristallnacht Program in memory of Dr. Isidor Hirschfelder in partnership with the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center. Community volunteer Lynn Lyss will moderate the program.