fbpx

Donate today. Change the future

The Melbourne Holocaust Museum is Australia’s largest institution solely dedicated to Holocaust education, research and remembrance. We exist to keep the voices of Holocaust survivors alive through education and memorialisation in order to combat antisemitism, racism and prejudice. 

Please support us to ensure we can continue to deliver engaging events and educational programs.  

About

Michael David (defence) and Greg James (prosecution) at the war crimes trial of Ivan Ivanechko (Polyukhovich), March 1992. Courtesy of the University of Melbourne Archives.
Michael David (defence) and Greg James (prosecution) at the war crimes trial of Ivan Ivanechko (Polyukhovich), March 1992. Courtesy of the University of Melbourne Archives.

Thank you for joining us for a special online panel discussion exploring Australia’s only Holocaust war crimes trial.

In the early 1990s, alleged Nazi war criminal Ivan Polyukhovich was tried in the Supreme Court of South Australia. The seventy-three-year-old man was charged with murdering Jewish people in Nazi-occupied Ukraine. Almost thirty years later, we will examine the issues surrounding this unique and complex case.

ABC Radio presenter David Bevan, the ABC and Advertiser’s court reporter for the trial and author of its account A Case to Answer, will moderate a discussion with others involved in the case: retired Supreme Court Judges, The Hon. Gregory James AM QC (prosecutor) and The Hon. Michael David QC (defence), and Emeritus Professor Dr Konrad Kwiet (Chief Historian and expert witness).

Following the informative panel presentation, you can join the discussion on this complex criminal trial by participating in a Q & A.

Please click the button at the top of this webpage at 8pm Thursday 21 October to stream the live event.

Presenters

DAVID BEVAN

DAVID BEVAN

David Bevan has presented for ABC Radio Adelaide for nearly two decades. Before this, he was the ABC’s State Political Reporter, and reported on the courts for the Adelaide Advertiser and ABC Radio News. After working intimately on the Ivan Polyukhovich trial, he published A Case to Answer in 1994 which detailed the courtroom drama.
EMERITUS PROFESSOR DR KONRAD KWIET

EMERITUS PROFESSOR DR KONRAD KWIET

Emeritus Professor Dr Konrad Kwiet has held academic positions at leading Australian universities, and currently serves as Resident Historian at the Sydney Jewish Museum. Between 1987 and 1996, he was the Chief Historian of the Special Investigations Unit and expert witness for the Ivan Polyukhovich trial.
The Hon. MICHAEL DAVID QC

The Hon. MICHAEL DAVID QC

The Honorable Michael David QC is a retired Supreme Court Judge. He was admitted to the bar in South Australia in 1973, appointed to the District Court in 1996 and the Supreme Court in 2006. Michael was the defence counsel for all three defendants accused of war crimes in Australia, including Ivan Polyukhovich.
The Hon. GREGORY JAMES AM QC

The Hon. GREGORY JAMES AM QC

The Hon. Gregory James AM QC is a retired Supreme Court judge. He was admitted as a barrister in 1972 and led the prosecution of the trial of Ivan Polyukovich. In 1998, he was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, holding that position until his retirement in 2005.

Upcoming Event

Join us for the Betty & Shmuel Rosenkranz Oration.

75 years since the Nuremberg Judgement, Philippe Sands QC explores what Nuremberg meant to the world and the challenges posed by post-Holocaust justice in the years ahead.

Free online event streaming from 8pm Tuesday 9 November 2021.

Register Now

Phillipe Sands QC
Phillipe Sands QC