Law student writes about 'The Last Nazi'

While University Law student Aaron Freiwald's new book may not yet be as famous as Thomas Keneally's Schindler's List, it is certainly attracting attention. Freiwald's book, entitled The Last Nazi, tells the story of S.S. Officer Josef Schwammberger. The book, released earlier this month, details the atrocities Schwammberger committed during the Holocaust and the years leading up to his 1992 trial. As the most recent Nazi to be prosecuted for war crimes, Schwammberger was found guilty on 25 counts of murder and 641 instances of accessory to murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. The book examines Schwammberger's life before, during and after World War II, along with the reasons for the long delay in finding Schwammberger and putting him on trial. Freiwald, who has written on national politics and law for several publications, including The New Republic, Philadelphia Magazine, The American Lawyer and Legal Times, said his writing interest combined with a "tremendous personal interest" in preparing the book. "I was extremely conscious that this would be an extremely personal experience," Freiwald said, adding that he first began reporting and writing at The Columbia Spectator, the student newspaper at Columbia University, where he graduated in 1985. After his undergraduate work, Freiwald worked in Washington and covered law and politics in the Justice Department and at the Supreme Court. "It was there that I first became aware of our government's continuous efforts to prosecute Nazis," he said in an interview on campus last week. The fact that Schwammberger "was one of the last major Nazis to be brought to trial" is another motivation behind Freiwald's decision to write the book. "I see him as a symbol for a lot of what has happened in the last 50 years since the Holocaust," Freiwald said. "He is a symbol of the unreconciled past." When he began his research, Freiwald said, he found little documentation and relied on testimony, interviews and visits to Poland and Germany. "The book is informed by a lot of my first-hand impressions," he added. Freiwald is completing his first year of law school, but is not sure what type of law he will specialize in. Eventually, he said, he hopes to combine his law background with his interest in writing. Freiwald said his hopes for the readership of his book are similar to those expressed by the author of Schindler's List. "One reason to remember is to preserve the truth," he said. "I wrote the book very much with the person who doesn't know about the subject in mind." Freiwald added that he wants the book to "be provocative, tell a dramatic story and provide some historical background in the process." "This is history that continues to have such relevance for all of us -- Jews and non-Jews," he said. Freiwald is currently making several speaking appearances throughout the area though, he says, "it's not exactly good for my studying for finals, but I'll make it through."