Gideon Greif

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]

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]

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]

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]