Yaron Svoray
Encyclopedia
Yaron Svoray is an Israel
i author and investigative journalist whose six-month infiltration of Germany
’s neo-Nazi groups was documented in his book In Hitler’s Shadow, co-written with Nick Taylor. The investigation brought Svoray into contact with key neo-Nazi leaders, and his book revealed a surprisingly large network of seemingly normal middle-class citizens who subscribe to the Nazi platform of racial hatred and superiority, anti-Semitism
and Holocaust denial
. In addition Svoray discovered several instances of police collaboration with the extremists. Furthermore, there was evidence that the German groups had managed to forge links with similar groups in South America
and the United States
.
Svoray’s book In Hitler’s Shadow was later adapted into a 1995 HBO special, The Infiltrator
, starring Oliver Platt
as Svoray.
To the general public Svoray is probably best known for his hunt of Nazi era diamond
s. Svoray’s search was documented on the History Channel’s special Blood from a Stone, which was based on the book, Blood from a Stone, written by Svoray and Richard Hammer and published by the Tor Books division of St. Martin’s Press.
Svoray also wrote the book Gods of Death with screenwriter Thomas Hughes
, published in 1997 by Simon & Schuster. The book is a lightly dramatized account of Svoray’s hunt for the source of and sense behind the snuff film
he saw while writing his first book. Svoray presented himself as a middleman first for buyers and then for dealers of snuff films, trying to fake his way into the highly secretive industry, at several points running afoul of the Russian mob in Israel and various criminal organizations in the US and Southeast Asia.
Svoray has found a dumping ground for the destroyed remains of Jewish property plundered during Kristallnacht
. The dump, situated in a forest in Brandenburg, is the size of four football pitches. It is thought to contain an extensive range of personal and ceremonial items, although only a small number of items have been dug up so far.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i author and investigative journalist whose six-month infiltration of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
’s neo-Nazi groups was documented in his book In Hitler’s Shadow, co-written with Nick Taylor. The investigation brought Svoray into contact with key neo-Nazi leaders, and his book revealed a surprisingly large network of seemingly normal middle-class citizens who subscribe to the Nazi platform of racial hatred and superiority, anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
. In addition Svoray discovered several instances of police collaboration with the extremists. Furthermore, there was evidence that the German groups had managed to forge links with similar groups in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Svoray’s book In Hitler’s Shadow was later adapted into a 1995 HBO special, The Infiltrator
The Infiltrator
The Infiltrator is a film about a Jewish freelance journalist who travels to Germany to write an article about Neo-Nazism, which originally aired on CNN. Among its cast include: Oliver Platt, Arliss Howard, and Tony Haygarth. It is based on the book In Hitler’s Shadow by Yaron Svoray....
, starring Oliver Platt
Oliver Platt
Oliver James Platt is a Canadian-American actor. He is currently starring in the Showtime original series, The Big C with Laura Linney.-Early life:...
as Svoray.
To the general public Svoray is probably best known for his hunt of Nazi era diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s. Svoray’s search was documented on the History Channel’s special Blood from a Stone, which was based on the book, Blood from a Stone, written by Svoray and Richard Hammer and published by the Tor Books division of St. Martin’s Press.
Svoray also wrote the book Gods of Death with screenwriter Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, published in 1997 by Simon & Schuster. The book is a lightly dramatized account of Svoray’s hunt for the source of and sense behind the snuff film
Snuff film
A snuff film is a motion picture genre that depicts the actual death or murder of a person or people, without the aid of special effects, for the express purpose of distribution and entertainment or financial exploitation. For-profit snuff films are generally regarded as an urban legend, whose...
he saw while writing his first book. Svoray presented himself as a middleman first for buyers and then for dealers of snuff films, trying to fake his way into the highly secretive industry, at several points running afoul of the Russian mob in Israel and various criminal organizations in the US and Southeast Asia.
Svoray has found a dumping ground for the destroyed remains of Jewish property plundered during Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
. The dump, situated in a forest in Brandenburg, is the size of four football pitches. It is thought to contain an extensive range of personal and ceremonial items, although only a small number of items have been dug up so far.
See also
- Nazi hunterNazi hunterA Nazi-hunter is a private individual who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis, SS members and Nazi collaborators involved in the Holocaust, typically for use at trial on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity...
- Charles R. Allen, Jr.
- Tuviah Friedman
- Simon WiesenthalSimon WiesenthalSimon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
- Serge and Beate KlarsfeldSerge and Beate KlarsfeldSerge and Beate Klarsfeld are activists known for engaging in Holocaust documentation and anti-Nazi activism...