Saul Friedländer

Saul Friedländer, born on October 11, 1932, in Prague, is a distinguished historian and professor emeritus of history at UCLA. A member of a German-speaking Jewish family, Friedländer spent his early years in France, where he endured the German occupation from 1940 to 1944. During this tumultuous period, he was hidden in a Catholic boarding school in Montluçon, where he converted to Roman Catholicism and contemplated the priesthood. Tragically, his parents were captured while trying to escape to Switzerland and were ultimately murdered in Auschwitz; Friedländer learned of their fate only in 1946.

Post-war, Friedländer embraced his Jewish identity and became a committed Zionist, immigrating to Israel in 1948 aboard the Irgun ship Altalena. Following his military service in the Israel Defense Forces, he pursued political science studies in Paris from 1953 to 1955. His early career included roles as secretary to Nachum Goldman and assistant to Shimon Peres.

Friedländer earned his PhD in 1963 from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, where he taught until 1988. He also lectured at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. Among his notable works is a biography of SS officer Kurt Gerstein, published in 1969.

In 1998, he led the Independent Historical Commission investigating Bertelsmann's activities during the Nazi era, culminating in the publication of the comprehensive report *Bertelsmann im Dritten Reich* in 2002, which revealed the company's collaboration with the Nazi regime. Friedländer's contributions to historical scholarship continue to resonate widely.