Rate My Professor Dean Aszkielowicz

Dr. Dean Aszkielowicz is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Murdoch University, where he also holds the position of Associate Dean for International Engagement. He specializes in history and politics, with key research areas centered on the prosecutions of Japanese war criminals conducted by the Allies after the Second World War. Aszkielowicz earned his Doctor of Philosophy from Murdoch University, with his doctoral thesis titled "After the Surrender: Australia and the Japanese Class B and C War Criminals, 1945-1951," supervised by Sandra Wilson. His work explores the political dimensions of war crimes trials, Allied detention policies, Japanese responses, and their broader implications for post-war justice and diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2017, Aszkielowicz published his monograph "The Australian Pursuit of Japanese War Criminals, 1943-1957" through Hong Kong University Press, drawing directly from his PhD research to detail Australia's role in pursuing and prosecuting Class B and C war criminals. The same year, he co-authored the seminal volume "Japanese War Criminals: The Politics of Justice After the Second World War" with Sandra Wilson, Robert Cribb, and Beatrice Trefalt, published by Columbia University Press. This book examines the trials' political contexts, prisoner treatment, and international dynamics, earning the 2017 NSW Premier's History Awards in the General History category and Murdoch University's Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research for Best Research Output. Aszkielowicz contributed key chapters such as "Japanese Pressure Mounts" and "Dilemmas of Detention and the First Misgivings." He has also contributed to edited collections like "The U.S. and the War in the Pacific, 1941-1945," edited by Sandra Wilson et al. His scholarship has received further recognition through an Academy of the Humanities Travelling Fellowship in 2016 and a $48,000 Army Research Scheme grant in 2020 to support ongoing research on war crimes and international justice. Aszkielowicz's publications continue to shape academic discourse on transitional justice, historical accountability, and defence history.