Peter Z. Malkin was a secret agent. He
has always been an artist. Agents can reveal very little, while artists
and writers are more candid. Throughout his many years in the
intelligence service, Peter's cover was as a painter. By day he strolled
the streets watching people and their surroundings. Late into the night
he painted from memory what he had observed. He continues this custom
through today.
Rarely does a man who has lived such an exceptional
life possess a passion for teaching–especially to children. When
speaking to audiences about the capture of Adolf Eichmann as an act of
moral justice, not revenge, he is usually questioned about the most
effective weapon he carried. He always replies, "I never carried a
gun; my brain was my weapon." Peter Z. Malkin personifies the
limitless potential of the "whole-brained" individual–one
who draws on the common sense of the left side and the creativity of the
right.
Peter chose to describe his ordeal in South America
through words and colors in The Argentina Journal. "Writing
and painting are the same for me," he says. He painted the pages in
no particular order, just as there was no particular order in his life
at that time. Peter never expected that this "diary" would
become anything more than a means for catharsis and a private memorial
to his family.
The narratives that describe his memories, feelings
and artistic technique in The Argentina Journal include simple
phrases and "broken sentences with unanswered questions–like a
conversation." They echo his unconventional, but intriguing
perspective: "I like the rough edges to life; it makes for more
interesting experiences." My challenge, as the editor, was to
polish the prose without losing the poetry of the quintessential "Zvika."
As the man who physically captured Eichmann on a
rainy night in Buenos Aires and guarded him for ten days before his
flight to stand trial in Jerusalem, as a Jew, as an artist, and as one
who suffered a tragic personal loss as a consequence of the orders given
by Adolf Eichmann, Peter Z. Malkin's story on the pages of The
Argentina Journal is a revelation of human nature at its most
poignant.
Patricia G. Ambinder, April 2002
Publisher's note: Patricia G. Ambinder has been Peter Z. Malkin's
executive assistant, editor and co-writer since 1995.
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