“I would do it again,” said Rolf Mengele when criticized for his complicity in hiding his father from authorities. His father, Dr. Josef Mengele, was an SS officer and physician in Nazi Germany. Known as the “Angel of Death”, Mengele was accused of human experimentation of Auschwitz prisoners, especially twin children and pregnant women. As horrifying as his crimes were, he only fled Germany four years after the war where he subsequently found refuge in South America. Moving from one country to another to avoid the Nazi hunters, Mengele died a free man in 1979 of a stroke while enjoying a swim in a beach in Brazil.
His eldest son, Rolf, was the only member of the family willing to talk to researchers and be interviewed. He had publicly denounced his father’s actions, causing him to be cut-off by other family members. Rolf admitted that he secretly met his father in Brazil while the man was the most wanted war criminal in the world; his reason is clear: “I would never betray my father.”
The Haven
South America is well known
for being the hiding place for wanted Nazis after World War II. In fact, it was
not so much of a hiding place where former SS officers had to live undercover.
This was because some of the South American governments were complicit in facilitating
the Nazis’ escape to their country, protecting them, and providing them with the
means of starting a new life. Not surprisingly, there are theories that support
the notion of Hitler escaping to Argentina to live in a bunker especially built
for him.
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| Bariloche (Pinterest) |
The German colonies in South America, such as Bariloche in Argentina, have particularly gathered media attention because it became home to many notorious Nazis, including Erich Priebke and Mengele. Whilst in Argentina, Mengele was even able to divorce Rolf's mother and a few years later remarry in Uruguay. While on the run, Mengele was also suspected to have hidden in Colonia Dignidad in southern Chile, one of the most notorious German colonies in South America.
South America has a long history of German colonies founded by German immigrants, dating back to the 16th century. German descendants and heritage can be found in the German villages even before the Nazis came to stay. This fact made it natural for the Nazis to find a safe haven in South American countries, in addition to the political leaning of the governments that made everything else even more convenient. Although the governments of South America had eventually sided with the allies during the war, political ties and their support of fascist ideology had been secured well before the war.
The Network
It is estimated that after World War II, over 10,000 Nazis escaped to South America. Nazis were assisted by a network that would provide the papers that would allow them to travel the routes of the ratlines to Italy or Spain and then to the destination country, among them, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay. This network was funded by wealthy Germans and South American business owners with German descent and allegedly comprised the Vatican and the Red Cross.
Considering
the above fact, such an organized network must have been developed even before
the war to be able to provide Nazis with safe travel. Experts say that Hitler
had planned to create German colonies in South America and Bariloche, Argentina
was one of the colonies. Argentine’s dictator, former President Juan Peron,
made concentrated efforts to rescue Nazis when Germany lost the war. His
political support of fascist ideology also gained Peron wealth from laundering
money for Nazi-owned companies. Aside from economic interest, Peron and other South
American governments also provided protection to Nazis in exchange for
technological and scientific knowledge.
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| Mengele's home in Paraguay (isurvived.org) |
Because of the support of the government, many former SS officers fled to Argentina and were able to lead normal lives and find good jobs. In Bariloche, some of these officers died of old age in the colony, never to be punished for their crimes, such as Horst Wagner; however, Gestapo member and SS commander, Erich Priebke, 50 years later was extradited to Italy, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment. In Buenos Aires, Holocaust architect, Adolf Eichmann, was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence and then trialed and executed in Israel in 1962.
After Eichmann’s arrest and as Mengele’s victims continue to raise international awareness about his notorious crimes, the hunt for Mengele became so intense that he was no longer safe in Argentina. This forced Mengele to move around, living in Paraguay and finally settling in a small rural area in Sao Paulo to live a low-key life, completely in contrast to the comfortable wine and dine life he initially led in Argentina.
Mengele came from a successful German business family, whose companies are still operating today. The support from his wealthy family at home, aside from their connection with the network, was very instrumental in enabling him to avoid arrest. The failed mission to hunt down the infamous Dr. Mengele reflects how well-organized and strong the support of the network that had facilitated and protected Nazis who fled to various parts of South America.
The Crimes
Many German sympathizers and descendants either hold the perception that the SS officers had no choice but to follow orders or all together chose not to believe the testimonies of what occurred in the concentration camps. The latter tends to be the case for the opinion surrounding the crimes Mengele was accused of. He was known as an intellectual, a soft-spoken scientific man. His physical attractiveness made him even more likable. In their minds, Mengele did not fit the image of the evil monster experimenting on and murdering women and children for his research to develop the Aryan master race.
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| Josef Mengele, year unknown (Thoughtco.com) |
To reproduce more and more of their “own kind” was always at the heart of fascist ideology. Because of this obsession to increase the population of the “pure race”, women’s reproductive capacity became the object and vehicle to reach the goals of fascist governments. For his research into this subject, Mengele carried out human experimentation, particularly on twins to see how each would react to the infliction he conducted on their bodies. He also conducted experiments on pregnant women, where they or their babies he allowed to die for his research. Witnesses’ account also said that Mengele ran the task of choosing who should be taken to the gas chambers and who should be spared upon arrival in Auschwitz. He had also shot and burned children or sent them to the gas chamber if they no longer served a purpose for his lab.
The Search
The scale of Mengele’s crimes caused grave trauma among his victims and prevented them from immediately speaking up. Most witnesses were either silent or their stories couldn’t be verified. All this, along with fact that Mengele was a well-respected scientist and the German government lack of effort to hunt him down, had made it possible for him to be initially ignored for years after the war.
When testimonies were finally out in the open and victims organized to pressure at the international level in 1985, the West German, Israeli, and U.S. governments launched a coordinated effort to find Mengele. The search for Mengele in the homes of German people in Brazil was finally carried out in cooperation with the Brazilian government, albeit it was too late as Mengele had died six years earlier. This was proven after his remains were dug out from a grave in Sao Paulo in 1985 and then reconfirmed through DNA testing in 1992.
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| Mengele and son, Rolf, in Brazil, 1977 (aish.com) |
The Loyal Son
One cannot underestimate the support system from the side of the receiving countries and their unwillingness to cooperate in the prosecution of wanted Nazis. Also, one cannot underestimate the power of loyalty of the family and the German Nazi sympathizers. Because of this strong network, Mengele’s son, Rolf, was able to communicate with and even see his father in Brazil without leaving a trail. This was the second time he ever met his father and the first and last time in his adult life. Although he actively concealed his father’s whereabouts, he would, decades later, denounce his father’s crimes. However, still to this day he remains a loyal son, as he had said, if he had to protect his father, he “would do it again.” In his situation, what would you have done?
Sources
Canun, Nicole (2021) ‘These Were the Secret Nazi Colonies in South America.’ Homeschool Spanish Academy. https://www.spanish.academy/blog/these-were-the-secret-nazi-colonies-in-south-america/ [12 March 2022].
Gamp, Joe (2020) ‘This is why so many Nazis fled to Argentina.’ Yahoo. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nazis-fled-argentina-ratlines-simon-weisenthal-credit-suisse-203501944.html [3 April 2022].
Klein, Christopher (2018) ‘How South America Became a Nazi Haven.’ HISTORY. https://www.history.com/news/how-south-america-became-a-nazi-haven [12 March 2022].
McPhee, Rod (2017) ‘The Argentine town where thousands of Nazis and maybe Hitler fled to after WW2.’ Mirror. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/quiet-alpine-town-argentina-housed-10664788 [5 March 2022].
Wikipedia (2022) ‘Josef Mengele.’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele (3 April 2022)
Videos:
Documentary Central (2022) ‘Josef Mengele Nazi Hunters S1E05.’ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsfbhpMYNdI (5 March 2022).
Posner, Gerald (2014) ‘Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele's son in a shocking and uncensored interview.’ YouTube https://youtu.be/JFQaDSv1IKg (5 March 2022).
Top pictures:
Auschwitz: Independent; Bariloche: Wikipedia
