Dr. Josef Mengele is one of the worst Nazi criminals. On account of his sadistic experiments on prisoners of Auschwitz and thousands of ruined lives, including children. But how did it happen that he did not bear any responsibility for his atrocities? He did not appear before the court in The Hague, and even the Israeli intelligence, relentlessly pursuing the much lesser villains of Hitlerite Germany, did not punish Mengele.
Fluttered "Angel of Death"
Dr. Mengele, who was nicknamed the "Angel of Death" in the concentration camp for his special cruelty and ruthlessness, managed to escape from the Allied forces at the very last moment. His accomplices in mass crimes against humanity were taken prisoner by Soviet, American and British soldiers throughout Europe.
The Nazi command hastily redirected the sadistic doctors from Auschwitz to another concentration camp, away from the dangerously advancing front line. On January 17, Mengele left there in the direction of Lower Silesia, and after 10 days the Red Army troops freed the prisoners whom the "Angel of Death" did not have time to torture.
This was the first case of his fabulous luck. The second time, luck smiled at him less than a month later - Mengele again managed to escape from his duty station before the victorious troops entered the territory of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, where he worked after Auschwitz.
He was nevertheless captured by the Americans in June 1945, but Fortune was again on the side of the "good" doctor. Due to the fact that most of the concentration camp documentation was destroyed during the retreat of the fascist troops, at the time of his arrest it was not possible to establish his involvement in the mass crimes, and Mengele was soon released. Naturally, the "Angel of Death" tried to get lost as quickly as possible in the vastness of his native Germany.
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Overseas
Mengele managed to hide in Germany for an incredibly long time. Until 1949, he lived under forged documents, which listed as "Fritz Ullmann". The fake allowed him to move freely even between different zones of influence, marked by allies. Once he even mustered the audacity to go to the territory that was under the control of the Soviet troops. And Mengele was fabulously lucky again - no one found a dirty trick in his new documents, and on the streets of the cities where he came, he did not meet any of the former "patients".
And yet, Josef Mengele felt that the earth was burning under his feet. He understood that sooner or later he would be found and made responsible for his hard work for the good of Nazi Germany. And then he was lucky again - without the slightest problem, Mengele used the secret channel of former SS members to get a new passport and travel overseas.
On the South American continent, the "Angel of Death" built a secluded nest for himself in Argentina, where he worked as a carpenter, then as a salesman. According to some reliable information, as a result, he returned to medical practice, without any difficulty in obtaining a license.
In 1956, Mengele grew so emboldened that he regained his name and practically stopped hiding. He even returned with a real passport to Europe, where he met with his family.
Apparently, Mengele painted his ex-wife and children, whom he had not seen after the defeat of the Third Reich, a heavenly life in South America, and they moved to Argentina after him. Two years later, Mengele again became engaged to his dear Marta, they bought a house and began to live together.
Revenge is on his heels
Apparently, life with a constant look at its own monstrous past was not so sweet. The family lived with him for only a few years, after which they returned to Germany. Mengele himself clearly felt that no one had forgotten about his concentration camp crimes, and again changed his passport. In the new document, the surname remained the same - Mengele, but the name changed - "Jose". Dr. Mengele thought that this would be enough to deflect any suspicion from the pharmacist (and by that time he owned a pharmaceutical company).
His fears were not empty. Mengele was wanted. Nazi hunters Simon Wiesenthal and Hermann Langbein continued to gather information about his war crimes and followed in the footsteps of his wanderings in Europe. Even persistent rumors that Mengele had died at the end of the war did not stop them.
As a result, Nazi hunters found Mengele's address in Buenos Aires. Langbein and Wiesenthal demanded that West Germany carry out the extradition procedure. Dr. Mengele was finally issued an arrest warrant in 1959.
The Argentine authorities rejected the extradition request. This was explained by the fact that Josef Mengele no longer lived at the indicated address.
The last attempt to find the "Angel of Death"
And Mengele didn't really live in Argentina anymore. He once again managed to escape in time. For a time, the former concentration camp doctor lived in Paraguay on a modest farm. Then he moved to Brazil, again changing his name. On this traces of him were lost and the hunters for the Nazis had to strain again to find the Brazilian address of the "Angel of Death".
The last Israeli attempt to reach out to Dr. Mengele and bring him to justice was made by Mossad agents in 1983. Mengele's son was under surveillance, and his house in Germany was constantly bugged. Especially intently - March 16, 1983. Although it was known that the father was offended by his son for not informing him about the marriage, the agents were sure that the son would call his dad to wish him a happy birthday.
After the call was fixed, it was planned to adjust everything as if Dr. Mengele was ill. By this they wanted to convince his son to leave for Brazil to say goodbye to his dying father. The capture of the fugitive Nazi criminal would have been carried out at the time of the meeting between father and son.
The telephone conversation between the younger Mengele and his father did not take place. And it could not take place.
Dr. Mengele's last escape
As it turned out much later, the terrible Nazi criminal once again managed to escape from his pursuers. And this time to where he could not be extradited under any circumstances. By the time the Mossad was preparing a complex operation with wiretapping, surveillance, capture, extradition and trial, Josef Mengele had been dead for 4 years.
By the end of his life, the Nazi doctor had become very decrepit. His blood pressure increased, and in 1976 he suffered a stroke. In February 1979, Josef Mengele visited friends in one of the Brazilian resorts. Having decided to swim, he entered the water, where he was found by the second stroke. Having swallowed during an attack of water, Dr. Mengele drowned and was buried under another false name, which he had to pass off as his own.
Until the last day of his life, Mengele did not repent of his monstrous deeds. During the last conversation with his son, he stated that he personally did not harm anyone and was only honestly doing his duty.
Anton Kaptelov
