After World War II, thousands of Nazi war criminals escaped justice with the help of the Vatican, South American politicians, and even secret lines set up by American spies.
As the dust settles on World War II, large numbers of Nazis try to escape punishment for their crimes in Europe. Soon, thousands of people traveled to South America through a secret network nicknamed the "Rat Route."
With the help of South American politicians, the Vatican and even American intelligence agencies, Nazi war criminals managed to escape from Europe to countries such as Brazil, Chile and Argentina. While some of them were eventually found and brought to justice, many more Nazis were never captured.
The advent of the rat route after World War II
The word ratline (rat route) is associated with the sea and refers to the rope close to the ship's mast, which sailors may climb to escape if the ship sinks. But after World War II, it took on a different connotation.
Thousands of Nazis tried to flee Europe, through so-called "ratlines" to South American countries, mainly Chile, Brazil and Argentina. They were largely helped by Argentine President Juan Peron, who had already begun to idolize European dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
According to The Guardian, Peron's admiration for these dictators stemmed from his experience as a soldier in Italy and his relationship with SS agents. In addition, Peron considered the Nuremberg trials an "affront to military honor" and tried to introduce German scientists, engineers and nuclear experts to Argentina.
Thus, in 1946, History magazine reported that Peron invited Argentine Cardinal Antonio Cagiano to engage in dialogue with his French counterpart. Cagiano then let them know that Argentina was willing to accept Nazi collaborators.
The line was officially opened soon. Soon after, others joined Peron as well, helping the Nazis escape Europe and start a new life in South America.
How the Nazis fled to South America
These rat routes do not have any formal entities. Instead, they emerged spontaneously after World War II. However, many Nazis who escaped via the railway line took a similar route, crossing the Alps to Italy.
Once in Italy, many Nazis took the "monastic route", which allowed them to hide in local monasteries. Most then traveled to Rome, where they received further help – sometimes as American and British spies, sometimes as members of the Catholic Church.
As Philippe Sands, author of "The Ratline," said in an interview with NPR, American and British spies helped the Nazis for one reason: to fight communism.
"They are extreme anti-communists," Sands explained. "In 1948 and 49, the British and Americans were especially worried that Italy would become a springboard for the USSR ... So the British and Americans began recruiting Nazis. In fact, I think they used the escape route to Argentina as a tool to recruit Nazis. ”
At the same time, many Nazis took refuge in the Vatican. For example, Bishop Alois Hudar helped the Nazis because he believed they were "completely innocent" and, in order to help them escape, he also "snatched them from their tormentors with false identity documents."
These "fake IDs" helped the Nazis obtain passports from the International Red Cross, which they then used to sneak out of Europe (usually through ports in Italy or Spain) instead of being detained.
With this help, thousands of Nazis were able to flee from Europe to South America. Historically, an estimated 500 to 1,000 people went to Chile, 2,000 moved to Brazil, and 5,000 fled to Argentina.
So who are they?
Nazis traveling along the rat line
After the end of World War II, countless Nazi war criminals fled Europe by smuggling to South America, where they restarted their lives.
Nazi collaborator Pierre Daye said: "With a sense of relief, escape, and joy, I boarded the plane that would take me to South America. "They may be looking for me in troublesome Europe, but they can't find me now." I flew away from this crazy world and flew towards peace. It was all over and I escaped. ”
Other Nazis who escaped in this way included Adolf Eichmann, Joseph Mengele, Klaus Barbie, Franz Stengel, and others.
Eichmann, one of the architects of Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution" to exterminate European Jews, fled Europe with the help of a Franciscan friar. Mengeler conducted brutal medical experiments in concentration camps, including on children. After the war, he fled to Argentina via Italy with the help of the Catholic Church. Barbie was helped by American anti-communist spies, and Stengel was helped by Bishop Hudal.
Hudal once said to Stengel: "You must be Franz Stengel, I have been waiting for you." He then gave the man nicknamed "White Death" forged documents to help him escape.
Even Adolf Hitler himself was rumored to have fled to Argentina, although historians generally agree that this conspiracy theory is not true.
In safe South America, Nazis, stained with the blood of thousands, began their new life. Eichmann and his family restarted their lives in Buenos Aires. Mengele travels between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Barbie hid in Bolivia, and Stengel sneaked into Brazil via Syria.
Erich Pribock, a Nazi who approved the transfer of 2,000 Roman Jews to Auschwitz in 1991, fondly recalled: "In those days, Argentina was simply a paradise for us. ”
But not all Nazis escaped. Some, such as Rudolf Hess, tried to escape, but were soon tracked down and tried, and eventually executed. And the "Gates of Heaven" could not guarantee the safety of all Nazis who escaped to South America through the rat line. Soon Nazi hunters will find them.
What happened to the Nazis in South America?
While Nazis who settled in South America may want to spend the rest of their lives in obscurity, many are not so quick to forget their crimes, as Nazi hunters are soon about to set out for revenge.
Agencies such as Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, and individuals such as West German district attorney Fritz Bauer, work tirelessly to ensure that justice is done. In 1960, Israeli intelligence officers kidnapped Eichmann, then brought him back to Israel and sentenced him to death.
In 1967, with the help of Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal, Stengel was found and sentenced to life in prison in West Germany. In 1983, Barbie was extradited to France, where he died in a life sentence.
And Mengele successfully evaded detection and capture. However, in 1979, he drowned off the coast of Brazil due to a stroke, and it was not until 1985 that a forensic examination revealed his true identity.
In fact, despite the high-profile arrests of some Nazis living in South America, many who fled Europe through the rat line managed to spend the rest of their lives in their new homes. Edward Rothman, who allegedly killed tens of thousands of Jews in Latvia, died in Paraguay in 1977. Walter Rauff, who used his mobile gas chambers to kill about 100,000 people, died in Chile in 1984.
After World War II, they and thousands of others managed to escape to South America using rat lines. These Nazis then disappeared from sight under new names and new lives, avoiding prosecution for their crimes.
But our questions about the rat line remain. First, historians wonder how much Pope Pius XII really knew about the rat route that helped the Nazis.
"Did the Pope issue a direct directive, or a more general order, to help the undocumented?" Historian Hubert Wolfe asked. "Or is there concrete evidence that the Pope, encouraged by the CIA, thought it would be a good idea to send nationalists to Latin America because the Communists were actively trying to overthrow the continent?"
At the moment, we don't have an answer to questions like this. But what is certain is that thousands of Nazis – like sailors fleeing sunken ships – used rat lines to escape justice in Europe. While some were eventually hunted, many more disappeared forever in South America.