The Ghost

by Henry Kellerman

  “Then I ask myself the question: Is morality absolute or relative? Or, should morality be absolute or relative? My answer is I believe in absolute morality. Yet, look at what the Nazis did to us. So even though I feel that way about absolute morality, about killing innocent people, nevertheless, I still want to get every one of them. And for the third or so time, I repeat: every one! So therefore, my truth is that I want them killed—one way or the other; either through trials like those at Nuremburg, or with what Mossad does—assassinations! And therefore, the answer is that morality for me ultimately is relative.

  “Therefore, to put it all together, evil does not have a statute of limitations, morality is relative, and one must stand for justice, fairness, and against oppression of any people.

  “So, my friends, do you stand with me on these three points—that one must stand for fairness and against oppression, that morality is relative, and that with evil there is no statute of limitations?”

  “Mr. Wiesenthal,” Al answered, “please know that we here and those also at home agree one hundred percent about the importance of what’s in that package. That’s number one. Second, I personally agree with everything you just said and I believe that all of us here are on the same page. And third, I’d like to know what Mossad did with ‘anonymous? Is it all right that I ask that question?”

  “Perfectly alright. But let me say that I’m pleased that you all agree with what could be called my philosophical pronouncements. And regarding ‘anonymous,’ it’s an interesting and I believe ongoing story. They let him go. That’s what the rumor is. Mossad let him go with the promise that his name would never appear in their files and that he would be referred to as the anonymous one. One of the Mossad agents wanted the agency to refer to him as Our Ghost, but that was instantly rejected. It remains to this day, I’ve been told, that if all of this is fact, that whoever he is, anonymous would forever be his name. As you can probably surmise, no one from Mossad ever puts out facts so it is possible that we shall never know the truth. And even in Mossad, only less than a handful of agents perhaps—only perhaps — know his real name.

  “Personally, I believe, but don’t know for sure, that if all of it is true, that Weber, if he’s ‘anonymous,’ still, to this day, would be offering Mossad information, and that Hudal wouldn’t know a thing about it. Of course, if Hudal did have any kind of even an inkling about it, he would have had, I am sure, ‘anonymous’ killed—and without a moment’s regret; friend or no friend. That’s Hudal. But despite all of it, if it was true, ‘anonymous’ or Weber, would probably still be in league with Hudal, and at the same time, I’m thinking, would probably be receiving from Mossad something in the way of shall we say, remuneration, and then in exchange be giving information to Mossad as well. If that’s the case, Hudal certainly would have no knowledge of it. All in all, these are educated guesses.

  “So, gentlemen, that’s it for me and this meeting. I hope our get-together has been useful to you and that it was not a wasted trip. It was certainly not wasted for me. I feel reassured that the package is, and will be, in good hands, and that I will eventually receive it.”

  “No, no, it wasn’t wasted. Not at all,” Al said.

  “Mr. Wiesenthal, I believe all of us feel the way Al does. It was wonderful meeting you,” Jimmy added. “I assure you we will do everything possible to get the package to you—and only to you.”

  With that, Wiesenthal enthusiastically thanked Imi and O’Flaherty, and they in turn offered him a very warm and friendly farewell. The driver, as they were saying their farewells, pulled the car to the side of the road. The four of them, with the exception of Wiesenthal, exited, and O’Flaherty escorted Al, Jimmy, and Imi, to another car already waiting some feet away. Al, Jimmy, and Imi in the back of this other car and O’Flaherty in the companion seat in the front was the arrangement.

  The car drove away.

  . 8 .

  ALOIS HUDAL

  Argentina’s president, Juan Peron, was not just issuing passports by the thousands, he had also organized a wide network of agents whose task it was to insert themselves into those enclaves in Europe that were infected with hosts of Nazis on the run. They weren’t on the run because they believed themselves innocent. Some of the embarkation and disembarkation points included Italy, Austria, and of course, Germany as well as a number of countries in South America and the Middle East. These were the countries where Peron’s agents plied their trade.

  When he returned from his foray with Wiesenthal, Al reported to me that Hudal, who was perhaps the ghost, had set up what became known as the Nazi Bolt-Hole. This was established with the help of the Archbishop of Genoa, Cardinal, Giuseppe Siri, and additionally asisted by another energized Nazi sympathizer from Croatia with the unlikely name of Krunoslav Stjepan Dragonovic.

  This Bolt-Hole was essentially an escape hatch in the jungle, close to Paraguay, considered by these escape artists to be a ‘just-in-case’ back-door. The occupants were fanatical Nazis on the run and their houses were adorned with Nazi symbols and other such artifacts. The Bolt-Hole community had the distinct aura of a Cononia Dignidad in Chile—another Nazi village that Al told me was referred to as Via Baviera or Bavarian Village.

  Wiesenthal added that this escape route was aptly named. This ‘Hole’ was also akin to the tunnel-like escape in South Tyrol leading through the port of Genoa. These Nazi facilitators like Hudal, Siri, and Dragonovic, along with others including Cardinal Caggiano, Bishop Augustin Barrere, Pierre Day, Charles Leska, and Monsignor Montini also created what they identified as the National Committee for Emigration to Argentina. It was simply an organization, the function of which was solely to brazenly usher Nazi war criminals who were on the run to successfully reach safe havens. And Hudal was at the pinnacle of success in his ability to accomplish it all.

  Wiesenthal spoke for more an hour telling what he knew personally or had been told about ‘anonymous’s’ description of Hudal’s secret meeting with this particular ‘Central Committee.’

  “It was obvious,” Al said, “that Weisenthal was attributing the source of all this information to ‘anonymous’. And apparently ‘anonymous’ never equivocated. He knew that lying would mean death and that equivocating might mean death or perhaps, worse! ‘Anonymous’ therefore, needed to make sure that he and his captors were securely aligned—tight as a drum. Achieving this alignment meant survival for him and even some wealth. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Al told them that when Wiesenthal was describing things, he and Jimmy glanced a knowing look at one another as though to say: ‘Was he there?’ In other words, was Wiesenthal in the room when ‘anonymous’ was questioned?’ Because according to Wiesenthal, ‘anonymous’ directed his entire narrative to describing what his captors asked of him; namely, wanting to know everything surrounding Hudal’s conclave with his ad hoc Central Committee composed of Siri, Dragonovic, Caggiano, Barrere, Day, Leska, and several others. It was obvious that there were others because according to Wiesenthal ‘anonymous’ also referred to at least four others with the monikers of Cardinal so and so, and Biship so and so. In addition, ‘anonymous’ also included in this group two men who were never introduced to the others and never referred to by Hudal. These two Scarlet Pimpernals who just sat and listened were no doubt joined at the hip with Hudal in the most insidious propagation of evil—the wanton rescue of evil-dripping genocidal Nazis.

  Thus, Wiesenthal seemed to have blow by blow knowledge of how it all went down. Later when Wiesenthal and Al and the others said their goodbyes, Al and Jimmy talked it over and decided that since Wiesenthal probably would not personally sanction specific assassinations or kidnappings, still, he must have been in on at least the aftermath of the ‘anonymous’ kidnapping. It’s just that what he knew was so detailed that it could have only come from an eye-witness. According to Al, Wiesenthal seemed all knowing when he began to describe it down to the smallest details.

  “You see,” Wiesenthal had related, “the sober
looking Mossad agents were never satisfied with generalities. They wanted details—specific details: names, dates, plans, places.” There was no good cop, bad cop. It was all bad cop. ‘Anonymous’ could feel it. So, naturally, he gave it up the best way he possibly could. When ‘anonymous’ was captured, Wiesenthal said his confession ran for three hours. In those three hours ‘anonymous’ described the plans that Hudal was making with the upper echelon of his proposed Odessa, organized in order to ignite movement on the Rat-Line. Thus, Odessa was specifically formed as an organization to solely supervise and accomplish the goal of ushering Nazis on the run onto an underground railroad leading to an escape route primarily either to South America or to the Middle East.

  Al said that when Wiesenthal referred to ‘anonymous’s’ capture, he used the word “we” when describing those who kidnapped ‘anonymous.’ Al guessed that Wiesenthal either was there during the act or referred to the “we” as an expression of solidarity with those who actually did the kidnapping. But Al didn’t mention this implication to Wiesenthal. He was more interested in primarily hearing from Wiesenthal what ‘anonymous’ had to say. Apparently, according to Wiesenthal ‘anonymous’ recalled that Hudal instructed him “to welcome them as they arrive.” It was during the interrogation that ‘anonymous’ named the arrivals. Al also said thatWiesenthal continued and with uncharacteristic aggression said:

  “It was a perfect place to drop the bomb even though it would have been at them in the Vatican. That bomb would have killed them all. We need to remember,” Wiesenthal said,” “the conclave that Hudal convened was a cauldron, a cauldron of evil-dripping Nazi-Devils. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Al then added that during their conversation in the car, Wiesenthal enumerated that ‘anonymous’ had stated that the first to arrive at that Devil’s conclave was Franz Ruffinengo of DAIE meaning The Delegation of Argentine Immigration in Europe. This was a Peronist organization located in Italy. The second to arrive was Monsignor Montini, the very powerful Undersecretary in the Vatican Secretary of State office. Following that, three arrived together—Dragonovic, Cardinal Tisserant, and Cardinal Caggiano. Others arrived in small groups. These included Cardinal Siri, Father Filiberto who was the one to provide supplies, Dr. Willy Nix, Monsignor Heinemann, Monsignor Karl Bayer, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner of the Security Office SS.

  “Altogether,” ‘anonymous related, “there were about fifteen or twenty in the room. Wiesenthal then told Al and the others that ‘anonymous’ was instructed to describe what was discussed at that conclave and to then relate it to the fundamental reason of the meeting. Weisenthal detailed ‘anonymous’ recounting:

  “They had more than three hundred waiting for instructions as to destinations and, hopefully, for travel papers. All of those were the major Nazis who were sought for trial or already had been tried in absentia and found guilty of war crimes. Naturally, all of the more than three hundred were desperate to escape. We’re talking about Adolph Eichmann, the so-called architect of the final solution, Dr. Josef Mengele, the angel of death at Auschwitz, Erich Priebke, the massacre master at the Ardeatine Caves, Franz Stangl, Commandant of the Treblinka extermination camp — also known as the slaughterer, SS Captain, and Walter Kutschmann, the acknowledged killer of about twenty thousand Polish Jews. Others counted by ‘anonymous included Edward Roschmann called the Butcher of Riga who was also the killer of thousands of Jews in Latvia, and the Nazi spy, SS officer Fridolin Guth, the killer in France.”

  “Yes,” Wiesenthal said, “these catholic priests were the worst of the supporters of all of the Nazis that escaped to South America and to the Middle East. By worst I mean the ones most successful in their objective.” Wiesenthal then recited the following:

  “Hudal, was indeed, the worst. But Siri and Dragonovic were equally culpable. The anti-Jewish poison had successfully infected all of Europe as well as South America—as seen in the Christian countries, the catholic and protestant countries. On the one hand you had those like Hudal sending, and on the other you had those like uan Peron, receiving. Even in the U.S.A. the vicious anti-Jewish American bishop Aloisius Muench was doing his best to facilitate amnesty appeals for all Nazi escapees including those who managed to never be put before a judge because of their success in enjoying all the escape plans that were constantly percolating in these countries. We are convinced the directions came from the top—from Hudal!”

  Al then repeated what Wiesenthal expressed about what most Jews who had survived the Holocaust felt. “It was,” he said, “that the only hope for survival for Jews in the Diaspora was the creation of the state of Israel.” He also added that even Jews like those in America feel the same, and feel it strongly. “And,” Wiesenthal regretfully but with resentment added, “Pope Pius XII apparently had much sympathy for these so-called aid-organizations such as the National Committee for Emigration to Argentina — nothing but a Nazi escape-facilitation organization.

  “And make no mistake about it,” he continued, “I could name at least another half dozen of such organizations whose sole purpose was to keep Nazi war criminals, safe. It was happening all over Europe. Frequently these organizations were framed as ‘charities’ of one sort or another. Also, this Monsignor Montini, the undersecretary of the Vatican’s Secretary of State, was, another of these helpers—an invaluable member of Hudal’s snake pit and an example of multitudes of these vipers. And it should be noted again and again—Montini was another ghost-like figure. He apparently had a lot of power—even in concert with, and perhaps even over Hudal.

  “I could name others. We have a rather complete dossier of such people and their organizations. I assure you, they have unlimited funds. But we have unlimited motivation to get them all. Despite what I say about getting them all, I know this is quite impossible. It is my anger talking. You see, ten percent of the entire German population were Nazi Party members and another large percentage were fellow travelers. Then there were portions of the population that supported the Nazi movement with their sentiments but were not at all active politically. That equals about eight million or more people supporting Hitler and Nazi ideology, and a great deal of the rest of the country, also supportive in sentiment. Of those, about ten percent were high ranking miscreants. That means that close to one million or more were out and out murderers and I want them all, even though I know I won’t be able to do it because the numbers are so overwhelming—but still, I want them all.”

  Then, Wiesenthal dropped another kind of bomb. Al said that Wiesenthal and his staff were able to count those escaping through the ‘bolt-hole.’ “Yes, my friends,” Wiesenthal recounted, “one hundred a day.” He repeated it. “Yes, I said one hundred of these Nazi’s—on the average of one hundred per day were travelling both with letters of recommendation as well as passports provided by Hudal, whose base of operations where he secretly housed this armada of Nazi villains preparing to escape, was at the Anima — this so-called college. The highest ranking among them of course were Mengele, Eichmann, Stangl, Priebke, Klaus Barbie, and others like them. Hudal saved them all with his usual mastery of providing money, safe houses, secondary locations in case of discovery, and, of course, travel documents and plans directly to pre-determined primary locations.

  “Again, according to the rumor, It may have been Anton Weber, aide to Prader, this so-called ‘anonymous’ one, who described various conversations Hudal had with him as well as with others.” Of course, even though by strong implication that Wiesenthal may have been present during the interrogation of ‘anonymous,’ he never actually confirmed that it was Weber who was the one kidnapped.

  Wiesenthal had also said sardonically: “Here’s more fascinating material. ‘Anonymous’ reported that among other things, this group discussed passports that were needed and that these were to be issued by the International Red Cross while letters of recommendations were to be provided by the Pope himself, and a transportation permit-process was to be organized by the travel association, Vianord.

  �
��That essentially was the purpose of the meeting,” Wiesenthal continued,—“to set it all up in a more efficient and specifically organized way. The point is that this meeting called by Hudal, was convened after the war. Hudal’s experience before this was that things were happening more haphazardly but that now with the torrential cascading of the outflow of their people, he felt they needed a more centralized authority with the ability to ask for and receive reciprocity in favors from all of their supporters.

  “In contrast, we know,” Wiesenthal continued, “that immediately after the war before this conclave ever took place, Hudal feted several hundred Nazi fugitives. According to ‘anonymous,’ he said it almost drove Hudal crazy trying to get them all out. He boasted that he actually did the impossible. He got them all out with the necessary travel documents and so forth. That’s why he later organized the conclave which took him about another year to accomplish. Wiesenthal added, “after the meeting concluded, all three hundred waiting to leave were dressed—as priests—and most were then welcomed in Buenos Aires while still others disembarked elsewhere in South America.”

  “For example, at first, Kutschmann was given shelter and protection by the Carmelite Fathers in Madrid. After that he appeared in Buenos Aires; Roschmann also landed in Buenos Aires leaving from Genoa, of course, with a Red Cross passport; Priebke was given a Vatican ID card from none other than what was called, the Pontifical Commission of Assistance in Rome. He too, had a Red Cross passport as well as a letter of recommendation from Hudal himself. The entire operation consisted of a network of people and institutions all cooperating to save these murderers. So, yes, the Odessa Rat-Line became a well-oiled underground railroad.