The Ghost

by Henry Kellerman

  “I also wish I knew who Schell is,” Hugh said. That comment was seconded by Al, Jimmy, and Max together.

  “For the first time, we’re not unanimous in our vote,”

  Then Al caught himself, looked at Jimmy, who got it also and they both looked at Max, and then at Hugh and Imi, and then finally at Shmuel. It almost stopped there except for the unmitigated fact that they then all together finally looked at Wiesenthal.

  “I guess,” Hugh jumped in, “it might be a wild guess, though am I right to think it’s unanimous?”

  “Wild guess is right,” Wiesenthal said. “I and others will consider this Schell thing very carefully. But if we’re right, well, we’ll see. Gentlemen,” he ended, “my escorts and I will now leave with our heartfelt thanks for what you’ve done. I say that in the most coveted and revered way. From this point, we’ll do what we need to do. Of course, Eichmann and Mengele are top priorities. As I’m sure Shmuel will tell you, they will be captured one way or another and if it needs to be—although it’s not my way of doing things—legally or not.

  “I’m sure Kovner’s spirit is with us, certainly with Shmuel here, and I assure you that the days are numbered for these murderers.”

  Then Shmueli took it upon himself to add to Wiesenthal’s declaration. He said:

  “If you reading in dese papers dat day, Eichmann un Mengele both, or only vone of dem he die of accident, or of even natural cause I telling you now no believing dis because if it looking like accident or natural cause it vould be because I un some oders making it looking dat vay. Vould be because legal vay could be escape routing for dem. Mit uns ist no escape routing. Mit bullet, mit car accident, mit falling, mit drowning; also, mit execution like mit assassination—all dese tings could it being.”

  Then Shmueli additionally swept himself into some kind of reverie.

  “Like I saying, Eichmann, who vee chasing many years vill be mine first target. Vee not debating ‘ifn.’ Vee only interest ‘Vhen.’ Simon here vould vant to putting both deese murderers on trial un making big news vit dis. Leaders in Tel Aviv tinking over this all time. Day vant also ist to putting deese murderers on trial un in Israel. Only qvuestion is to getting dem out like from example of dis Argentina. It ist problem dat Argentina no giving extradition. Dis ist meaning vee needing to taking tings in own hands just like day tooking tings into dair own hands.

  “Iz trut vhen vee getting him un bringing him to Israel for dis trial, he vould definite be convicted un vee vould make dis exception to capital punishment law, un maybe too, to hang dis Nazi svine for all world to seeing dis—but only after Jews all over vorld see vhat vee do to Nazi.

  “Some like me vould say dat dis ting is no revenge. No. But it is message to vorld dat vee Jews, vee no forgetting. Never!”

  Then Al said it the way Dr. Janet Sirota would: “Sorry Mr. Wiesenthal I have to say it my American way. It’s like saying to the world: ‘just don’t fuck with Jews. Plain and simple. That shit is over with.’”

  Almost surprisingly, Weisenthal answered: “Yes, you are right. But first let’s all be on a first name basis. Please call me Simon. Second, as I’ve said you’re right about the specific message. But I believe there’s a larger more global message. That more global message could be this: ‘Don’t be involved in genocides toward any people!’ As the Italian saying goes: ‘Genocide would be an infamnia.’ In Yiddish, the word might be ‘shanda’ meaning ‘shame’ or ‘tragedia’ or a ‘zind’ meaning plainly, a sin. Yet, I think such a word as ‘infamnia,’ suffices and is suitable to what the Nazis did. But like I said, it is exactly the same for all people involved in genocidal acts toward targeted groups. They are involved in an infamnia and a zind.

  Looking to Hugh, Wiesenthal then says: “Hugh, as a Christian honor-ific, I’m sure you agree that the world is still in a primitive state.”

  “Yes, of course I do.”

  To that, Simon said: “Thank you all for that. And gentlemen, in contrast to all such sentiments wrapped in the term ‘infamnia,’ I need to add that deeply embedded in Jewish culture is something special. And this something else, this something special is not only the need to achieve things. What needs to be known is that buried within the Jewish cultural tradition regarding achievement is the idea of ‘contribution.’ Implicitly, with respect to Jewish culture, Jews must make contributions to society and in any numbers of ways. But it is definitely not achievement for achievement’s sake.

  “You know, in this world we about two-hundred-fifty thousand years away from Neanderthal sensibility. Therefore, what is patently clear is that with respect to the pace of evolutionary development, like now in the mid 20th century, civilization as well as the human condition is really in a rather primitive state. In other words, the world is in a state of existence where genocides are still occurring as typical sociological phenomena. Therefore, it’s a situation in society where good deeds need to be rewarded while bad ones need to be punished. At this stage of evolution, it is how and what the world understands.

  “In the end however, I must say that I live with contradictions as I’m sure is the case with every living person. What I mean is that I’m absolutely against ‘killing’—both mass killing as well as individual murder. Yet, I definitely would vote for hanging Eichmann, Mengele, and all of the others. Yes, I mean all.”

  “Un ifn government no doing it, den yah,” Shmuel suddenly intervened,” I believing in dis aggression, un how you saying in America, ‘justified manslaughter or even dis justified homicide.’ Saying any vay you vanting. So, if Israeli government no doing, den I doing. Un dis I meaning ist definite assassination!”

  And that’s how Simon Wiesenthal left them with Shmueli’s pointed reference to ‘assassination’ ringing in everyone’s ears.

  * * *

  Further, with respect to this entire unfolding drama, there were blueprints being drawn at just about everyone’s home-base. Al was going home to Gloria. Frankie and Willy were planning on seeking a kind of hopeful closure with the Whartons—even though in his heart-of-hearts Frankie wasn’t sure if danger to the Wharton family was, in fact, at an end. Similarly, what if it wasn’t over was always the question that both Al and Gloria were concerned with—not to mention how such a possibility also hung over Mac and Lyle.

  Jimmy was exhaling and reconnoitering within the safety of M-16. Hugh was returning to Rome and to his polar opposite cohabiting neighbor, Hudal, and Imi was off to training Mossad agents in Krav wherever that might be—this time, probably Haifa.

  But Max was in a quandary. He knew he no longer had a home base since he split from Janet and departed Bletchley. Yet, Max wasn’t sure where he would ultimately land; maybe Texas where he knew people and had some family members, or maybe the Bronx with Al—or even maybe somewhere else.

  However, Maxie’s new friend, Shmuel Kishnov, had a different idea. He suggested that Max hook up with him because: a) he needed a partner in the things he had to do, and, b) after meeting Max and discovering to his delight that Max was a Krav expert, he thought they’d be good together—again, in the things he knew he had to do.

  Max looked at Shmuel, thought for a few seconds, and then with only the subtlest nod, accepted the invitation. It seemed that perhaps now at least Max had an interim destination—one invited by that Kovner acolyte, Shmuel Kishnov. When they talked it over later, in serious unemotional terms, Shmuel told Max that they needed to depart for certain places in order to arrange for certain people to disappear. Max didn’t blink. He just gestured okay, again with that subtle nod.

  And Simon? Well, Simon was leaving for parts unknown in order, one could be sure, to seek justice, to fight oppression and to make sure the world will begin to understand—albeit in a series of successive approximations—that there is no statute of limitations for evil!

  Before he bid us farewell, he reminded us that since the end of the war and the beginning of the trials for some of these murderers, each and every one of them claimed that they didn’t know a thing ab
out it all—especially that they didn’t know what was happening to the Jews. At some point, earlier Simon had noted that in contrast, these Nazi perpetrators all certainly did know what was happening because they were the one’s carrying out the genocide. Even when eye-witnesses pointed to them and swore that they remembered each one, they still denied knowing what had been happening. Then Simon said it eloquently:

  “Their lying was like a yawning abyss where echoes were screaming the lie: ‘I didn’t know anything about it.’”

  * * *

  And of course, what about Alois Hudal? They were all certain that Hudal was now at the drawing-board in some God-forsaken room at the Vatican, both knowing and validating all that Nazi guilt and then also knowing full well that in the other’s possession of the microfilm, his Nazi overall cover could be blown. Therefore, he was sure that notice needed to be sent to thousands in many countries to alert them to the certain danger that now existed about where they were living or where they were hidden. Hudal needed to make sure they all knew that their so-called concealment game was over and that all secondary locations needed to be, if possible, changed immediately. He knew it would be the Israelis collectively and even Simon Wiesenthal and his gang separately, that they all needed to be worried about.

  What he didn’t know was that his microfilm was a fake but on the other hand he really had no worries about Simon because Simon was not a wartime ‘consigliari’ and wouldn’t have anyone assassinated. However, what he more importantly really didn’t know, but desperately needed to know was that Shmuel Kishnov was now on the case.

  Hudal had other desperately pressing issues at hand. Despite the work it would take to notify them all, Hudal took it on as a task that was in all respects worthy of his efforts. To this end he called a meeting a week hence of his Executive Board. This included Montini himself, Dragonovic, Ruffinengo, Tisserant, Caggiano, Siri, Filiberto, Nix, Heinemann, Bayer and Kaltenbrunner. They represented: the Vatican ; DAIE — meaning The Delegation of Argentine Immigration in Europe ; the Undersecretary in the Vatican Secretary of State office ; his supply source; and, the Security Office SS.

  Hudal was successful in getting almost full attendance with the exception of Kaltenbrunner and Nix who couldn’t make it. Otherwise the room was almost to capacity and in total included ten out of the twelve.

  Hudal apprised them of the situation in soft but concise tones.

  “We’ve got the microfilm. And we’re fairly certain we’re safe. We do know however that if they don’t have it, it was nevertheless a close call. Therefore, again, we’re just about in a position to relax, except that it’s not one-hundred percent certain. Thus, this bit of uncertainty does, in fact, creates an urgency.”

  They all understood that ‘urgency’ therefore, was the utmost agenda item. It all hit home and so Hudal had begun making arrangements for his administrative assistants—three of them—to have everything that was on the microfilm printed. Then he had the lists parsed so that each of the three would need to have their office secretarial services responsible for the contact of about four-hundred or so individuals in any number of countries. He felt that bringing the total of over four-thousand to about only four-hundred for each of the three—about thirty percent or so of the total—would make the task more workable and certainly more efficient. He saved his fourth assistant to only handle the case of Gustav Schell which meant to get word to Schell about some possible invasion of information.

  It was a bad decision that Hudal made because he hadn’t even looked at the detail of the film. If he had, he possibly might have spotted some evidence of tampering. The only sure thing he did do was to keep on a separate list those top names he felt needed at all cost to be protected by immediately leaving for their secondary locations where they would be provided safe houses as well as potential work places. He had also decided to tell these top-priority individuals that even the second locations might be dangerous so that they themselves would now be able to change even those destinations.

  When Hudal’s assistant completed the urgent message to Schell, she delivered it to the stack of all outgoing priority messages. It so happened that Hugh had been spying on all the ongoing activity of Hudal’s assistants and followed this personal assistant of Hudal’s to where she delivered her note. From his distance Hugh knew he needed at all cost to liberate that note. He immediately contacted his ally nun, Sister Agnus Furillo, and told her what needed to be done. Sister Agnus followed Hugh’s instruction and casually picked up the note, took it to Hugh, who read it, instructing then Sister Agnus to rewrite the note simply sending Schell greetings from his friends and wishing him well. Sister Agnus did just that and returned the changed note in record time to the stack of urgent messages that were slated to be sent immediately.

  On Hudal’s list were an even fifty that he handed to his chief assistant Joseph Prader with the instruction to address these fifty, first. It was because at least that these particular fifty would be those most sought. Of course, in a stream of consciousness he could recite the first ten or twelve or so who would certainly be prize catches. He reeled them off in his mind: Eichmann, first in line because of his management and direction of the ‘Jewish issue’; Mengele for sure, obviously because of his evil sadistic practice at Auschwitz especially against children; Priebke because of his ordering the massacre at the ‘Adreatine Caves’; Stangl, the head of ‘Treblinka Concentration Camp’; Kutschmann, known as ‘the killer’ of twenty-thousand in Poland; Roschmann, the ‘Butcher of Riga’; Guth, the mass killer in France; Barbie, the Gestapo ‘Butcher of Lyon’; and, he also rattled off in his mind, Kurger, Wagner, Sommer, Brunner, Katrink, Kno-chen, Kopkow, Danz, Schafer, Abel, Sandberger, and, of course the others. These he knew would be at the top of anyone’s seek-and-destroy list.

  He knew that Eichmann must at least move to his second destination immediately; in other words, from the point of view of the unaltered film, the remote province of Tucuman to Olivos at the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

  Believe it or not, the truth is that Hudal had been so overwhelmed with all of his transport details and with reference to so many of these Nazi criminals, he never had time to be current with information regarding even top-level Nazis who had already been situated in their primary locations. This was true of Eichmann, who in 1953 had shifted from Tucuman to Olivos. Eichmann attributed his shift to job considerations and personal contacts but it was obvious that he possibly had been spooked in Tucuman.

  Therefore, in 1958 when Hudal was having these urgent missives sent to his own prescribed list of over four-hundred escapees− especially his top fifty—Eichmann was already in his secondary location for about three years.

  Mengele was another story. He was typically always at high alert and was prepared with more than two locations. He had Sao Paulo, Brazil as his secondary location which he initially insisted he wanted. But at first this ‘Angel of Death’ arrived in Argentina in 1949 and settled in Buenos Aires as his first location. However, instead of only a second destination planned for him, he insisted on a third as well. And if needed, he planned to use all three.

  When the plan for Mengele was hatched, Hudal needed to do some extra work to persuade Mengele to leave Buenos Aires, his first location, and to travel to Paraguay, his proposed second one, to see if Paraguay suited him. To this, Mengele actually communicated with Hudal and conveyed that so far he felt safe in Buenos Aires but that even if he utilized the escape route to Paraguay, he was sure he would one day eventually want to be in Brazil, especially in Sao Paulo where many Nazis were firmly entrenched and particularly in positions of power. What Hudal of course didn’t know and wouldn’t know was that in the counterfeit film, Mengele’s ultimate destination-plan would be Bertioga, Brazil.

  Mengele was as shrewd as they come. His subterfuge even eluded Hudal. Mengele must have figured that if Hudal’s microfilm was ever revealed, he could be dead in the water. But Hudal and his unholy alliance of these poor excuses for true Christians located at the V
atican and elsewhere, were too busy to worry about such details. They never expected that any of their clients would even dream of deceiving them. They were all busy sending massive numbers of messages to their contacts, these criminal escapees who were holed up in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Jordan, Canada, and, unfortunately, in the United States as well—but interestingly, none in the Soviet Union.

  All this urgency was in response to the information on the counterfeit microfilm that Simon Wiesenthal figured would ultimately create havoc in the stampede of Nazi criminals seeking safe havens all over the world. They would end up in this situation of havoc and uncertainty, and thereby threatened with being uncovered and seen.

  Hudal was not the only busy one. Others were also back to the drawing board and working at their home base. For example, after Al’s group would be dispersed to each one’s home base, they had all agreed to do whatever was necessary to counteract whatever Hudal was doing. And they knew exactly what Hudal would be doing. It was Hugh O’Flaherty’s job to try to monitor whatever he could regarding Hudal’s activity at the Vatican.

  Jimmy McKay’s job was to keep his ears open at M-16 Secret-Service regarding anything related to unusual movement of suspected Nazis in various South American countries—especially with a focus on Argentina.