Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler
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Paul Manning wrote that Bormann, born in 1900, was still alive in 1980 in Argentina, as was Heinrich “Gestapo” Mueller who had been born in the same year as his boss. There are no reliable reports of the ultimate end of either of these senior Nazis.
IN HIS MEMOIRS, ALBERT SPEER recalled a conversation he had with Adolf Hitler in November 1936 concerning the Thousand-Year Reich. Hitler was standing before the massive picture window of his Berghof retreat and staring at his beloved Bavarian Alpine mountainscape, a landscape eerily similar to the view from his Patagonian home at Inalco. Hitler stated, “There are two possibilities for me. To win through with all my plans or to fail. If I win, I shall be one of the greatest men in history. If I fail, I shall be condemned, despised, and damned.” To this day, the world condemns, despises, and damns Adolf Hitler and his utterly evil regime.
Yet, as the failed and faded Führer died in Argentina, tormented, demented, and betrayed, seventeen years after fleeing from the bunker in which the world believed he had committed suicide, the words that he and Joseph Goebbels had made famous had come true: “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.” The world believes that Hitler died in Berlin.
Winston Churchill, Hitler’s British nemesis, once famously said, “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” But his archenemy had foreseen that possibility, and before Churchill wrote his history, Adolf Hitler, one of the most evil men in civilized history, pre-empted him by saying, “The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.”
At the end of World War II the victors were never asked. We are asking them now.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To all the authorities and individuals in Argentina who gave their indispensable support in the realization of this project, we extend our heartfelt thanks. Their conviction that the truth should finally be told—now that Argentina has become a mature democracy—allowed us to unravel this extraordinary story.
May we also take this opportunity to thank the following people: Maria Eugenia Faveret, a translator par excellence and an organizer without peer: muchas gracias, amiga; historian and U-boat expert Innes McCartney for his extensive researches at The National Archives, Kew, London, and elsewhere; Nahuel Coca, Argentine researcher and journalist extraordinaire, for all his help in Buenos Aires; aviation and Luftwaffe expert Tony Holmes; Philip Brace and the staff of the Ministry of Defence main library for obtaining a host of obscure and esoteric books and documents from a variety of sources; the staff of The National Archives in Kew for their unfailing assistance; Carolina Varasavsky for all her invaluable support; Capt. Manuel Monasterio for his courage in publishing Dr. Otto Lehmann’s and Heinrich Bethe’s stories at his own expense even when his life was threatened; Jorge Elbaum of the Delegación de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas for opening the organization’s files and for its offers of security; noted Argentine television host Adrian Korol and his delightful life partner Silvina Shina for their help, introductions, and some of the best steaks we have ever eaten; and casting director, acting coach, and great friend Mariana “La China” Shina for everything.
Our thanks to the team at Greene Media, who had the vision to embrace this extraordinary story. At Sterling Publishing we would like to thank Marcus Leaver, president; Jason Prince, publisher; Michael Fragnito, editorial director; Elizabeth Mihaltse, art director, trade covers; and Blanca Oliviery, publicist. We would also like to acknowledge the packaging team at Buoy Point Media: Lary Rosenblatt, Fabia Wargin, and Laurie Lieb; and Amy King, for the striking cover design.
And finally, but not least, thanks to our brilliant editor at Sterling, Barbara Berger, who checked and re-checked our findings and made the whole thing readable.
—SIMON DUNSTAN AND GERRARD WILLIAMS
I am grateful to the Argentine cast and crew on the film Grey Wolf—too many to mention individually, but to all, my gratitude for your professionalism and friendship; Robert Stubbs and Ian Hall for all their help; Simon Goldberg, my lawyer in London, for his help and patience; Russell Tenzer for his long friendship, help, and advice; Eduardo Martín Boneo Villegas; Cuini Amelio Ortiz, filmmaker and chronicler of the Eichhorns’ activities; James Rainbird, assistant director, composer, and great friend; and the Norris family for such unfailing friendship and support.
Let me thank, too, my father, ex-Sgt. Maj. Len Williams, and my mother, Mary, who both fought fascism in World War II and who would be disgusted at the truth. To them and all the others who took up arms from around the world, we should all be grateful.
To the memory of three wonderful people who were there at the beginning but did not live to see it happen: Bill Stout, a great cameraman, brother, and companion on more adventures than I care to remember; J.J. Swart, another great cameraman, chef, and friend; and one of the best women in the world, Tina Murdoch. I miss them all.
Above all I wish to acknowledge the extraordinary fortitude of my beautiful wife, Ginny, and my children Nick and Bex. Without their faith and support, none of this could ever have happened. And to Magnus Peterson—my benefactor, supporter, and convivial companion throughout the trials and tribulations of this project—go my thanks, best wishes, and undying friendship.
—GERRARD WILLIAMS
NOTES
Preface
xix “facilitated the flight of hundreds of erstwhile Nazis”: The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust, Department of Justice, Criminal Division, 2006. See http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1; see also http://www.archives.gov/iwg/declassified-records/rg-330-defense-secretary/. See also Mark Aarons, Sanctuary: Nazi Fugitives in Australia (Melbourne: William Heinemann Australia, 1989), and Stephen Tyas, “British Intelligence and the Nazi Recruit,” History Today 54, 2004, http://www.historytoday.com/stephen-tyas/british-intelligence-and-nazi-recruit.
xix John Demjanjuk: New York Times, “Demjanjuk Convicted for Role in Nazi Death Camp,” May 12, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/world/europe/13nazi.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Demjanjuk&st=cse.
xxi “Hitler’s chauffeur, Erich Kempka”: James P. O’Donnell, The Bunker: The History of the Reich Chancellery Group (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978).
xxii “We found no corpse that could be Hitler’s”: Marshal Georgi Zhukov, quoted on June 6, 1945, by United Press Berlin, Miami Daily News, “Hitler May Have Fled with Bride Before Fall of Berlin,” June 10, 1945, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qE8yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yecFAAAAIBAJ&
pg=2861,2346002&dq=hitler+fled+berlin+zhukov&hl=en.
xxii “There is every assumption that Hitler is dead”: Dwight D. Eisenhower, quoted on October 12, 1945, by The Associated Press, Indian Express, “Is Hitler Alive?,” October 14, 1945, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=orI-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=SEwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4222,1007385&dq=eisenhower+hitler+alive&hl=en.
xxv “Allied Powers employed numerous Nazi war criminals”: New York Times, “Nazis Were Given Safe Haven in U.S., Report Says,” November 13, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html?scp=2&sq=nazis&st=cse. See also The Office of Special Investigations: Striving for Accountability in the Aftermath of the Holocaust, Department of Justice, Criminal Division, 2006, Report: “Klaus Barbie: The Butcher of Lyon.”
xxv Israeli government and Nazi hunting: Ian Black and Benny Morris, Israel’s Secret Wars: A History of Israel’s Intelligence Services (New York: Grove Press, 1991).
xxv Lothar Hermann: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/trials/eichmanntrialcapture.html.
xxv “It has now been proved”: Daily Telegraph, “Germany and US ‘Knew Where Eichmann Was in 1952,’” January 9, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8248965/Germany-and-US-knew-where-Eichmann-was-in-1952.html.
xxvi Gehlen Organization and the BND: Klaus Wiegrefe, “The Nazi Criminals Who Became German Spooks,” Der Spiegel, February 16, 2011, www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,745640,00.html.
Introduction
xxviii “When Adolf Hitler returned from the Western Front”: Cris Whetton, Hitler’s Fortune (Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2004).
xxvii “Money does not bring happiness”: Paul Manning, Martin Bormann: Nazi in Exile (Secaucus, NY: Lyle Stuart, 1981).
xxxi “Uncle Wolf”: Guido Knopp, Hitler’s Women (New York: Routledge, 2003).
Chapter 1: FUELING THE BEAST
3 “zenith of its success”: There are innumerable general histories of World War II, but for a single-volume treatment including the aspects relevant to this book the authors can recommend Norman Davies, Europe at War 1939–1945: No Simple Victory (London: Macmillan, 2006).
4 “modification of the Enigma”: Ronald Lewin, Ultra Goes to War (Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2008). The addition of a fourth rotor to the naval Enigma machines (Schlüssel M) virtually stopped British decryption of U-boat signals traffic for nine months.
4 convoy SC-107: Wolf Packs (The Third Reich series) (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1989). See “Treatment of Military Ranks” on page xiv for translations of German ranks.
5 U-boats of Gruppe Veilchen: Further details of this battle are to be found on http://www.uboat.net.
5 “730,000 tons of Allied shipping”: Gordon Williamson, Wolf Pack: The Story of the U-Boat in World War II (Oxford: Osprey, 2005).
5 “from 91 to 212 boats”: Gordon Williamson, U-Boat Tactics in World War II (Oxford: Osprey, 2010).
5 “only thing that ever really frightened me”: Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War, vol. 2, Their Finest Hour (London: Cassell, 1949).
5 “terms imposed on Germany”: David Sinclair, Hall of Mirrors (London: Century, 2001).
6 “enviable background experience”: James Srodes, Allen Dulles: Master of Spies (Washington, DC: Regency, 1999). On one occasion during Dulles’s service in Bern in World War 1, a man by the name of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov knocked on the door of his residence, requesting an audience and a visa for America. Anxious to meet a young lady at the tennis club, Dulles refused, dismissing his visitor as “not very important.” This would be a matter of acute regret to him; V. I. Ulyanov would become better known as Lenin.
6 “Uncle Bert” Lansing: Ibid.
7 “powerful and influential conglomerates”: Diarmuid Jeffreys, Hell’s Cartel: IG Farben and the Making of Hitler’s War Machine (London: Bloomsbury, 2008).
8 Dulles’s meeting with Martin Bormann: Manning, Martin Bormann.
8 “enabling act”: Michael Burleigh, The Third Reich: A New History (London: Macmillan, 2000).
9 “happy to fill the gap”: Edwin Black, Nazi Nexus: America’s Corporate Connections to Hitler’s Holocaust (Washington, DC: Dialog Press, 2009).
9 “Order of the German Eagle”: Agostino von Hassell and Sigrid MacRae with Simone Ameskamp, Alliance of Enemies: The Untold Story of the Secret American and German Collaboration to End World War II (New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2006).
9 Opel AG of Russelsheim: Ibid.
10 “Achilles’ heel”: Charles Higham, Trading with the Enemy: The Nazi-American Money Plot 1933–1949 (New York: Delacorte Press, 1983).
10 “As Britain fought for her life”: Glen Yeadon and John Hawkins, The Nazi Hydra in America (Joshua Tree, CA: Progressive Press, 2008). Yeadon and Hawkins provide (p. 92) a striking example of the duplicity of German-influenced U.S. business corporations: “An agreement between DuPont and Dynamit in 1929 controlled the production of tetrazine, a substance that greatly improved ammunition primers. When WW II began in 1939, Remington Arms (controlled by DuPont) received huge British ammunition orders. Because of a clause in the agreement with IG Farben, the British received an inferior cartridge lacking tetrazine.”
11 “personal representative of President Roosevelt”: Srodes, Allen Dulles.
11 “gentlemen do not read each other’s mail”: von Hassel et al., Alliance of Enemies.
11 “Japanese diplomatic cipher”: For a fuller account of the interservice rivalry that bedeviled U.S. code-breaking before World War II, see Thomas Parrish, The Ultra Americans: The U.S. Role in Breaking the Nazi Codes (New York: Stein and Day, 1986). Purple was the Japanese equivalent of the German Enigma encoding machine, and the decrypted intelligence provided was code-named “Magic.” American cryptanalysts broke the Japanese diplomatic code some fifteen months before Pearl Harbor, but the failure in liaison between the various services and governmental agencies meant that the warnings of Japanese military intentions were either ignored or discounted in the days leading up to December 7, 1941—“a date which will live in infamy.” Fortunately, the Japanese continued to use Purple and much vital intelligence concerning Nazi war plans was gleaned from intercepting the cables of the Japanese ambassador in Berlin, Hiroshi Oshima, following his frequent, lengthy meetings with Adolf Hitler throughout the war.
12 “with war looming”: Allen W. Dulles, The Secret Surrender (Guildford, CT: Lyons Press, 2006).
13 “Oh So Social”: The Secret War (The World War II series) (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1998).
13 U-559: http://www.uboat.net. Lt. Tony Fasson and AB Colin Glazier were posthumously awarded the George Cross, and canteen assistant Tommy Brown lived to receive the George Medal—though he did not survive the war. Tragically, he died in 1945 trying to save his sister from a fire at their home.
Chapter 2: THE TURNING TIDE
14 “all sorts of outlandish people”: Srodes, Allen Dulles.
15 “big window”: Christof Mauch, The Shadow War Against Hitler: The Covert Operations of America’s Wartime Secret Intelligence Service (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002).
15 “bringing to my door purveyors of information”: Srodes, Allen Dulles.
15 “putting one over the Brits”: Gordon Thomas, Inside British Intelligence: 100 Years of MI5 and MI6 (London: JR Books, 2009).
16 “George Wood”: Lucas Delattre, Betraying Hitler: The Story of Fritz Kolbe, the Most Important Spy of the Second World War (London: Atlantic Books, 2005).
17 Wilhelm Canaris: Charles Whiting, Hitler’s Secret War: The Nazi Espionage Campaign Against the Allies (Barnsley, UK: Leo Cooper, 2000).
18 “pillow talk”: von Hassell et al., Alliance of Enemies.
18 “these east German Junkers”: Ibid.
18 “Yankee Doodle Dandy”: Thomas, Inside British Intelligence.
18 “all news from Berne”: Delattre, Betraying Hitler.
19 “All ammunition spent”: The World at Arms: The Reader’s Digest Illustrated History of World War II (London: Reader’s Digest Association, 1989).
20 “small hunk of horse meat”: The Illustrated History of the World: The World in Flames 1939–45 (London: Reader’s Digest Association, 2007).
20 “genuinely pivotal victory”: Davies, Europe at War 1939–1945.
21 Casablanca Conference and Operation Pointblank: H. P. Wilmott, Charles Messenger, and Robin Cross, World War II (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2004).
21 “Unconditional Surrender Grant”: von Hassell et al., Alliance of Enemies.
22 “We rendered impossible internal revolution”: Letter to Chester Wilmot, January 3, 1949, Allen W. Dulles papers, Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton, New Jersey, as cited in Lucas Delattre, Betraying Hitler: The Story of Fritz Kolbe, the Most Important Spy of the Second World War (London: Atlantic Books, 2005).
Chapter 3: THE BROWN EMINENCE
23 “imbalance of resources”: A mass of statistics is available, but the following snapshot figures for 1943 may suffice. Total Allied coal production was 928 million tons and Axis production 545 million. Total Allied production of iron ore was 145 million tons and Axis production 77 million. Total Allied crude steel production was 118 million tons and Axis production 47 million. Total Allied crude oil production was 259 million tons and Axis production just 18 million. As for manufacturing output, in 1943 the Allied nations built 61,062 battle tanks and self-propelled guns, the Axis nations 12,957. From John E
llis, The World War II Data Book (London: Aurum Press, 1993).
24 “der totaler Krieg”: Richard Bessel, Nazism and War (London: Phoenix, 2004).
25 “greatest confusion that has ever existed”: The Center of the Web (The Third Reich series) (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1990).
25 “Hitler exercised his absolute power”: Burleigh, Third Reich.
26 “state machinery defied all logical explanation”: Brian L. Davis, The German Home Front 1939–45 (Oxford: Osprey, 2007).
27 “Telex General”: Jochen von Lang, Bormann: The Man Who Manipulated Hitler (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1979).
28 “Hitler’s personal treasure chest”: Whetton, Hitler’s Fortune.
28 “Bormann’s proposals are so precisely worked out”: Joachim C. Fest, The Face of the Third Reich (New York: Da Capo Press, 1999).
29 “clung to Hitler like ivy”: Patrick Delaforce, The Hitler File (London: Michael O’Mara Books, 2007). Bormann’s power stemmed less from his party rank—there were seventeen different NSDAP departmental Reichsleitern—than from his appointment to particular duties close to Hitler.
29 “I need Bormann”: Guido Knopp, Hitler’s Hitmen (Stroud, UK: Sutton, 2002).
29 “my own private existence”: Whetton, Hitler’s Fortune.
30 “financed from the AH Fund”: Ibid.
30 “household of the Führer”: Center of the Web.
30 “his brilliant business acumen”: von Lang, Bormann.
Chapter 4: THE RAPE OF EUROPE
32 Hitler’s early life: Michael Fitzgerald, Adolf Hitler: A Portrait (Stroud, UK: Spellmount Books, 2006).
32 “racial purity”: Burleigh, Third Reich.
33 “eliminating political opponents”: Bessel, Nazism and War.
33 “‘Aryanization’ of all aspects of German society”: Mark Mazower, Hitler’s Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe (London: Allen Lane, 2008).
34 Kristallnacht: James Pool, Hitler and His Secret Partners: Contributions, Loot and Rewards 1933–1945 (New York: Pocket Books, 1997).