The Ratlines: Nazi Escape Routes

 I just finished reading Ratlines, by Philippe Sands.  It's the story of Otto Wachter, a senior lieutenant in Hitler's army, who was Governor of Poland, among other positions, and responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews in World War 11.  He died in Rome in 1949, while trying to escape to South America on one of the many ratlines.  After reading this fascinating book, I had to do a little more research about ratlines.  Here's some of what I found.

After World War 11, thousands of Nazis fled to South America along so-called ratlines, often with the help of Catholic clergy and the Red Cross.  The ratlines were operated via a network of Vatican contacts.  The Catholic Church believed this effort would contribute to the "re-Christianization" of Europe.  The church feared the threat to Europe of paganism and communism.  To prevent this, they were quick to forgive Nazi war criminals.  Over 5,000 Nazi leaders managed to escape thanks to this network, with the complicity of the Red Cross.  The Red Cross basically did no checks at all, and Nazi criminals and their collaborators were able to obtain fraudulent documents and make their way to South America.

The ratlines were not a thoroughly structured system, but consisted of many individual components.  90% of Nazi perpetrators who escaped Europe are thought to have fled across the Alps to Italy.  The Nazis who had a letter from the Catholic Church confirming their identity were handed a passport by the International Committee of the Red Cross, a mere formality. 

So there you have it.  Nazis were aided by two of our most trusted institutions:  The Catholic Church and the Red Cross.  I never knew.  Thank you, Philippe Sands for bringing this story to the public.