Assisting Affluent Nazi's leave Germany

I have always found it a little upsetting that after the war numerous Governments, organizations and churches assisted known war criminals to leave Allied Occupied Germany. That left only the grunt dogface wermacht NCO and private to face retaliation by the occupying forces and citizens or flee to join the French Foreign Legion. Anybody else out there have any ideas on this topic ?

 

Anything of use was taken by the major conquering nations, this includes people, protoypes, technology, etc. Technology would be taken, implemented, improved, etc, if they had trouble they would ask the original creators to "help out" in exchange for a reduced sentence, citizenship, etc. Or in the case of the Soviets, if the US had a German jet engine that you also wanted you would simply send the KGB to kidnap those who were close to the project when the Nazi's were in power and tell them to build you the same thing or send them to the gulag.

A few organizations also did their part to "help", Josef Mengele for instance was sent to South America where he became a doctor for a village or town. Just recently they found out he was conducting experiments in his area, giving pregnant women or those wanting to become pregnant certain medication and seeing the effect this had on the children. It turns out he was able to great a village full of twins! This is just one example of where these high ranking party members would go to a new nation to continue their research after the war had ended. For some it is entirely possible that they decided not to tell the Allies they helped them escape along with where they went for fear that they too would be put on trial for helping a now known criminal escape.

In regards to your usage of "war criminal", when did they know? After the war had ended or before? For some they could have been helping someone like Mengle thinking he was a simple doctor who would be killed due to his affiliation with the party only to realize at a later date that he was a criminal.

I also wouldn't say that all "war criminals" had tried to leave Germany, there were people who had stuck with their men to the very end. Some many not have realized they did anything to be found guilty and Nuremberg of. In the case of some high ranking officials, officers, generals, etc who were put on trial at Nuremberg, they would kill themselves before a verdict could be announced.

 

Thanks for the great information."Some may not have realized they did anything to be found guilty " I agree with this statement and empathise with those unfortunates who truly believed that they were only followings orders. But as the Nuremburg trial revealed , following orders is not a defense.
I truly believe that "they knew" their actions were illegal as well as immoral during the planning and execution phase of their atrocities. Regretfully "they" felt justified for the crimes " they" committed or were too afraid for their life to object. Those who were left in Germany after the war had been captured before they could flee, didn't have enough money to buy their way out , sadly believed they had done nothing wrong were waiting to get out and didn't or couldn't join the French Foreign Legion due to their age,health or being too well known.

 

Well Mengele was the only fleeing upper level Nazi who could really be called "affluent", since his family owned the machinery company of the same name. He wasn’t helped out of Germany by the allies exactly, but by connections with the Catholic Church and its Ratline as well as the Spinne (spider) of the SS escape plans. He didn’t even really hide his existence until after Eichmann was captured and tried.


A great many of the former Nazi intelligence community were "aided" out of Germany, or "protected" for use by the western allies in what was developing into a "cold war" against our former ally in the Soviet Union. The Gehlen group and its members is an example of that. Some of those men were simply an embarrassment and should never have been "sheltered" by the west. Some escaped without assistance from the west, and while their locations were suspected, they weren’t actively pursued.

The scientists of Operation Paperclip were certainly shielded and assisted in the same manner and for the same reasons the former Nazi intel. people were. To counter the looming threat of the Soviet Union. And just my opinion here, but I think the word should be "influential" rather than "affluent" in this post. Few were "affluent" post-war, and even the massive Krupp wealth didn't keep Alfreid out of the dock in place of his father Gustav. Speer was also a "wealthy man", but both he and Krupp were tried and convicted. Their affluence didn't protect them.

 

My guess is that the term affluent in it's use here is relevant. If you had enough money , regardless of it's origin, for example Otto Skorzeny, following the war you were able to live life comfortably. I mean he, ( Skorzeny) and Peiper intentionally murdered American POWs and didn't get the death sentence.( Although Peiper's house did burn well after the war and it was noted that the firehoses had been cut). Respectfully it's my opinion that those who assisted them ( war criminals) to evade prosecution are equally guilty of crimes committed. ( I know I just opened a can of worms.)

 

Actually Skorzeny was captured, escaped and later surfaced outside of Allied jurisdiction in Argentina. Peiper was tried and convicted, sentenced to hang, but the verdict was reduced to a prison time sentence which he served.

Skorzeny actually may have been financed by the Juan Peron money, and been Eva's lover before he fled again to Franco's Spain where he ran a reasonably lucrative engineering firm. Of course with Franco falling into the "needed ally" against the USSR for air and naval bases, Skorzeny was reasonably safe there too, and he didn't murder any POWs American or otherwise. Skorzeny was aquitted of breaking the "rules of war" by using American uniforms in Operation Greif, since they were stripped off of the Wehrmacht coveralls before any engagments were initiated. Since his troops went into battle in the proper attire, after discarding the American "camoflage", they broke no rules.

Skorzeny was brought to trial later by the German courts, and it was from them he escaped (wink-wink) to South America.

 

You have any proof that Skorzeny intentionally murdered American POWs ?
You have any proof that Skorzeny was a rich man ?
About Peiper:he got the death penalty (if I am not wrong ),but due to the American mismanagement of the trial (an euphemism ),he became free after years of emprisonment .
Who assisted Skorzeny and Peiper to evade prosecution ???

 

Useless reply:Brndirt responded already and very good .

 

Skorzeny was detained in an internment camp at Darmstadt awaiting the decision of a denazification court.[11]. On July 27 1948 he escaped from the camp with the help of three former SS officers dressed in US Military Police uniforms who entered the camp and claimed that they had been ordered to take Skorzeny to Nuremberg for a legal hearing. Skorzeny afterwards maintained that the US authorities had aided his escape, and had supplied the uniforms.[12]
Skorzeny hid out at a farm in Bavaria which had been rented by Ilse Lüthje, the niece of Hjalmar Schacht (Hitler's former finance minister), for around 18 months, during which time he was in contact with Reinhard Gehlen, and together with Hartmann Lauterbacher (former deputy head of the Hitler Youth) recruited for the Gehlen Organization.[13]
Skorzeny was photographed at a café in the Champs Elysées in Paris on 13 February 1950, and the photo appeared in the French press the next day, causing him to retreat to Salzburg, where he met up with German veterans and also filed for divorce so that he could marry Ilse Lüthje.[14] Shortly afterwards, with the help of a Nansen passport issued by the Spanish government, he moved to Madrid, where he set up a small engineering business.
After his release from POW camp was delayed for a long time, Skorzeny escaped, and reached the Fascist Spain. He then moved to Argentina, where he was employed as security advisor and bodyguard. He also advised Nasser, the dictator of Egypt. Eventually Otto Skorzeny returned to his pre-war occupation as a civil engineer and established a successful construction company in Spain that made him a multi-millionaire. He died in 1975.
They were charged with participating in the improper use of American uniforms by entering into combat disguised therewith and treacherously firing upon and killing members of the armed forces of the United States. They were also charged with participation in wrongfully obtaining from a prisoner-of-war camp United States uniforms and Red Cross parcels consigned to American prisoners of war."
Trial of Otto Skorzeny and Others.X United Nations War Crimes Commission

On 17 December 1944 men belonging to Kampfgruppe Peiper massacred 84 American prisoners of war at the Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy. What has become known as the "Malmedy massacre" was not an isolated incident. Before this in Honsfeld, men of Peiper’s Kampfgruppe killed several American prisoners in cold blood.[81][82][83] Another murder of PoWs was reported in Büllingen.[81][82]
After Malmedy it was reported that men of Kampfgruppe Peiper killed at least eight more US PoWs in Ligneuville.[84][85] Other murders of prisoners were perpetrated in Stavelot, Cheneux, La Gleize and Stoumont on 18, 19 and 20 December. On 19 December 1944, in the area between Stavelot and Trois-Ponts, while the Germans were trying to regain control of the bridge over the Amblève river (crucial for allowing reinforcements and supplies to reach the Kampfgruppe) men of Kampfgruppe Peiper killed a number of Belgian civilians. Eventually Kampfgruppe Peiper would be declared responsible for the death of 362 prisoners of war and 111 civilians.[86]
Peiper decided to establish himself as trainer in car selling, thanks to his network within the former SS members, which put him in contact with Max Moritz, a former SS mechanic, who had become an authorized Volkswagen dealer for Germany.[109]
Since his release from the Landsberg prison, Peiper had kept up many albeit discreet contacts with his old comrades of the SS. If he clearly avoided affiliation to the HIAG[110] or to the Order of the Holders of the Knight's Cross, he was often seen with them at the funerals of personalities like Kurt “Panzer” Meyer, Sepp Dietrich or Paul Hausser[111]. He engaged himself in actions undertaken by these organisations in order to rehabilitate the Waffen-SS while hiding the most nefarious aspects of their past.Ultimately the sentences of the Malmedy defendants were commuted to life imprisonment and then to time served. Peiper himself was released from prison on parole at the end of December 1956, after serving 11 and a half years. You are right, Peiper did get the death sentence but it was later commuted.
Hopefully court records will provide " proof" that both Skorzeny and Peiper did kill American POW's. It appears that in both cases former SS Officers, usually funded with money stolen from their victims, provided assistance to these men.

 

That's cool. Here is some more though, initially Skorzeny’s whereabouts after his escape remained a mystery as British, American and Russian agents, as well as Jewish organizations hunted for him all over Europe but the ex-commando was not in Europe. In fact he had fled to Argentina through Spain and became close to Juan and Eva Peron who were both interested in recovering all the German gold and money from the days of the Reich.

It was there Otto Skorzeny organized the Argentine Police into the most brutal in South America, while he also acted as Eva Peron`s bodyguard (perhaps lover) foiling at least one attempt on her life. His post-war activities also included his service as an adviser to Gamal Nasser, dictator in Egypt. When things got "hot" in South America after Eichmann's arrest and trial, Mengele, Skorzeny, and Klaus Barbie all went further "underground", but Skorzeny didn't change his name or anything. He just went to Spain by way of Paraguay.

Skorzeny eventually settled in Spain and became a successful engineering consultant for several years. "The Most Dangerous Man in Europe" died comfortably in his bed in Madrid July, 1975 thirty years after he was declared such.

As to Jochiem Peiper, immediately after the war, Peiper and a few others under his command, were put on trial for complicity in the murders at Malmedy and actually sentenced to death by hanging. This was later commuted to life imprisonment, and which itself was later reduced itself to certain years of prison. The charges were reduced to prison time for a couple of reasons, first some of the testimony against Peiper was tainted by implied "torture" of the witnesses, and second an American officer came forward to testify the Peiper himself was gone from the area when the shootings occurred, and he (Peiper) had not ordered them.

However, Peiper himself actually served just over 11 years in prison and was released on parole in December of 1956, many of his fellows served even less. Peiper moved to and lived in France after his release. He mostly worked as a translator (since he was fluent in English, French, and German) but was killed in a fire bomb attack on his home in July 1976. His killers were never caught but many believed that his death was a direct result of his war record.

 

A little bit off topic, but I have a story. Years ago a friend off mine took me to a big German Bar in Manhattan. Most of the patrons were old German guys sitting and drinking beer. Majority of them had their Wives/Girlfriends with them, all of whom were Latinas.

It was easy to connect the dots. German guys go to South America. Get Latina lady friends. and after everything blows over they move to America .

There were many organizations who assisted Nazis in escaping from Europe and Allied Justice System. Vatican helped hundreds of Nazis leave Europe. Do not forget Odessa organization.

 

Please post source for the "cut and paste" statement presented here unless it is all from the one link?

 

Sorry about not quoting the source. Wikipedia. Just used them for convenience.
Bill

 

Thanks for clarifying, I've always thought Peiper's role was a controversial one in regards to the massacre but reading a few of the above posts had me in doubt.

I hear he was working on a book where he gave his own accounts of the incident, did any of it survive or was it to destroyed in the fire?

While some Wikipedia articles are written great, others not so much. Where did the "in cold blood" reference come from? Can't find it on Otto's wiki.

 

To his credit, during his trial Peiper attempted to take full credit for the ordering of the killing of POWs."It's so long ago now. Even I don't know the truth. If I had ever known it, I have long forgotten it. All I knew is that I took the blame as a good CO should and was punished accordingly." Jochen Peiper, quoted in A Traveler's Guide to the Battle for the German Frontier by Charles Whiting" www.scrapbookpages/dachau
Don't know what happened to his book. It is safe to assume that it was destroyed in the fire.
Can't find the " in cold blood" reference here in the forum

 

It was included in your own post from "wiki"; "On 17 December 1944 men belonging to Kampfgruppe Peiper massacred 84 American prisoners of war at the Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy. What has become known as the "Malmedy massacre" was not an isolated incident. Before this in Honsfeld, men of Peiper’s Kampfgruppe killed several American prisoners in cold blood."

 

Maybe I'm confused but bear with me on this one. There is a reference here in the forum that" Peiper's Kampfgruppe killed several American prisoners in cold blood." There is no reference to Skornzey having killed "in cold blood".
In reference to Skornzey,
They were charged with participating in the improper use of American uniforms by entering into combat disguised therewith and treacherously firing upon and killing members of the armed forces of the United States. They were also charged with participation in wrongfully obtaining from a prisoner-of-war camp United States uniforms and Red Cross parcels consigned to American prisoners of war."
Trial of Otto Skorzeny and Others.X United Nations War Crimes Commission
Does this clear it up ?

 

Of course it does, the whole thing got confused with the two separate information sections, and somehow blended together as if they both referred to a single source.

The "cold blood" was only in Peiper's section from "wiki", not from the Skorzeny section since that was never alleged against Skorzeny. I was only pointing out the only place that term was used.

 

Thanks. Am new to the site and will seperate quotes to avoid confusion.
Bill