The Daily Mail's Deep Dive podcast explores the Nazi ratlines that smuggled war criminals out of post-war Europe, revealing the mixed fortunes of those who evaded justice.
On the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Deep Dive podcast, reporter Darren Boyle retraces the Nazi ratlines that smuggled war criminals out of post-war Europe, revealing the mixed fortunes of those who evaded justice.
One of the key figures in setting up and coordinating these covert escape routes was Otto Skorzeny, an Austrian SS commander so feared by Allied forces that he was branded the most dangerous man in Europe. Like Hitler, Skorzeny was Austrian. During the war he commanded a specialist SS espionage unit and masterminded the daring rescue of Benito Mussolini from a supposedly escape-proof mountaintop hotel after the Italian dictator's arrest in 1943.
Skorzeny also commanded Operation Greif, which saw soldiers dress in American uniforms to destabilise Allied forces during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Despite this, he was controversially acquitted of violating the rules of war in 1947 and walked away from his Nazi past a free man.
Having been acquitted, Skorzeny offered his services to various Allied intelligence agencies as the Cold War began, work that would take him to South America, the Middle East and finally back to Europe, where he became something of a local celebrity in County Kildare, Ireland. All the while, Skorzeny ran a network known as Die Spinne, the spider in German, which assisted hundreds of Nazis in their escape from justice.
Skorzeny in Spain Although acquitted of war crimes, Skorzeny remained in captivity in Darmstadt, Germany pending denazification proceedings. Hitler's former commando eventually staged a daring escape from the internment camp in July 1948. Skorzeny later claimed American intelligence had helped him secure his freedom, a claim that has never been disproved. He would then spend several months laying low on a farm in Bavaria, before leaving Germany for good on a Spanish passport issued by dictator Francisco Franco.
Skorzeny arrived in Madrid in 1950, where he set about coordinating Die Spinne. In fascist Spain, the former Nazi had little to fear, as the country had no extradition treaty with Allied nations. It is estimated that Die Spinne helped between 500 and 600 former SS members evade justice, smuggling them out of Europe to safe havens in South America and the Middle East.
During the war Skorzeny commanded a specialist SS espionage unit and masterminded the daring rescue of Benito Mussolini from a supposedly escape-proof mountaintop hotel Skorzeny would himself travel extensively to those continents over the following years, all while maintaining Madrid as his base of operations. In the early 1950s, Skorzeny travelled to Buenos Aires, where he served as bodyguard to Eva Peron, the glamorous and powerful wife of Argentina's dictator Juan Peron.
Rumours persist, as reporter Boyle told the podcast, that during his time in Argentina, Skorzeny had an affair with Eva, although this claim has never been substantiated. The secret Nazi 'ratlines' retraced: How Hitler's henchmen escaped Europe. DEEP DIVE Skorzeny would then travel to Egypt, where he served as a military adviser to the newly installed President Gamal Abdel Nasser, helping train his forces in guerrilla warfare.
Simultaneously, he was feeding intelligence to Mossad, providing the spy agency with information about Egypt's military capabilities and the former Nazi scientists Nasser had recruited to build up his army. Skorzeny, a man once close to Hitler, was now spying for Israel whilst at the same time aiding former perpetrators of the Holocaust in their escape from justice.
Skorzeny in Ireland In 1957, Skorzeny received an invitation to attend a reception at the Portmarnock Country Club in Dublin, where he was welcomed as guest of honour by the city's political and social elite. More than a decade after the end of the Second World War, the former Nazi commando had become something of a celebrity. Among the guests that night was future Taoiseach Charles Haughey.
The warm reception convinced Skorzeny to purchase Martinstown House, a grand 160 acre estate in the Curragh, County Kildare, where he would live openly for several years. The warm reception Skorzeny recieved in Ireland convinced him to purchase Martinstown House, a grand 160 acre estate in the Curragh, County Kildare County Kildare had form with German visitors.
During the war, airmen who came down over Irish territory had been interned at the Curragh camp, with many staying on afterwards and settling locally.
'He was well known in Irish society', Boyle said. 'Which was a bit mental. Hitler's favourite commando living just a few miles down the road from Ireland's biggest barracks, enjoying something close to local celebrit
Nazi Ratlines Otto Skorzeny Hitler's Henchmen WWII Cold War Espionage
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