Seventy-five years have passed since Germany suffered defeat in World War II. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) escaped justice by shooting himself with a pistol after watching Evan Braun (1912-1945) succumb to the ingestion of a poison laced capsule. Allied forces had hoped to put Hitler on trial for the whole word to see but the Austrian menace had no desire to fall into their hands.  While the hunt was on for other high-ranking Nazi officials, a secret operation was underway to bring hundreds of Hitler’s former conspirators to the United States as Washington began to prepare for the Cold War against the Soviet Union.  The mission was given the name Operation Paperclip and during its existence, some of the most notorious figures of the Third Reich were given a free pass to America and welcomed with open arms. Author Annie Jacobsen thoroughly examined the secret plan in her best-selling book Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America.  The book is eye-opening and shocking, however it is far from the full story.  In fact, there were are more former Nazis hiding in America during and after World War II, sometimes right in plain sight.  Eric Lichtblau revisits the stories of the Nazis next door. 

The tone of the book is set early as we go back in time to a meeting with former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Allen Dulles (1893-1969) and Nazi General Karl Wolff (1900-1984) in which Wolff offers his services in getting Germany to surrender. The working relationship established that night was only the beginning of a long and dark association between the United States Government and the Third Reich’s former henchmen. Today, the thought of such a think taking place is bound to cause repulsion. But as World War II came to a close, Washington was focused on Moscow and was willing to take any help it could get in fighting off the threat of communism. And this paranoia of a red scare, encouraged officials to make deals with devils who had once taken part in the deaths of thousands of prisoners in concentration camps across Europe as the Final Solution began to take shape and German soldiers embarked on a rampage across the continent.

Here, the focus is on a select few former Nazis of high importance. And while there were probably hundreds of former guards and Wehrmacht soldiers who entered the United States, it would have been impossible for the author to have included all of their stories here. However, the select group of figures that we do learn of, are a fitting representation of the true horrors that came about through Nazi terror. The list is short but the story of each brings the past to life when Jews and other ethnic groups were being systematically murdered in mass numbers. Of the more prominent names, there is Dr. Hubertus Strughold (1898-1986) who was appointed Chief Scientist at the Aerospace Medical Division of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The former nightmare to imprisoned Jews was given passage to America where he lived out a comfortable life and evaded Nazi hunters determined to see him face justice. We also learn of Hermine Braunsteiner (1919-1999) who slipped out of Germany and eventually settled in my hometown of New York City in Maspeth, Queens. Their names and places of residence are largely forgotten today and had it not been for zealous federal investigators, their former lives may have never been revealed, allowing them to live the quiet and peaceful life they denied to thousands of others as they inflicted death and destruction of those they deemed undesirable.

The amount of research that it took to complete this book is undoubtedly staggering. It is an incredible story chock full of crucial information that remains relevant even today, seven decades after the war. Further, although much time has passed since Germany’s surrender, there may be some former Nazis still living on American soil, having blended into society with their Nazi past carefully hidden. However, those in power in the CIA and even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were fully aware of the Nazis coming into America. But the coming war against Moscow outweighed any concerns about former Nazi death dealers. The brazen willingness to accept these dark figures is on display in the book and the statements made by even the most revered heroes in American history might cause the mouths of readers to drop in amazement. In particular, the words of former Gen. George S. Patton (1885-1945) sent a chill down my spine and made me question if the goal was to eradicate Hitler and his group of racists demons or simply to prove that America could win against Germany while turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism.

I have no doubt that many readers will find themselves stewing over the incredulous deals made with the Nazis. These secrets initially remained carefully hidden from the public light but eventually word got out and when it did, red-faced officials in the government knew they had a problem. A young independent hunter of Nazis named Charles R. Allen, Jr. (1924-2004) kick-started the movement to cleanse America of Third Reich conspirators. And while he was not a law enforcement officer or prosecutor, his actions which are covered here in the book highlight the intense passion with which he and others would employ in tracking down the enforcers of death. As the shock over America’s recruitment of Nazis began to dissipate and the truth about these figures came to light, the movement to hunt them down grew far more intense. And as the story here moves forward, prosecutors and politicians join together in the search for the former Nazis. Former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman enters the story and takes charge against the Nazi menace lurking under the surface. She is joined by crusaders from the Justice Department who make it their life’s mission to track the former murderers down. And the result is an account that is riveting for its highs and also for its lows as the Justice Deparment scores victories and suffers a humiliating defeat as in the case of John Demjanjuk (1920-2012). The story is contained within and it is sure to leave readers speechless.

Just when you think the story is done, the author has even more to provide. And in addition to the stories of Nazis in America, Lichtblau also sheds light on the close working relationship between American intelligence and former Nazis still living on Germany soil whom the U.S. felt could be useful in gathering intelligence on the growing Soviet threat. The Nazi hunters left no stone unturned including many in other countries, even as far away as Lithuania as Justice Department investigator searched for any evidence he could find on Aleksandras Lileikis (1907-2000) who was eventually deported to Lithuania in 1996. It was clear to all who were paying attention, that Nazis were not safe anywhere and the Justice Department’s Nazi division was determined to see their targets face justice. Incredibly, not all in Washington were on board and the Nazi hunters faced opposition sometimes in the most unexpected places. Former Assistant to the President for Communications Pat Buchanan, served in the administration of Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) and his actions that are highlighted in the story should leave any upstanding American hot under the collar. As I read the book, I found myself staring in disbelief at what I was reading. It makes one wonder just how committed some were in seeing the Nazis pay for their past crimes. And Buchanan was not alone. The Nazis even garnered support in their neighborhoods from other immigrants displaced from Europe and others in high positions of power. The truth is dark, disturbing and ugly, and will surely leave readers with more questions than answers.

We may never know how many former Nazis found a new life in America. Some may still be alive and living right under our noses. They will more than likely pass on quietly with the truth of their former lives and occupations carefully guarded secrets. But the truth about how many of them came to America is discussed here in a book that everyone can find value in. It is a painful reminder of the lengths to which America was willing to go in the Cold War against the Soviet Union and global domination.

ASIN : B00HK3LRKW