The Ratline

As Governor of Galicia SS Brigadefhrer Otto Freiherr von Wchter presided over an authority on whose territory hundreds of thousands of Jews and Poles were killed including the family of the authors grandfather. By the time the war ended in May 1945 he was indicted for mass murder. Hunted by the Soviets the Americans the Poles and the British as well as groups of Jews Wchter went on the run. He spent three years hiding in the Austrian Alps assisted by his wife Charlotte before making his way to Rome where he was helped by a Vatican bishop. He remained there for three months. While preparing to travel to Argentina on the ratline he died unexpectedly in July 1949 a few days after spending a weekend with an old comrade. In The Ratline Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of a senior Nazi and fugitive and of his wife. Drawing on a remarkable archive of family letters and diaries he unveils a fascinating insight into life before and during the war on the run in Rome and into the Cold War. Eventually the door is unlocked to a mystery that haunts Wchters youngest son who continues to believe his father was a good man - what happened to Otto Wchter and how did he die?