The Eternal Nazi: From Mauthausen to Cairo, the Relentless Pursuit of SS Doctor Aribert Heim

by Kulish, Nicholas

  Kurt Schrimm at the Central Office in Ludwigsburg has taken more than a few sudden calls on his cell phone asking for information and never been anything but gracious and forthcoming. The LKA Baden-Württemberg could not always be open about an ongoing investigation, but Joachim Schäck and others always did their best.

  In Austria, Beatrix Vreca in the Bad Radkersburg shed important light on the Heim family history. Dr. Marianne Enigl of Profil magazine helped a great deal with the Anschluss. Herbert Posch at the Institut für Zeitgeschichte at the University of Vienna was instrumental in finding documentation about Aribert Heim’s academic record and on his own initiative found a letter from Josef Heim in the archives that confirmed several old Heim family stories. Michaela Vocelka at the Simon Wiesenthal Archive is a fine hostess and runs a tight ship at the Nazi hunter’s former office. His successor, Efraim Zuroff, brought a healthy skepticism that challenged numerous assumptions and made our work more rigorous. In the United States, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum library was an essential resource. William H. Cunliffe at the National Archives at College Park is a national treasure himself. Eli Rosenbaum at the Justice Department is a knowledgeable source on the history of American Nazi hunting.

  Representing Canada, Tomaz Jardim’s work on the Mauthausen trials is indispensable. In France, Dominique Dreyer at the Cernay Archive helped fill in answers to questions about the end of the war for Aribert Heim.

  The documentary filmmaker Yoash Tatari performed a great service to history by filming Alfred Aedtner at work on his archive and telling the story of just one of the men and women dedicated to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice.

  Gary Smith of the American Academy in Berlin provided guidance and insightful comments from before the article had even begun its evolution into the book. Christine Kay helped a great deal with the early stages of the manuscript. Rachel B. Doyle provided support and assistance throughout the writing process. Rachel, Elmar Thevessen, Jörg Müllner, Christoph Niemann, Andreas Kranebitter, Almut Schönfeld, Melissa Eddy, Chris Cottrell, and Professor Steffen Burkhardt were insightful readers as it neared completion.

  Thanks to our agents, Marly Rusoff and Kirby Kim, for their help from start to finish with the project. Phyllis Grann at Doubleday believed in this project from the very beginning. Kristine Puopulo shared her vision and carried it forward. Dan Meyer kept us on the straight and narrow so the book was polished and ready to go.

  Lastly, none of this would have been possible without the support of our friends and family over the past five years. Thank you all.

  NOTES

  PROLOGUE

  1 “In the inner compartment”: Baz, Secret Executioners, p. 94.

  CHAPTER 1

  1 There were caravans of displaced persons: Bessel, Germany 1945, p. 68.

  2 Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects: Ryan, Klaus Barbie and the United States Government, p. 22.

  3 By some estimates 160,000 people: Bascomb, Hunting Eichmann, p. 65.

  4 The Americans alone had to deal with some 7.7 million: Bessel, Germany 1945, p. 200.

  5 One clue as to who was who: Sher and Rosenbaum, In the Matter of Josef Mengele, pp. 37–38.

  6 Seventeen people named Josef Mengele: Ibid., p. 25.

  7 The U.S. Third Army: Ibid., p. 37.

  8 the British sent home some 300,000 Germans: Bessel, Germany 1945, p. 348.

  9 The telecommunication network, postal service, highways: Ibid., p. 63.

  10 If a soldier was discharged: Sher and Rosenbaum, In the Matter of Josef Mengele, pp. 37–38.

  11 Though a prisoner, he continued to serve as a doctor: Edward S. Jones, letter, September 26, 1946.

  12 The Red Cross inspector found the conditions: Copie conforme Archive du CICR (Comité International de la Croix-Rouge), France, Hôpitaux Dépendant de la Base de Normandie (en mains américaines), Visites par le Dr. Rossel du 10 au 17 Mai 1945.

  13 “had been excellent”: Jones, letter, September 26, 1946.

  14 “practiced his medicinal arts”: Werner Ernst Linz, attestation, November 15, 1947.

  15 Just eight days after the first American soldier: Knopp, Die Befreiung Kriegsende im Westen, p. 236.

  CHAPTER 2

  1 A writer by profession: Arthur Alexander Becker, file from International Tracing Service, Bad Arolsen.

  2 “mostly shell-shocked tank officers”: Benjamin Ferencz, interview with Jardim, in The Mauthausen Trial: American Military Justice in Germany, p. 64.

  3 The enormity of the task: Jardim, Mauthausen Trial, p. 62.

  4 The investigative team Becker worked for: Ibid., p. 110.

  5 Gas, electricity, and telephone services were disrupted: MacDonogh, After the Reich, pp. 278–94.

  6 As an adult, he was bald: Photograph of Josef Kohl, Republik Österreich, BMI Archiv P/19/10/09.

  7 After the Nazis absorbed Austria: Marsalek, “Er hat jedem geholfen.”

  8 That meant that, according to the Nazis’ own rating: Le Chêne, Mauthausen, p. 36.

  9 That year more than half: Marsalek, Mauthausen, p. 125, quoted in Jardim, Mauthausen Trial.

  10 Now he was free: Transcript of questioning, Josef Kohl, War Crimes Investigating Team 6836, Republik Österreich, BMI IV/7 Archiv V/3/9.

  11 “What do you know about the abuse”: Josef Kohl, interview by Special Investigator Dr. Alexander Becker, January 18, 1946, Republik Österreich, BMI IV/7 Archiv V/3/9.

  CHAPTER 3

  1 A new sign hung over the entryway: Prozess Mauthausen: Das Urteil, Welt im Film, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHNA9YyJh94.

  2 There were also more than fifty SS doctors: Freund, “Der Mauthausen-Prozess,” p. 107.

  3 “a throw of the dice”: Paul Guth, interview by Joshua Greene, Lafayette, La., February 24, 2001, four cassette tapes, Denson Papers, series 5, Audiovisual Materials, 1918–2004, boxes 46–49, quoted in Jardim, Mauthausen Trial.

  4 “ranged in age from twenty-one”: Jardim, Mauthausen Trial, pp. 103–04. See also Freund, “Der Mauthausen-Prozess,” p. 104.

  5 “The material was so large”: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., case 000-50-5, Hauptverhandlung, Ernst Martin, testimony, vol. 1, pp. 153–54. See also “Die Totenbücher des K.L. Mauthausen,” Republik Österreich, BMI IV/7 Archiv St/9/1.

  6 If the SS had realized what he was doing: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., Hauptverhandlung, Martin, testimony, vol. 1, pp. 153–54. See also “Die Totenbücher des K.L. Mauthausen.”

  7 He had also preserved the operation book: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., Hauptver-handlung, Martin, testimony, vol. 1, pp. 195–200.

  8 At his trial, under intense questioning: Verhandlung gegen Mauthausen SS, Special Investigator Dr. A. Becker, Republik Österreich, BMI IV/7 Archiv P/19/11.

  9 “It is the same with people”: Translation of statement of Eduard Krebsbach, P-79A Republik Österreich, BMI IV/7 Archiv.

  10 “degenerate and perverse practices”: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., Hauptverhandlung, Josef Podlaha, testimony, vol. 2, p. 247; see also Medical Science Abused, p. 62.

  11 “for different diseases”: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., Hauptverhandlung, Podlaha, testimony, vol. 2, p. 255.

  12 But the prosecutor asked Kohl no questions: U.S. v. Altfuldisch et al., Hauptverhandlung, Bl. 1110–2359, vols. 5–8.

  13 Nor had Heim’s name been on the list: Cohen, Report of Investigation of Alleged War Crimes, pp. 11–16.

  14 Three days later, a little over a hundred miles away: Reiman, “Der Weg ins Leben,” p. 8.

  CHAPTER 4

  1 The rent and basic expenses: Levy, Wiesenthal File, pp. 79–80.

  2 Less than three weeks after being rescued: Wiesenthal Archive, http://www.simon-wiesenthal-archiv.at/01_wiesenthal/01_biographie/e04_linz.html.

  3 He was so light-headed: Levy, Wiesenthal File, p. 71.

  4 There, Wiesenthal lived just a few doors down: Ibid., pp. 71–72.

  5 As Hungarian survivors told him: Segev, Simon Wiesenthal, p. 77
.

  6 Some forty thousand of the nearly quarter million: Ibid., p. 68.

  7 On September 5, 1946, Simon and Cyla added: Levy, Wiesenthal File, p. 77.

  8 What had he—or she—done?: Segev, Simon Wiesenthal, p. 70.

  9 Before computers Wiesenthal had to: Levy, Wiesenthal File, p. 80.

  10 In Vienna another survivor, named Tuviah Friedman: Walters, Hunting Evil, pp. 148–49; “Tuviah Friedman, Tireless Pursuer of Nazis, Dies at 88,” New York Times, February 5, 2011.

  11 He was recaptured but got hold of a bayonet: Tuviah Friedman, The Hunter, pp. 72–73, cited in Walters, Hunting Evil, p. 148.

  12 Friedman and Wiesenthal exchanged nearly two hundred letters: Segev, Simon Wiesenthal, pp. 108–10.

  13 Wiesenthal was interested in the collaboration: The book is Simon Wiesenthal, Grossmufti: Grossagent der Achse (Salzburg, Austria: Ried, 1947).

  CHAPTER 5

  1 “We won’t lose the war”: Gottfried Montag, interview with authors.

  2 They seized Aspach-le-Bas: Archives Départementales du Haut-Rhin, 3, rue Fleischhauer 68026 Colmar.

  3 He was carried from a first-aid station: Krankenbuchlager Berlin, K Nr. 417/18 des Reserve Lazaretts H.V.Pl. Isenheim, Landesamt für Gesundheit und Soziales Berlin. Eleonore Aedtner, interview with authors.

  4 Both wore the gray uniform: Eleonore Aedtner and Agnes Haag, interviews with authors.

  5 Overzealous SS officers summarily executed deserters: Bernstein, “Germans Still Finding New Moral Burdens of War.”

  6 Aedtner had no work: Eleonore Aedtner, interview with authors.

  CHAPTER 6

  1 By the time Heim got there a decade later: Läpple, Schwäbisches Potsdam, pp. 40–42.

  2 Men worked at the shoemaker, watchmaker, or bookbinder: Stadtarchiv Ludwigsburg, J 168/2 Bü 1.

  3 “most notably the young”: “Eishockey: Ein Probespiel unsrer Nationalmannschaft,” Sport-Tagblatt, January 15, 1936.

  4 Aribert’s older brother, Josef, was brave but impetuous: Stadtamt Radkersburg, August 23, 1932, Bad Radkersburg Stadtarchiv, 586/32/1.

  5 There he underwent military training: Josef Heim to the Dekan der medizinischen Fakultät, Universität Graz, April 28, 1939, University Archive, Graz.

  6 Back in Vienna, the zealous Nazi anatomist: Promotionsprotokoll, Medizinische Fakultät, Universität Wien (MF 472), Nr. 4892.

  7 The official cause of death: WASt, Deutsche Dienststelle, Berlin GZ V 2-677, 1.12.2010.

  8 Captain John D. Austin signed and stamped: Release processing form, Aribert Heim, December 4, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  9 In the same month, the Dachau court: Bögeholz, Die Deutschen nach dem Krieg, p. 71.

  CHAPTER 7

  1 The product was introduced to the market in 1907: Persil German Web site, http://www.persil.de/ueber-persil/historie.html.

  2 They were checked out with the American military government: Beisitzer für Spruchkammer Jagstfeld, October 22, 1946, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 12.

  3 Officials sent each candidate’s questionnaire: Ministerium für politische Befreiung Württemburg-Baden, Beisitzer für die Spruchkammer Jagstfeld, November 27, 1946, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 12.

  4 The pharmacist was rejected: Office of Military Government, Liaison and Security Office H-28 SK & LK Heilbronn, Land Wuerttemberg-Baden, First Military Government Battalion (SEP) APO 154 U.S. Army, KOHLER, Adolf, July 26, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 12.

  5 “to a complete standstill”: Spruchkammer Heilbronn-Land to the Bezirksbauamt Heilbronn, May 27, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 2.

  6 The staff arrived at their new offices: Spruchkammer Heilbronn-Land to the Bezirksbauamt Heilbronn, July 21, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 2.

  7 “Everything else,” the invitation promised: Spruchkammer Heilbronn-Land, Einladung, May 9, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 12.

  8 Some thirteen million people reported: Bögeholz, Die Deutschen nach dem Krieg, p. 46.

  9 “the son of German parents”: Aribert Heim, statement, March 20, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  10 “As a result of the events of war”: Dr. Aribert Heim, Lebenslauf, March 4, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  11 Mrs. Weinaug affirmed the truth of her statement: Herta Weinaug, Zur Vorlage bei der Spruchkammer, April 8, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  12 “spent a great deal of time”: Ursula Kraft, Eidesstattliche Erklärung, April 15, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  13 “I learned through conversations”: Werner Ernst Linz, attestation, November 15, 1947.

  14 “The investigations undertaken did not yield”: Klageschrift Dr. Aribert Heim, Spruchkammer Neckarsulm, March 4, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  CHAPTER 8

  1 The catalog was moved to Berlin: Kellerhof, “Das Erbe der NSDAP sind 10,7 Millionen Namen”; http://www.bundesarchiv.de/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/bilder_dokumente/00757/index-11.html.de.

  2 It was the birth of the Berlin Document Center: Ryan, Klaus Barbie and the United States Government, p. 10. 39 The personnel files of the Reich: Raim, “NS-Prozesse und Öffentlichkeit,” p. 35.

  3 The document center contained files: http://www.bundesarchiv.de/fachinformationen/01001/index.html.de.

  4 And from June 19 to July 14: Ministry for Political Liberation, Int. Lager 77, October 14, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  5 “purely nominal membership”: Meldebogen 1, Spruchkammer 26 Heilbronn, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  6 “The civilian populace embraced him”: Mayor of Offwiller, attestation, translated copy, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  7 “because the populace had remained”: Dr. Franz Niedner, Eidesstattlich Versicherung, February 22, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  8 “The entire community”: Friedric Schauly, letter, April 10, 1947, translated copy, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  9 “what esteem the person concerned”: Dr. Hans Frank reply to the Spruchkammer Neckarsulm, March 19, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  10 “that would document his humane”: Ibid.

  11 Heim’s hearing on March 20, 1948: Bögeholz, Die Deutschen nach dem Krieg, p. 74.

  12 “the swiftest possible conclusion”: Spruchkammer Heilbronn-Land to Amtsgerichtsdirektor Dr. Schrempf, May 27, 1947, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 2.

  13 The Soviet Military Administration in Germany: Bögeholz, Die Deutschen nach dem Krieg, p. 73.

  14 Dr. Heim answered group 4: Meldebogen 1a, Spruchkammer 26 Heilbronn, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  15 “The person concerned has credibly proved”: Spruchkammer Neckarsulm, Spruch, March 22, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  16 The Spruchkammer Neckarsulm office closed: Spruchkammer Neckarsulm, June 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 1.

  17 “The chamber hopes and wishes”: Chairman of the Spruchkammer Neckarsulm to Robert Henne, July 8, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 900/12 II Bü 12.

  18 It was not stamped as received:
Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.) Document Center NSDAP Records Request for Aribert Heim, February 6, 1948, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Ludwigsburg, EL 902/12 Bü 20793.

  CHAPTER 9

  1 “Pardon me for my sincere inquiry”: Records of the High Commissioner for Germany, Extradition Board, Austria, case 102-33, RG 466, National Archives.

  2 The association staffer included a note: Copy of a letter from the Austrian Ice Hockey Association, February 24, 1948, Records of the High Commissioner for Germany, Extradition Board, Austria, case 102-33, RG 466, National Archives.

  3 The American Military Police had to pull: Bachmann, Gebhard, and König, Höllenspass & Höllenqual, p. 15; Gruppe für Design, Fotografie und Werbung, Vau Eff Ell.

  4 But the games were: Bachmann, Gebhard, and König, Höllenspass & Höllenqual, p. 17.

  5 “He’s afraid,” teammates whispered: Albert Molitor, interview with ZDF Television, 2009.

  6 “could write a novel”: Karl Kaufmann to Wiener Eishockey Verband, February 4, 1948.

  7 He described Heim as: Karl Kaufmann, witness questioning, April 14, 1948.

  8 Still, in May 1948: Eissport Klub Engelmann to the Landgericht für Strafsachen, Vienna, May 28, 1948.

  CHAPTER 10

  1 On her way home: Eleonore Aedtner and Agnes Haag, interviews with authors.

  2 Heim had given up his position: Bescheinigung, Dr. Luft, Leitender Arzt, Sanatorium Hahn, for Dr. Aribert Heim, October 27, 1949.

  3 “He ran the ward”: Dr. Wilhelm Kramer, Facharzt für Chirurgie, Chefarzt des Bürgerhospitals Friedburg/Hessen.