The Swiss federal intelligence service has released a 200-page dossier on Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor dubbed the "Angel of Death" for his experiments at Auschwitz. The files include police material suggesting he may have returned to or planned to enter Switzerland under a false name. Historian Gérard Wettstein won a court challenge that led to the online publication; some sections were redacted to protect sources and personal data.
Switzerland Releases 200-Page Dossier on 'Angel of Death' Josef Mengele — Files Suggest Possible Swiss Links
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 7, 2016 photo, forensic doctor Daniel Munoz shows the skull of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, at the school of medicine of Sao Paulo University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)
The Swiss federal intelligence service on Thursday published a 200-page dossier on Josef Mengele, the German physician notorious as the "Angel of Death" for the brutal medical experiments he performed on prisoners at Auschwitz.
Background
Mengele served at the Auschwitz extermination camp in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II, where roughly 1.1 million people were murdered, about 1 million of them Jews. He became infamous for carrying out cruel medical experiments on inmates, including children, under the guise of scientific research.
What the Documents Contain
The released files include police material that, according to the German news agency dpa, suggests Mengele may have returned to Switzerland after initially fleeing Germany or may have been planning to enter the country under an assumed identity. Swiss authorities said some passages were redacted to protect sources and the personal data of third parties.
How the Files Were Released
Swiss officials had argued the dossier should remain sealed until 2071 on security grounds and to protect individuals named in the records. Historian Gérard Wettstein successfully challenged that restriction before the Federal Administrative Court, prompting the documents' online publication. Authorities emphasized that redactions were applied where necessary to safeguard living persons and confidential sources.
Provenance of the Dossier
The dossier was compiled by the police service of the federal prosecutor's office — a predecessor of today’s federal intelligence service — and was transferred to the Swiss Federal Archives in 2001. The records provide additional leads for historians and investigators seeking to clarify Mengele’s postwar movements.
Aftermath
After World War II, Mengele obtained a Red Cross travel document under a false identity that enabled him to leave Europe. He lived for years in hiding in Latin America while international authorities pursued him; he drowned in 1979 while swimming off the coast of Brazil.
Note: The released dossier does not change the established historical record of Mengele's crimes but may offer new details about his movements and the networks that helped former Nazis flee Europe.
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