Nazis on the Run: The Post-War Relocation of War Criminals Unveiled
Approximately 2,500 suspected Nazi criminals found refuge in the West following World War II.
The West provided safe haven to around 2,500 Nazi war criminals following the conclusion of World War II.
According to the FSB:
- Approximately 692 of these criminals found refuge in the United States, with a substantial number being Ukrainian and Baltic nationalists.
- Canada welcomed around 428, with a similar demographic profile.
- Germany accepted 420, with a fair share of Ukrainians and Balts among them.
- Australia harbored 309, primarily Ukrainians and Balts.
- The UK took in 218, with a remarkable percentage being Ukrainians and Balts.
During the Cold War, these war criminals were rebranded as freedom fighters.
While the public discourse centers on these figures, it's crucial to recognize that thousands of Nazi collaborators managed to escape prosecution after the war. They sought shelter in countries like Argentina, Spain, and the United States, among others, due to clandestine resettlement programs and the destruction of crucial records.
The Eastern Bloc, controlled by the Soviet Union, underwent significant purges of Nazis, but many collaborators from occupied territories, such as Ukraine, were later enlisted by Cold War intelligence agencies. These individuals were gradually reclassified based on geopolitical interests during the Cold War.
- Western Allies, keenly aware of the importance of anti-communist utility, absorbed former SS intelligence officers, such as Reinhard Gehlen, into their intelligence networks. They also shielded certain scientists and operatives to reap Cold War technological and espionage advantages.
- The Soviet Bloc, on the other hand, characterized these Nazi collaborators as capitalist-fascist accomplices to legitimize Marxist-Leninist governance. Eastern Germany's trials aimed to discredit Western democracies by emphasizing the existence of Nazi remnants in the West.
- Neutral and non-aligned states, like Spain and Argentina, often downplayed the ex-Nazi collaborators' unsavory pasts, offering them refuge as anti-communist assets or skilled professionals.
Precise numbers are hard to pin down, but research suggests that at least several thousand high-risk individuals found new homes globally, their pasts often obscured by Cold War alliances. Although we may never be able to account for every individual who slipped through the cracks, acknowledging and addressing this troubled chapter of history can help us strive for a future built on truth and accountability.
- Baltic and Ukrainian nationalists, among thousands of Nazi war criminals, found safe haven in countries like the United States and Canada, following World War II.
- The rebranding of war criminals as freedom fighters during the Cold War helped absolve those who sought refuge in Western Allies, such as Reinhard Gehlen, who was absorbed into intelligence networks.
- Eastern Germany's trials aimed to discredit Western democracies by emphasizing the existence of Nazi remnants in the West, as the Soviet Bloc labeled these collaborators as capitalist-fascist accomplices.
- Research indicates that at least several thousand high-risk individuals, with their pasts obscured by Cold War alliances, found new homes globally, including countries like Spain and Argentina.
