| dc.description.abstract | It may be surprising to some that after millions of innocent victims died at the merciless hands of the Nazis, many war criminals were never brought to justice at the conclusion of World War II. Somehow Nazi war criminals like Joseph Mengele who performed atrocious medical experiments on Jews and other concentration camp prisoners, Martin Bormann, head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, Klaus Barbie, the “Butcher of Lyons,” as well as thousands of others, all managed to elude authorities. The exodus of millions of refugees gave these Nazis the camouflage needed for their escape from justice. Posing as refugees themselves, they were able to hide among those they persecuted. These criminals did not slip through the hands of justice without help. They found a most unlikely vanguard, the Catholic Church, which aided at least 80,000 war criminals in their flight to Latin America. This article is the story of the so-called Ratline, an intricate, underground railroad created to abet Nazi war criminals in their escape from Europe and from punishment. The Ratline began its mission immediately after the war and continued operation until well into the fifties. It received its name after its discovery by U. S. intelligence. Ratline is the military term for the end point on a rescue ladder suspended from a helicopter. This means of rescue is used in situations where a soldier is stranded and there is no other way to reach him. Some well-known organizations such as the Catholic Church and the United Stated Government were involved in the Ratline, and the effects of their actions are still being felt today, for example, In terrorist attacks on the Jewish population In Latin America, the terminal point for the Ratline. These organizations continue either to deny their participation or to conceal information so that the full extent of their participation can never be known. One thing is certain, without the Catholic Church, the Ratline could not have existed. | en |
