Οι Ναζί της διπλανής πόρτας: Πώς η Αμερική έγινε ο ασφαλής παράδεισος των χιτλερικών

by Eric Lichtblau, Αριάδνη Λουκάκου (Translator)

Ο ηλικιωμένος άντρας αργοπέθαινε σ’ ένα γηροκομείο της Καλιφόρνιας μέχρι τη μέρα που ο γιος του έλαβε ένα αναπάντεχο τηλεφώνημα από την Ουάσιγκτον: "Γνωρίζατε πως ο πατέρας σας ήταν υψηλόβαθμο στέλεχος των Ναζί και στενός συνεργάτης του Άντολφ Άιχμαν;"

Χιλιάδες Ναζί -από φύλακες σε στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης μέχρι υψηλόβαθμους αξιωματούχους του Γ΄ Ράιχ- κατέφυγαν στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες μετά το Δεύτερο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο κι εγκαταστάθηκαν εκεί φτιάχνοντας, διακριτικά, από την αρχή τη ζωή τους. Δεν αντιμετώπισαν ιδιαίτερες δυσκολίες για να μπουν στη χώρα. Χωρίς να καταβάλουν μεγάλες προσπάθειες, πολλοί εξασφάλισαν την είσοδό τους στη νέα τους πατρίδα ως "πρόσφυγες πολέμου", έσβησαν μ’ ευκολία το παρελθόν τους, και τα εγκλήματα που διέπραξαν σύντομα ξεχάστηκαν. Όμως κάποιοι από αυτούς είχαν τη βοήθεια και την προστασία της αμερικανικής κυβέρνησης. Η CIA, το FBI και ο στρατός χρησιμοποίησαν τα πρωτοπαλίκαρα του Χίτλερ ως κατασκόπους, μυστικούς πράκτορες και κορυφαίους επιστήμονες και μηχανικούς, βοηθώντας τους να "ξεπλύνουν" το παρελθόν τους.
Για πρώτη φορά, τα κάποτε απόρρητα αρχεία της κυβέρνησης και συνεντεύξεις αποκαλύπτουν ολόκληρη την ιστορία όχι μόνο των Ναζί επιστημόνων που έφτασαν στην Αμερική, αλλά και των Γερμανών κατασκόπων που τους ακολούθησαν κι έζησαν για δεκαετίες ως αξιοσέβαστοι πολίτες. Έπρεπε να περάσουν χρόνια από την άφιξή τους για να ξεκινήσουν έρευνες από ιδιώτες ερευνητές και κρατικούς εισαγγελείς με σκοπό να ανακαλυφθούν τα ίχνη των κρυμμένων Ναζί. Όμως ακόμα και τότε, οι αμερικανικές μυστικές υπηρεσίες προσπάθησαν παρασκηνιακά να προστατεύσουν από την έκθεση ένα μεγάλο αριθμό των πολύτιμων κατασκόπων τους. Σήμερα, κάποιοι Ναζί παραμένουν ακόμα στη χώρα.

Ο ερευνητής-δημοσιογράφος Έρικ Λίχτμπλαου χρησιμοποιεί ένα θησαυρό από πρόσφατα αποχαρακτηρισμένα απόρρητα έγγραφα και αναρίθμητες συνεντεύξεις από διάφορους εμπλεκόμενους στην υπόθεση γι’ αυτό το ελάχιστα γνωστό κομμάτι της μεταπολεμικής ιστορίας και αποκαλύπτει την επαίσχυντη και σοκαριστική ιστορία τού πώς η Αμερική έγινε ένα ασφαλές καταφύγιο για τους άντρες του Χίτλερ.

Ο βραβευμένος με το βραβείο Πούλιτζερ ερευνητής-δημοσιογράφος των New York Times Έρικ Λίχτμπλαου αποκτά πρόσβαση στα μέχρι τώρα απόρρητα αρχεία των μυστικών υπηρεσιών της Αμερικής και σε κυβερνητικά έγγραφα και ξετυλίγει με τρόπο κινηματογραφικό το απίστευτο και σχετικά άγνωστο στο ευρύ κοινό σκοτεινό μυστικό της Αμερικής: Χιλιάδες πρώην Ναζί, από υψηλόβαθμα στελέχη της διοίκησης των SS, μέχρι φύλακες και βασανιστές σε στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης, γιατροί, επιστήμονες και επιχειρηματίες με ενεργό ρόλο στην μέχρι τέλους μαζική εξόντωση των Εβραίων και άλλων μειονοτήτων, βρήκαν μετά τον πόλεμο καταφύγιο στις ΗΠΑ όπου χρησιμοποιήθηκαν ως κατάσκοποι εναντίον των Σοβιετικών κατά τη διάρκεια του Ψυχρού Πολέμου. Σε μια περίοδο αντικομμουνιστικής υστερίας η CIA, το FBI και η στρατιωτική ηγεσία των ΗΠΑ βοήθησαν χιλιάδες Ναζί να διαφύγουν στην Αμερική, να αλλάξουν ταυτότητα, να σβήσουν το αμαρτωλό τους παρελθόν και να ξεκινήσουν μια νέα ζωή με αντάλλαγμα την τεχνογνωσία τους στην πολεμική βιομηχανία και τις κατασκοπευτικές τους ικανότητες. Αλλά στις αρχές της δεκαετίας τους '60, ο Τσακ Άλεν, ένας πεισματάρης ρεπόρτερ άρχισε να ξετυλίγει το κουβάρι της βρώμικης αυτής σελίδας της πρόσφατης ιστορίας της Αμερικής με αποτέλεσμα μία σειρά συγκλονιστικών αποκαλύψεων και τη σύλληψη πολλών φυγόδικων που ζούσαν μέχρι τότε ανενόχλητοι στις ΗΠΑ.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Holocaust, Politics, War, American History

448 pages, Paperback

First published November 5, 2014

About the author

American journalist

Reviews

[a_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Didn't these people get it? This was a war. You did what you had to do to survive"
Tscherim Soobzokov, ex-CIA spy residing in New Jersey
Accused of collaborating with the Nazi SS during the invasion of USSR

Shocking. If I wasn't already aware of some of this material I would have had a difficult time accepting it. My cub scout image of the U.S Government is continually shattered. Persistent antisemitism within Washington and the U.S. military during and after WW2 resulted in the further disgrace of the Jews by leaving them in the camps they were supposedly "liberated" from and denied immigration to the United States. What is more disturbing is that while the Jews had nowhere to go the U.S Government actively recruited 1600 ex-Nazi's into the United States in an effort to combat Russia in the new Cold War via "Operation Paperclip". Didn't take long for many of them to assimilate in America and downplay their involvement in the Holocaust. I always wonder how they can live with their conscious knowing what they did during the war, and how others can defend them.

[Παύλος · Rating 4 out of 5]

μπορείτε να δείτε και την κριτική μου στο dreamers and co στο http://dreamersandco.com/2017/03/i-na...

Μέχρι τώρα, είχα διαβάσει σε άρθρα, ιστοσελίδες και κεφάλαια ιστορικών βιβλίων πως οι χώρες της Λατινικής Αμερικής (με την αρωγή του Βατικανού βέβαια) ήταν ο κατεξοχήν ασφαλής τόπος για τους πρώην Ναζί αξιωματικούς μετά την λήξη του Β' παγκοσμίου πολέμου. Το βιβλίο αυτό, ήρθε να δώσει μία νέα και εν πολλοίς άγνωστη εικόνα σχετικά με την στάση των Η.Π.Α. απέναντι στους ναζί ή τους κατά τόπους συνεργάτες τους.

Υπήρξαν αρκετές περιπτώσεις κατά τις οποίες ο εκάστοτε πρώην Ναζί συνεργάστηκε με τις κατασκοπικές υπηρεσίες των Η.Π.Α. με αντάλλαγμα την αμερικανική υπηκοότητα και την εξαφάνιση του παρελθόντος του. Άνθρωποι από την Ρωσία, την Λιθουανία και την Σερβία πέρα από το πρώτο κακό που έκαναν στις χώρες τους με την προδοσία τους και την συνεργασία τους με τους Ναζί κατακτητές, υπέπεσαν και σε δεύτερο ολίσθημα κάνοντας τους κατασκόπους για λογαριασμό των Αμερικανών. Πολλοί εξ αυτών μάλιστα χτίσαν μια καινούρια καριέρα και συνταξιοδοτήθηκαν με τιμές από το αμερικανικό δημόσιο.

Οι περισσότερες υποθέσεις έμειναν στο αρχείο καθώς δε συνέφερε τις μυστικές υπηρεσίες να παραδεχτούν πως εν γνώση τους χρησιμοποίησαν τους μέχρι πρότινος θανάσιμους αντιπάλους τους. Μια ομάδα δημοσιογράφων-ερευνητών ξεκίνησε δειλά δειλά να φέρει στο προσκήνιο τις περιπτώσεις αυτές και ως ένα βαθμό τα κατάφερε. Αρκετοί εγκληματίες οδηγήθηκαν στο δικαστήριο και απελάθηκαν χάνοντας την υπηκοότητα και την ανωνυμία που τους είχε προσφερθεί χρόνια πριν. Ταυτόχρονα, υπήρξαν παραλήψεις και λάθη που οδήγησαν στην ατιμωρησία κάποιων αποδεδειγμένα συνεργατών των Ναζί αλλά και η καταδίκη ενός ανθρώπου που τελικά είχε την ατυχία να έχει το ίδιο ονοματεπώνυμο με τον "Ιβάν τον τρομερό" ένα εξαιρετικά βίαιο φύλακα στρατοπέδου συγκέντρωσης.

Εξαιρετικό βιβλίο, διαβάζεται εύκολα και σίγουρα αποτελεί μια καλή πρόταση για τους σχετικούς (ή μη) με τον δεύτερο παγκόσμιο πόλεμο. Προτείνεται ανεπιφύλακτα!

(readathon 2017 7/90)

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This symbol invokes such visceral indignation, disdain and disgust in me. It is the symbol of such egregious inhumane acts of hate and human suffering, unfathomable cruelty, a symbol of state sponsored genocide.



Our political leaders embraced many of the demons who stood behind this symbol in WWII after the fall of the Third Reich!

This book was so eye opening and infuriating but so typical of Machiavellian political pragmatism. I can only imagine WWII vets rolling in their graves over how the U.S. State Department embraced former Nazi war criminals to gain an upper hand in the Cold War with the Soviets. Before reading The Nazis Next Door I was vaguely aware of our cooperation with former Third Reich scientists and engineers and even Nazi doctors responsible for gruesome medical experiments on concentration camp prisoners but the extent of the complicity described and documented in this book is outrageous and morally exasperating.



In November 28, 1941 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Gritta Kaplan and her 6 year old daughter Fruma were imprisoned in cell #17 at the notorious Vilnius Hard Labor Prison by order of Nazi collaborator Aleksandra Lileikis, chief of the security police in Vilnius. Their crime? Fleeing the Jewish ghetto and hiding at a nearby home of a Catholic family that tried to protect and conceal them. Three weeks later, Gritta and Fruma were marched to an excavation pit six miles outside of town in a wooded hamlet called Ponary, lined up at the pit’s edge and machine gunned to death along with at least 55,000 of the 60,000 Jewish men, women and children of Vilnius.



Nearly 10 years later in 1952, fully aware of Lileikis’ heinous crimes against humanity in Lithuania and the unanimous rejection of his entry into the United Sates two years earlier because “he was under control of the Gestapo”, the CIA recruited him in Munich to spy on the Communists in East Germany. At the time the United States was aggressively recruiting former Nazis en masse in Europe to gather intelligence on the new world threat – communist domination by the Soviet Union. After working for the CIA for several years in Europe, Lileikis hoped his loyalty to the CIA would gain him entry into the United States. It did! The CIA whitewashed his war time records and in 1955 Lileikis successfully immigrated to America, settling in central Massachusetts.

The more I researched some of the history behind this book, the more my stomach roiled with disgust and dismay. How can people do this to one another? How could our nation embrace the beasts of National Socialism?

And so it went. Lileikis was just one of thousands of former Nazi war criminals allowed to settle in the USA with the help of the State Department, CIA and FBI to aid in the Cold War and international fight against the spread of Communism. After all, no one hated the Soviets more than the Nazis, went the official view of the United States at the time. They would be loyal.

By late 1944 and early 1945, it became clear to all that WWII was coming to a close, the Nazis would be defeated and the next world war would be a Cold War against Soviet style communism. US diplomatic operatives in Europe reached out to key Nazi leaders and field commanders to enlist their support to gather intelligence about the communists in East Germany and their Soviet supporters.

With fervent anti-Communism zeal cloaked in a thin veil of anti-Semitism, the Vatican (yes, the Catholic Church…amazing!) funneled former Nazis safely out of Europe through the “rat line” in Italy while the Unites States initiated the Operation Paperclip program whereby over 1,500 former Nazi scientists, technicians, engineers and doctors were brought to the United States to deny German scientific knowledge and expertise to the Soviet Union and assist American efforts to expand the US space program and military capabilities. The Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency created false employment histories and political biographies for the Nazi immigrants, bleaching their records of any Nazi Party memberships or affiliations. Their new political persona was "paper clipped" to personnel files and an upstanding, law abiding US citizen emerged!

Wernher von Braun was considered the “Godfather of Rocket Science” and served as a director at NASA and chief architect of the Saturn V rocket program. During the war he was a member of the Nazi Allgemeine SS and worked slave labor to death at Peenemuende while developing the Nazi V-2 rocket program that rained down on London in 1944. Imagine - our highly successful Apollo space program was built with the scientific expertise of a Nazi war criminal!

Hubertus Strughold, considered the “Father of Space Medicine” for his pioneering role in the study of the physical and psychological effects of manned spaceflight, was recruited for the US Air Force School of Aviation Medicine to study the effects of manned space travel. During WWII he gained his knowledge and expertise through gruesome medical experiments on prisoners of the Dauchu concentration camp. These are just two examples of the thousands of former war criminals the Unites States welcomed to America to beat back the Soviet threat.

While the CIA and FBI pushed back extremely hard against international Nazi hunters and even their own Justice Department when questions and investigations arose about the backgrounds of these people, eventually several of these notorious war criminals had their US citizenship revoked and were deported to Germany or Israel. However, the majority lived out their days in peace and tranquility in America.

The book highlights some very dark days in our nation’s history and calls into question the morality and righteousness of our political leaders. Without condoning any of these actions, I attempted to view this scenario within the historical context of the times. The fear of world domination by the USSR was very real and intense. Growing up in the 1960s I remember the intense anti-Communist fervor of the nation. The Soviets professed a policy of complete annihilation of the United States and it seems our leaders truly believed a deal with the devil himself was acceptable and justifiable if the result was the defeat of the Soviet Union. Despite the real or perceived Soviet threat, it seems unconscionable to harbor such evil.

I walk away from this read with the sense that more often than not our national leadership overlooks the moral high ground that America was built upon for the immediacy of the political pragmatism of Niccolò Machiavelli. Abu Ghraib and waterboarding come to mind as the latest examples of this “ends justifying the means” mentality. Is it necessary to resort to extreme and morally reprehensible actions to protect our democracy? Perhaps only time and history will tell.

[Ionia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is well deserving of more than five stars. If I could, I would.

There has been a lot of focus in recent years on the Nazi members that escaped to South America, but rarely have I seen much focus on those who came to America. It was interesting to read about these individuals and what happened to them as a result of their actions.

This author did not only compile a book of meticulous research and facts, but also was compassionate and yet neutral in his writing. You can tell when reading his words that he feels for those who were affected by the violence and unfairness of the Nazis. I appreciate feeling a connection with the author when reading historical accounts as it makes the reading less dry and impersonal.

I also greatly appreciated that the recounting of events from the concentration camps was only briefly covered toward the beginning and thereafter only facts needed to support the book were used. It really does get tiring seeing so many books about this subject that simply spend page after page telling us what we already know.

If you have an historical interest in this subject and would like to hear of events that you haven't heard before, this book is the way to go. I have the utmost respect for the writing ability of this author.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

[Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Nazis Next Door” is a book about the various Nazis living in our country after the war, along with how our government not only helped bring them here but helped them avoid prosecution through various means, including forged documents.

As opposed to many history books, this one is easily read and accessible not only to the novice, but also provides little known information to historians. My major was history, with a concentration in Jewish history, and I was appalled by just how much has been hidden for so long. The fact that Patton himself was an anti-Semite made me feel physically ill.

A secondary benefit to the history lesson is the knowledge at just how carefully we need to question the actions of our own intelligence agencies. This is certainly a timely topic, and one that we could all use a reminder regarding.

If a reader has an interest in the Holocaust, especially the more unexplored topics surrounding it, I cannot recommend “The Nazis Next Door” enough. Novice or professional, it is an excellent resource.

This review is based upon an advance copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Patrizia Galli · Rating 4 out of 5]

E’ un fatto noto che dopo il crollo del Terzo Reich moltissime personalità eminenti del regime trovarono rifugio in Sudamerica, grazie alla complicità di misteriose organizzazioni che operavano in Europa e nel Mondo. Meno noto è il fatto che molti nazisti abbiano trovato invece rifugio negli Stati Uniti, che si erano fatti paladini indiscussi della democrazia, ma che chiusero entrambi gli occhi pur di avvalersi dei servigi di alcuni tra gli scienziati più importanti del regime di Hitler, ma non solo. Incredibilmente molti di loro, non solo scienziati, ma anche guardie carcerarie, soldati delle SS, collaborazionisti di regimi fantocci dei paesi dell’est Europa, benché riconosciuti come criminali di guerra, furono reclutati dall’FBI e dalla CIA e utilizzati come informatori negli anni della Guerra Fredda.
Lichtblau ricostruisce le vicende di moltissimi personaggi, il cui passato venne ripulito alla perfezione dalla CIA o dall’FBI, grazie all’analisi di documenti desecretati negli ultimi anni e a rapporti d’intelligence riservati, che hanno aggiunto dettagli ancor più numerosi alle storie già conosciute. Se vagamente si conosce la storia che ha portato alcuni degli scienziati più influenti del Reich a collaborare con gli Stati Uniti, ancora non si sapeva che queste equivoche “risorse” ammontavano a una decina di migliaia di persone; né quanto profondamente fossero coinvolti con la Shoà: Karl Wolff, per esempio, che trattò la sua resa direttamente con Allen Dulles, futuro direttore della CIA, era stato addirittura il braccio destro di Himmler; Wernher von Braun, forse il più noto tra tutti gli scienziati del Reich, ideatore del V2 in Germania, divenne la mente direttiva del programma spaziale americano (e non pagò mai le sue colpe, se non in maniera postuma…); Arthur Rudolph, che del V2 aveva diretto la produzione in Germania e che in America divenne capo ingegnere del Saturn V, il razzo che portò gli americani sulla Luna; le storie di susseguono, una più raccapricciante dell’altra, anche in conseguenza del fatto che furono gli stessi americani ad ostacolare le indagini del Dipartimento di Giustizia.
Lichtblau fa luce anche sui prigionieri dei campi dopo la fine della guerra: durante l’occupazione americana, britannica e russa, in quei campi morirono, sebbene la guerra fosse finita da tempo, perché «il mondo non sapeva che farsene di loro». Addirittura molti medici e ufficiali nazisti si ritrovarono a lavorare per gli americani come sorveglianti di quegli stessi campi di concentramento dove prima torturavano e uccidevano gli ebrei. E molti ufficiali nazisti si fecero passare per vittime, e un gran numero di criminali di guerra ottenne il visto per espatriare negli USA. Anche Il Vaticano aiuto ex nazisti e fascisti a rifarsi una vita in Sudamerica, «purché fossero anticomunisti». Agghiacciante.

[foteini_dl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Εγκληματίες πολέμου της διπλανής πόρτας -πολλοί από αυτούς κατάσκοποι κατά τη διάρκεια του ψυχρού πολέμου-, ξεπλένουν/διαγράφουν το όχι ναζιστικό παρελθόν τους.

Δημοσιογραφικής γραφής βιβλίο, με ενδιαφέρουσες -και σκληρές- ιστορίες (ευτυχώς αυτές έλαβαν χώρα κάπου πολύ μακριά , κι όχι στην Ελλάδα ή την Ευρώπη, ε;) που σκιαγραφούν τι έγινε μετά την ήττα του ναζισμού -αν ηττήθηκε πραγματικά.

[Chris Steeden · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘…but the number of postwar immigrants with clear ties to the Nazis likely surpassed ten thousand, from concentration camp guards and SS officers to top Third Reich policymakers, leaders of Nazi puppet states, and other Third Reich collaborators. Some entered openly. In through the front door came more than sixteen hundred Nazi scientists and doctors, men who were eagerly recruited to the United States by the Pentagon. Military leaders wanted desperately not only to exploit their scientific and medical achievements, but also to prevent the Russians from seizing their work first. They provided the scientists with visas, houses, offices, and research assistants. Officially, the top-secret program—known as Project Paperclip—was banned to any “ardent” Nazi who took part in wartime persecution.’

I had heard about Operation Paperclip. That last bit from above about any “ardent” Nazi was ignored. Wow! Wernher von Braun, a scientist, was brought in: ‘…a committed Nazi under Hitler who used slave laborers in a mountain factory to build the V-2 rockets that bombed London…’ I better stop quoting from this book otherwise I am just going to copy the whole text into my review.

Why did they need these qualified Nazis? The cold war with Russia was heating up (getting colder?) and the US needed to ensure they were ahead of the game. The Nazis also hated the Russians but the Russians wanted them too. They were kidnapping unwilling scientists. Can you believe this?

The book homes in on one Nazi enabler, Tscherim ‘Tom’ Soobzokov. He had a special order which ‘bestowed on him the power to roam the town carte blanche and go through the houses—asking questions and searching for the Jews and the Communists seen as threats to Hitler’s murderous regime.’ This was in the Krasnodar region. Tom would go on to work for the CIA and FBI after the Second World War when he had to fled to New Jersey of all places. He admitted that he was a Waffen SS Officer.

There are others like the aforementioned von Braun plus Otto von Bolschwing and Dr Hubertus Strughold. Then there is the ‘ratline’ through Italy assisted by the Vatican that also enabled Nazi’s to escape Europe. Lichtblau details the Nazi hunters within the Justice Department. It is all really interesting stuff.

Maybe this is just me but when I think of these really awful Nazis I don’t see them as real people. How can they be? Some of the stories in the book about what they did are beyond the pale. Horrific stuff but many went and lived in America where they worked and had a family. I just can’t get my head around it. How can you be part of the system killing millions and then go and work in the auto-industry in the US and settle down with a wife and kids. Baffling.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. This is an intriguing book. Well worth a read if this subject is of interest to you.

[William Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you consider how the U.S. was a safehaven for thousands of Hitler's Nazi assistants in the aftermath of WWII, you realize why the nation is embedded with a subculture of hate today.

Eric Lichtblau's carefully researched book The Nazis Next Door reveals the investigations into war criminals hiding in the U.S.A. A few were exposed. A few were even deported. But most of them lived out their life in America without any detection. They lived all across the country, many hiding in the bigger populated cities like NY, Chicago, and Philadelphia where they'd blend in better with large populations of immigrants, but Florida was a certain hotbed for hiding Nazis.

Of course, any surviving Nazis would be over 100, so it's not likely any are still here, but guess what? Their children and grandchildren are. That's what gets me. It's not that all people become like their parents or grandparents, many don't, but many do indeed pick up values. Those values (of hate and intolerance) have been passed down. Children now in their 70s and 80s, grandchildren in their 50s and 60s, great grandchildren in their 30s and 40s, all of the core voting block preventing progress in American elections. Just how much of an effect have these real values had on recent elections and populist trends.

A real twist: Several outed Nazis were revealed to be outspoken anti-Communist activists. How many of those communist-accusing citizens and politicians were fueled by values that were equally immoral if not more abhorrent than those they were pointing the finger at.

[Matt Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nazis in America? Sure, you're thinking - Werner Von Something or other helped us with the rockets. And maybe a SS thug or two slipped through the cracks and came here and built cars in Ohio for a while. But we basically caught them and booted them out, right?

Wrong.

As Pulitzer-winner Eric Lichtblau shows in this absolutely riveting account, the US government helped up to 10,000 (TEN THOUSAND!) Nazis - some of them high-ranking officials with major roles in the Holocaust - get into the country and stay here. Why? Good damn question. Ostensibly because they were anti-Soviet. But rank anti-semitism in the CIA, FBI, State Dept and elsewhere helped as well. So while legions of brutalized Jewish survivors struggled to rebuild lives in war-shattered Europe, the murderous scumbags of the Third Reich were ushered into the relative nirvana of post-war America by our own government.

Lichtblau (who, full disclosure, is a friend) has written a compelling, infuriating, and vitally important account of this extraordinary black mark in American history. It is an absolute must-read.

[Serena]

Quando ho intrapreso la lettura di questo libro non sapevo cosa aspettarmi, certo avevo letto di cosa parlasse ma non immaginavo la realtà dei fatti narrati.

racconta di loro, dei nazisti, dei criminali di guerra che hanno ricevuto la cittadinanza americana, che nei migliori dei casi si sono visti revocare, ma solo dopo aver vissuto abbastanza da non poter far altro che ritenersi soddisfatti della doppia possibilità di vita che si sono visti proporre dal nemico o che loro stessi hanno proposto per salvarsi da condanne certe e definitive...il tutto con l ‘aiuto della CIA ed Fbi che a seconda delle loro esigenze hanno insabbiato o scoperchiato il vaso di Pandora. Un libro che consiglio di leggere per chi vuole scoprire qualcosa di più sull’America e sui criminali dopo la seconda guerra mondiale. Alla fine del romanzo ci sono tutti i riferimenti a cui l ‘autore ha attinto per scrivere questa opera nel caso qualcuno volesse approfondire.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nazi war criminals harbored in the US

The Nazis Next Door reveals the little talked about fact that after World War 2, the US became a haven for Nazi war criminals often through US government complicity, especially from the CIA and FBI. After the War, Nazis, as rabid anti-communists, were recruited to spy against the Soviets and their European allies. After years of service, often, their paths were covertly cleared to allow them “legal” entry to the US and later citizenship. While in the heart of the Cold War this wasn’t questioned, it wasn’t until the 1960s that some began to investigate and expose these war criminals. While at first, the US had little taste to carry out investigations against these hidden war criminals, by the 1970s a special division of the US Justice Department was dedicated to this cause. By then though it wasn’t easy to bring elderly Nazis with criminal pasts to justice after they had built new US lives, often very successfully and peacefully. For example, Werner von Braun is one. He is viewed as one of the fathers of the US space program having directly contributed to the first moon landing in 1969. Yet during World War 2, he a was a German scientist and registered Nazi who led 20,000 slave prisoners in researching the Nazi V-2 project, the world’s first long distance missiles. At War’s end, he surrendered purposely to the US and offered his services which were eagerly accepted by America. He never faced any repercussions once in the US and instead in time was hailed as a national hero.

This book certainly leads one to ponder the ethics of warfare and that old saying, “All is fair in love and war.” In the wars of one generation, clandestine alliances with one’s former enemy seemed justified. After all the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Yet, as the leadership mantle passes from one generation to the next, a new ethical paradigm forms. Do we then ethically honor those same alliances? It would appear with Nazi war criminals that sometimes the answer is no. But that wasn’t always a guarantee. In the end, I conclude that it depended in part of what level of service one did for the US, in other words, “what have you done for me lately.” Spycraft and warfare are messy and ethically troubling with few black or white distinctions of right or wrong as this book aptly reflects.

[Nikos · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!Μια ενδελεχής έρευνα με στοιχεία και πρόσωπα για το πως η Αμερική δέχτηκε στην αγκαλιά της χιλιάδες εγκληματίες που είχαν υπηρετήσει στους Ναζί,μόνο και μόνο για να την βοηθήσουν και να δώσουν λύσεις στην εμμονή της με τον ��υχρό Πόλεμο.Μέσα στο βιβλίο παρουσιάζεται και ο σκοτεινός ρόλος των μυστικών υπηρεσιών της Αμερικής που παρόλο που είχαν στοιχεία για τα εγκλήματα αυτών των ανθρώπων,όχι μόνο δεν απέτρεψαν την είσοδο τους στην χώρα αλλά βοήθησαν και στην συγκάλυψη των εγκλημάτων...

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I learned a few things here that confirmed my dislike of a number of public figures--Patton for one. This book is another iteration of the large degree to which we did nothing to help the Jews (or other refugees) in the years during and after WWII. Leaving people in the concentration camps with their former Nazi torturers as overlords for many years, is just one example. I kind of knew, but not really, how disgracefully we behaved. You see movies with the Americans "liberating" the camps and assume it's all hunky-dory from there. It almost never was; and that's a good thing to know. All this took up about 3 chapters, and then we home in on some fairly wearying stuff about what the CIA and FBI did to help the Nazis speed on over to the USA to become some rather useless spies. Meanwhile the refuges continued to suffer. This latter part of the book, about 75%, was not very interesting. Almost immediately after the war (I didn't realize the time frame on this) we got very worried about what Russia could do to us, and our man focus was on out-spying them. For us the war was over; we hadn't suffered much, so we left those who had continuing on with their suffering and dying. My problem overall is that what the book had to offer, compared to many other tomes on the same subject, is very light.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the recent release of the CIA's "Torture Report," perhaps it is fitting to be reading another scathing indictment on them (and other American intelligence agencies), who have failed time and again to uphold the very values that America purports to stand for.

Well written and completely engaging from start to finish, this book reveals with startling detail the numerous ways in which Nazi war criminals came to the United States after the war. The assistance they received from the U.S. government is the most distressing part of this narrative.

Though the Project Paperclip story wasn't exactly new, it was my first time reading about it. I found it particularly disappointing that NASA was where many of the Nazi scientists ended up. Space exploration has a tinge of idealism and optimism to it, but it seems so tainted when you know that some of the most pivotal moments in its history have been made possible by the efforts of these men.

[Prince William Public Libraries]

As the title suggests, Eric Lichtblau, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, tells the story of how America became a safe haven for thousands of Nazi war criminals. What makes this book different from the others about the same subject are the new facts that are brought to light by the author using recently declassified documents that show how US intelligence agencies because of their fear of communism, collaborated with Nazis to block investigations by Justice department and reporters that tried to expose their criminal past.

This book is quite captivating, full of interesting facts some really horrific.

A recommended reading especially for those interested in history.
-Nancy K.

Click here to find the book at the Prince William County Public Library System.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging. Revealing. Well written. Well researched.

I had no idea . . . Yikes! To think of the intentional ignorance . . . I got this book for research and came out with much more information than I though I even needed. You want to be shocked at how your own government acted? How they placed the threat of Communism over working with Nazi war criminals and offered men and their families safety and security here in America? You won't see history quite the same.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me mad but it needed to be written I agree it's Pulizer winner

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I had seen Hunters on Amazon Prime and was addicted to it. Hoping there will be a second season. I was left with the question of why we allowed Nazis to come over? Yes, Project Paperclip was brought up for the scientists/NASA but not for the non-rocket scientists that immigrated. The Nazis Next Door does more explaining of that aspect. It is truly frightening that our main way of thinking both then and unfortunately now that Nazis are less evil that Communism. It slowly read this book picking it up here and there to read - partially because it was hard to believe what I was reading. Also misplacing the Kindle, battery running out... So reading it during the 2020 election really made our current political climate make a bit of sense and thinking about how these Nazis and what belief systems they passed on to their children and grandchildren.

How I got this book: It was either a sale or free book through an email or an Amazon First to Read pick. I'm not exactly sure. However, I do know that the selection of the purchase or download and when to read it based out of all the books I have on my Kindle was in large part do to the tv series Hunters.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sobering look at "Operation Paperclip" and similar programs that whitewashed the histories of some truly infamous war criminals in the name of fighting the Cold War in the late 20th century.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I knew that we brought over Nazi rocket scientists to work on our rocket programs (later, NASA) I had always thought of them as just white jacketed nerds at a blackboard not really connected to the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the greats such as Werner Von Braun were responsible for running the slave camps that produced the V2 rockets, and as such were directly involved in the mistreatment and murder of their workers. Worse than that, are the many senior-level Nazi SS officers that were brought to the US to be Spies against the Soviets for the CIA.

This book takes you through the stories of many agents of the Third Reich that were brought into the US, ranging from the lowly death-squad murderer to colleagues of Eichmann, in order to assist the US with rocketry or spying. It then chronicles the attempts of the Justice Department Special Nazi Unit founded during the Carter administration to deport these Nazis, sometimes successful, sometimes not, and the attempts by the Reagan administration (pat buchanan) to block deportation of these war criminals.

I'm glad I read it, but frustrated at my country.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book explaining in detail how the US Government aided, harbored, relocated, and employed known Nazis at the end of WWII, even as the Jews and other persecuted groups languished in the camps, unable to secure visa's or find places to go. US Government officials are named, most who were more than happy to overlook "minor war crimes" as the re-tooled bio's and files read, in order to bring in known high-level Nazis who could help in the Cold War against Russia, some even before the war ended. Files were scrubbed, polygraph test discrepancies were overlooked, and the US Government was willing to turn a blind eye. It wasn't until decades later, as US public sentiment shifted, that investigations began to "find" these criminals, long hidden by our own government. Full disclosure, I couldn't finish the book. While reading account after account, it was clear how rampant anti-semitism was here in the US, and how that set the stage for what occurred. The book is very detailed, and even without finishing it, it was clear how it turned out.

[Hannah Turley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely eye-opening and intriguing but depressing as hell. The US government (including our intelligence agencies and NASA) not only allowed, but sought out, Nazi war criminals to come here to live and work for our scientific, military, and political gain ("We will ignore your allegiance to Hitler if you can help us fight against the big bad Commies!"). The duplicity of the CIA and FBI as they protected their Nazi war criminal assets was unfortunately and frustratingly unsurprising to me, having read other books about the shady practices of these organizations in the past (I'm sure the ghost of J. Edgar Hoover will begin illegally spying on me for that comment). And then there was the anti-Semitism permeating our post-WWII federal government and military. I'm glad I read this book but I could only take it in small doses before I got too sad and angry and had to cast it aside for awhile. Reading it through the lens of President Trump's recent EO regarding immigration made the experience all the more infuriating.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago I read "The Good German" by Joseph Kanon. It was an interesting work of fiction set in Berlin about how the American and Russian victors were scrambling to secure scientists and other "good Germans". The goal was two fold: keep that scientist from the other side and to get him to your home country to benefit from his expertise. Wonderful book, so-so movie.

The Nazi's Next Door is the true story of how and why the United States brought in 10,000 Nazis to work for an intelligence agency or NASA. I was astounded how the U.S. government overlooked and/or "white washed" records of gross war criminals in order to benefit from Nazi expertise and to keep them from the Russians. Criminals were not punished if they had value. Instead they were given American citizenship and a paycheck.

This is a well researched book on a part of history that is not well known.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in high school, I got to go to a speech by Werner Von Braun. I can't really remember anything he said, because I could not get that Tom Lehrer song lyric - "Nazi, Shmatzi, says Werner Von Bran" out of my head. I learned a lot about Project Paperclip (the US plan to bring over Nazi rocket scientists to work on the space program) from this book. But this also contains a number of stories about the CIA recruiting former Nazis to spy on the Soviets - they cared more about the Communist Cold War threat than they did about WWII Nazi atrocities. It's so maddening and shameful, but not completely unexpected. Very well researched.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and at times, sad, book about how some terrible people managed to come to America and stay under the radar after doing terrible things during the holocaust. I'm not as confident as the author is about von Braun's record being as evil as the author indicates. Most of the other folks mentioned seems to be fairly straightforward though.

Two people guilty of terrible things became American citizens and beat legal efforts to look at deporting them in court and then were subsequently murdered. Their deaths remain unsolved. Several others had their citizenship removed because they did not reveal their past and lied during their application process.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A detailed accounting of the US's active recruitment and harboring of top Nazi officials responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths during the Holocaust. I took off one star because the book reads as just that, an accounting, for a good portion, making it a bit tedious and occasionally hard to follow, but it gathers steam as in some cases justice is finally served. Regardless, everyone should read this book. Just prepare to be horrified by what the US government did in the name of stopping communism.

[Brian Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disturbing, very disturbing. The quote from Allen Dulles, future CIA director, about how his agents should be free to talk to the devil himself if it would help in the Cold War nicely summarizes the story told in this book. This Faustian bargain with the devil is a testament to how paranoia and fear of communism could lead to moral lapses. The book is a little disjointed, but I found it to be a very interesting account of how so many Nazis came to America and of the much belated attempt to track them down for prosecution.

[John Schachter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is both fascinating and infuriating. It was amazing to learn to what degree the CIA (mainly) sought and harbored evil Nazi leaders in the United States following WW2. Cheers to the DOJ heroes who wouldn't give up the fight to find and justly punish (or at least remove U.S. citizenship from) these Nazis. I also appreciated how the book made the simple and clear case that Pat Buchanan is a despicable person who has chosen to make defending ex-Nazis one of his life's causes. Shame on Ronald Reagan for employing and listening to Buchanan, let alone following Buchanan's lead too much.

[Wes McKibbon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book on the American Experience. Being a history buff I have a good knowledge about the abuses in our history, but was unaware of histories greatest men like General Patton and his racist views against the Jews. I was stunned by the extent of the covert operations of the CIA, FBI, Justice Department disclosed in the book. Research appeared to be very thorough, well annotated and compellingly presented.