Mengele: Unmasking the "Angel of Death"

by David G. Marwell

A gripping biography of the infamous Nazi doctor, from a former Justice Department official tasked with uncovering his fate.

Perhaps the most notorious war criminal of all time, Josef Mengele was the embodiment of bloodless efficiency and passionate devotion to a grotesque worldview. Aided by the role he has assumed in works of popular culture, Mengele has come to symbolize the Holocaust itself as well as the failure of justice that allowed countless Nazi murderers and their accomplices to escape justice. Whether as the demonic doctor who directed mass killings or the elusive fugitive who escaped capture, Mengele has loomed so large that even with conclusive proof, many refused to believe that he had died.

As chief of investigative research at the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations in the 1980s, David G. Marwell worked on the Mengele case, interviewing his victims, visiting the scenes of his crimes, and ultimately holding his bones in his hands. Drawing on his own experience as well as new scholarship and sources, Marwell examines in scrupulous detail Mengele’s life and career. He chronicles Mengele’s university studies, which led to two PhDs and a promising career as a scientist; his wartime service both in frontline combat and at Auschwitz, where his “selections” sent innumerable innocents to their deaths and his “scientific” pursuits—including his studies of twins and eye color—traumatized or killed countless more; and his postwar flight from Europe and refuge in South America.

Mengele describes the international search for the Nazi doctor in 1985 that ended in a cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the dogged forensic investigation that produced overwhelming evidence that Mengele had died—but failed to convince those who, arguably, most wanted him dead. This is the riveting story of science without limits, escape without freedom, and resolution without justice.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Holocaust, Biography, World War II, True Crime, War

448 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2020

About the author

David G. MarwellDavid G. Marwell, Ph.D. has had a distinguished career in public history. He spent nine years at the US Department of Justice, where, as Chief of Investigative Research, he conducted research in support of the investigation and prosecution of Nazi war criminals in the United States. As a part of this effort, he played major roles in the Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele investigations and helped to author the two major reports that resulted. In 1988, he went to Berlin to become the (last) Director of the Berlin Document Center, a repository for captured personnel-related files of the Nazi Party and its component organizations. After overseeing the complete microfilming of the collection, Marwell returned to the US, in 1994, to become the Executive Director of the JFK Assassination Records Review Board, an independent federal agency established to identify, locate, and make available to the public (through declassification) all records relating to the assassination of President Kennedy. Following this service, he became the Associate Museum Director at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, overseeing key museum departments (exhibitions, collections, archives, education, international programs, library). In 2000, Marwell was appointed Director & CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City and led this important institution for fifteen years, before stepping down at the end of 2015.

Reviews

[Kylie D · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched and factual book, based on the findings of the Justice Department teams sent to discover notorious Nazi Dr Joseph Mengele's whereabouts in the 1980's. The first half of the books looks at Mengele's life and the second half the search for him, and the forensic proofs that the team found.

My main problem with this book was the delivery. If you want the information on the case, it's all there. If you want the facts presented in an engaging and entertaining way, you wont find that here. If you're looking for the man behind the monster, his motivations and what made him tick, look elsewhere. This is a clinical dissertation, set out fact after fact. Their is no building anticipation in tracking him down, no thrill of the chase. This book is sterile, and while it will appeal to those who like their history set out just so, in this day where entertaining the masses is paramount this book will fall short.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Менгеле – военнопрестъпникът, който не получи възмездие: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...

По темата за Менгеле има много книги, които разгледах, но тази беше единствената, която за мен си струваше да се издаде – защото авторът, бидейки американец, на когото професионално е възложено да вникне в живота на нацисткия лекар, е безпристрастна фигура, но и защото отдадеността му на тази задача го е отвела от документите и свидетелите до местонахожденията на Менгеле в миналото, та чак до това да държи костите му в ръцете си. Именно на тези кости, около които години наред се вихрят ожесточени спорове и научни препирни, е посветена последната част на книгата – доказването, че това са тленните останки на Менгеле, е изключително важно и за службите, които все още желаят да го заловят и изпратят на бесилото, така и на оцелелите от жертвите му, които мечтаят за закъсняло с десетилетия възмездие. Маруел описва в детайли как се стига до откриването на този гроб, какви методи са използвани за идентифицирането на костите, за пробивите и колебанията, преди в крайна сметка съмненията да изчезнат следствие на напредъка на науката. А не по-малко важно е, че точно този изследовател работи с автобиографичния роман, който Менгеле написва, и разкрива кодовете, които лекарят използва, за да прикрие самоличността на хората, които описва.

CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/m...

[Theresa Lorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is not much I can say about this book because I think the title says it all. However, that being said, it is such a scholarly work by Mr. Marwell who worked on this at the Justice Department. Mr. Marwell did not dwell on the atrocities Mengele committed but rather on the breadth of the investigation into him and the attempts to bring him to justice. His information is impeccably highlighted and he brings into stark reality the evils of the Nazis.

In this day and age when people are being called Nazis for simply disagreeing with others, this book brings into focus what a Nazi really is.

Bravo Mr. Marwell!

[Kat V · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very unique view into Mengele’s life, focused more on finding/identifying him than anything else. Good if you like forensics, but less of a biography of Mengele if that’s what you’re looking for. 3.3 stars

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five, then four, stars.

This is a brilliant biography of Josef Mengele, that proves once and for all that there is too much negative hype about the man. Too many witnesses claim he was doing the selection at Birkenau for the gas chambers for him ever to have taken a loo break; too many people give inaccurate descriptions of the man when they declare he was evil to them personally. Also, the most heinous things he was accused of were likely to be balderdash, considering the real science behind what he was doing, and the real science he was working for. But don't worry, for this is no hagiography. This does point out his untroubled work in the Auschwitz complex, and does show the man so desperate to be a noted geneticist and race scientist ending up importing his father's muck-spreaders to Argentina while in exile.

Unfortunately, the book veers off at the halfway stage. Before then I would have given it an incontestable five stars – the book gives all the narrative and detail a regular reader would need, alongside so much authoritative debate and detail that still would satisfy the expert. But then we hit the 1980s and the search for Mengele that ultimately includes a risible exhumation in Brazil. And for this second half we get too much detail. I'm sure it's the lesser-told of the two stories here, but whether from the self-imposed demand to provide the definitive telling, or the fact the author is too personally involved in his story, it's a little too forensic. So the general reader gets swamped by who was thinking this at this time, and what minutiae were of concern to whom and when and why. Which is a shame – just a slightly different approach would have made this an outstanding book for my tastes. It's still very good and a lot more interesting than the dread about and the perceived dryness of the subject would have you think. It is of course not so much about the man himself, but about the peculiar details of his life (how was he able to be in hiding and at the same time renounce an inheritance for his father's factories; how was his wife able to have services in his memory then pretty soon afterwards file for divorce with nobody smelling a rat?); it is about the international chase for restitution; and is suitably about the victims.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would have been a great book, had it been 200 pages shorter. The biography portion wasn't too bad, if jammed with too many details, considered relevant only to a historian. The "hunt" part was dry, laborious and missed a grand opportunity to tell one of the most compelling stories of Nazi hunting there is. Rather, it read like a cross between an academic tome and a government briefing. Which I suppose, in some ways, it was.

Wouldn't recommend unless you have a deep and abiding interest in Mengele.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author spent years in the Special Investigations Office of the Justice Department investigating Joseph Mengele. While some of Mengele's actions are recorded, most of the work is a history of the Holocaust. This book presents an informative history of the Holocaust. This was a free review copy obtained through Goodreads.com.

[Rhiannon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to W.W. Norton for my complimentary review copy.

Read this review on my blog: https://ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/...

Tuesday 1/28/2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, a place where Josef Mengele determined the fate of countless innocents and selected thousands more for his “scientific” pursuits. In “Mengele: Unmasking the ‘Angel of Death’” (released today) former chief of investigative research at the Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI), David G. Marwell chronicles Mengele’s life and career, from his “university studies, which led to two PhDs and a promising career as a scientist; his wartime service, in combat and at Auschwitz, and his postwar refuge in Germany and South America.” In 1985, Marwell was assigned to the international investigation to locate the infamous Nazi doctor and bring him before a court of law. Name changes, Red Cross passports, document trails, letter interceptions, spy missions, handwriting analysis, and details such as ink comparisons (using the standard ink library of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms—who knew?!) were all employed to trace Mengele’s route of escape. Overwhelming forensic evidence supported the fact that the bones which were eventually found in a cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil did, in fact, belong to Josef Mengele, but that did not convince those who most wanted to see him dead and/or brought to justice.

On October 1, 1992, OSI’s full report was forwarded to assistant attorney general for the criminal division and future FBI director Robert S. Mueller III. One week later Mueller forwarded the report to his boss, Attorney General William Barr, formally ending the United States’ eight-year investigation.

[Moshe · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://nationalvanguard.org/2020/01/...

[Vladislav Dragomirov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Дейвид Дж. Маруел е написал книга, която не е никак лека за четене.
Тя използва за първични източници архиви от целия свят и задълбочени проучвания на множество блестящи учени.
Само името на Йозеф Менгеле всява страх в периода на Втората световна война. Разкритията за неговите чудовищни експерименти в Аушвиц го превръщат в символ на жестокостта и безмилостната ефективност на нацистката идеология. През лятото на 1944 г. прекарва дълги дни и нощи в посрещане на железопътни композиции в концлагера Аушвиц II (Биркенау). Задълженията му се състоят в сортиране на новопристигащите и определяне на тяхната участ. Мащабните усилия за изтребление н унгарските евреи вече са в ход. По-голямата част са убити още с пристигането. Тези, които са останали живи са използвани за ужасяващи медицински експерименти, които както ще стане ясно, нямат никакъв научен принос. Ужасите, които "Ангелът на смъртта" причинява на затворниците в Аушвиц го превръщат в един от най-големите масови убийци на XX в.

[Desislava Petranova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Очаквах по-голяма част да обхване експериментите му....

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting look at the life of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele. Author David G. Marwell is an American historian and the former director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, according to his Wikipedia page.
Interestingly, Wikipedia also notes that Marwell served as Chief of Investigative Research for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Investigations. In that capacity, Marwell was responsible for conducting historical and forensic research in support of Justice Department prosecution of Nazi war criminals, including Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele. He has also served as an expert witness and consultant to the governments of Canada and Australia on several war crime prosecutions, and was a member of the Interagency Working Group for Nazi War Criminal Documents.

David G. Marwell :


Mengele: Unmasking the "Angel of Death" is a no-frills, matter-of-fact chronological look at the life of the now-infamous Nazi doctor. The book begins with a history of Mengele's life before the Nazi Reich; his twin studies and racial studies:

"...He chose to investigate the related birth defects of cleft lip, palate, and jaw—malformations that had emerged as particularly interesting in the context of racial hygiene, since new surgical interventions could correct them cosmetically, camouflaging a trait that would normally have identified a racially compromised individual..."

The book continues on, covering Mengele's research, his time at Auschwitz, his role in the "selection" process of the captured Jews, the end of the war, his eventual escape from Europe, his time in South America, and efforts to track him down in the post-war years.

Marwell compiled information on Mengele's life from many primary sources, and the book also cites other historical works and research on the life of the doctor. The pages are very well notated here, and the author makes many citations.

The writing here is decent. Marwell lays out the life of Mengele in the "biography" portion of the book in an easily-digestible chronological format; covering the major related players, research, and events central to Mengele's life.

Marwell drops this interesting quote, ~midway through the book:

"...The notion of Mengele as unhinged, driven by demons, and indulging grotesque and sadistic impulses should be replaced by something perhaps even more unsettling.
Mengele was, in fact, in the scientific vanguard, enjoying the confidence and mentorship of the leaders in his field. The science he pursued in Auschwitz, to the extent that we can reconstruct it, was not anomalous but rather consistent with research carried out by othersin what was considered to be the scientific establishment. That research was criminal—and monstrous—because of the absence of all barriers that ordinarily serve to contain and regulate the temptations and ambitions that can push scientific research across ethical boundaries.
Relegating Mengele and his research to the ranks of the anomalous and bizarre is perhaps more palatable than understanding that he was the product—and promise—of a much larger system of thought and practice. It is easier to dismiss an individual monster than to recognize the monstrous that can emerge from otherwise respected and enshrined institutions..."

The last ~half of the book details efforts to identify, locate, and capture Mengele, after his post-war escape from Europe. After the war, Mengele fled Germany, eventually escaping overseas to South America. Sadly, efforts made by Mossad and others to track him down failed. See here for more.
He sailed to Argentina in July 1949, assisted by a network of former SS members. He initially lived in and around Buenos Aires, then fled to Paraguay in 1959 and Brazil in 1960, all the while being sought by West Germany, Israel, and Nazi hunters such as Simon Wiesenthal, who wanted to bring him to trial.
Mengele eluded capture in spite of extradition requests by the West German government and clandestine operations by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. He drowned in 1979 after suffering a stroke while swimming off the coast of Bertioga, and was buried under the false name of Wolfgang Gerhard. His remains were disinterred and positively identified by forensic examination in 1985.

This was a well-researched book, but I felt it spent way too much time on the post-war efforts to track down and identify Mengele. Almost half of this book details the investigative efforts towards these ends. Marwell really takes a deep dive into the weeds here; giving extremely detailed forensic accounts and a virtual blow-by-blow telling of the investigation. It was a departure from the pace established in the first ~half of the book. The hunt for a famous war criminal is no doubt an interesting story, but Marwell's telling of it here fell way short. What could have been a super-interesting presentation turned into a long-winded and arduous read that had me counting the remaining pages...
It was a bit too much for my tastes, and took away from the overall presentation of this book. Too bad - as this was an otherwise very well put-together work.
I still did enjoy the book, and would recommend it to anyone interested.
4 stars for the "biography" part of the book, and 2 stars for the "hunt" part, for a composite 3 star rating.

[annabelle]

I'm not going to rate this bc I really don't know what to rate it?
it was definitely useful for my assessment tho so I love it for that. very well researched and extremely detailed

[Paul Gaglio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought I was going to be fascinated by this book. It is such an interesting story it could be a work a fiction. So I cannot tell you how truly disappointed I was with it.
The book is very well researched and the author is definitely knowledgeable on the subject matter as he played an active part in it. However it is written in such a clinical boring prose. It is perplexing to wonder how such a fascinating subject could be turned into a mundane novel

[Ann T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Not at all sensational, and really does not go into tremendous detail about what exactly Mengele did during his time at Auschwitz. More a laying bare of the mundane nature of evil...when you separate science from humanity, that's what you've got. And interesting details of his escape from Germany, even after being held as a POW by the Americans and released... his death in South America, and the attempts to definitively identify him after death.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

First half is a biography and look into the myths surrounding this man. I felt it was pretty unbiased and well researched. The second half is about the investigations and trying to find Mengele. The author was an investigator in the 80s I believe.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! This is a great book!! I am only about half way through the book, but I want to make some comments before I forget them. Though I am an extensive reader of WWII history, I have never read ( to the best of my recollection ) a book devoted entirely to Josef Mengele. There are many books about Auschwitz and his connection to the death camp, but in this book his time there covers about 70 pages of a 350 page book ( 400 with the notes). First a few words about the author. ( Credibility in historical non-fiction is not an infrequent issue. This writer is beyond credible. He has done all his homework!!! ) David G. Marwell is an American historian and the former director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City. He received a Ph.D. in modern European history from Binghamton University. Prior to his work at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. ( 1997 to 2000 ), Marwell was director of the Berlin Document Center from 1988 to 1994 and then executive director of the Assassination Records Review Board. He also served as Chief of Investigative Research for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Investigations. In that capacity, Marwell was responsible for conducting historical and forensic research in support of Justice Department prosecution of Nazi war criminals, including Klaus Barbie and Josef Mengele. He spent 7 years on the project to prove that the drowned body recovered in Brazil in 1979 was truly that of Josef Mengele. He has also served as an expert witness and consultant to the governments of Canada and Australia on several war crime prosecutions, and was a member of the Interagency Working Group for Nazi War Criminal Documents. I cannot imagine a better background...…. Mengele's early years were largely unremarkable and middle class. If possible, I think that he would have been a "perennial student". He was a mediocre pupil, but was accepted at the University of Munich in 1930 starting work toward an eventual medical degree. In 1935, he earned a degree from the University of Munich in physical anthropology. ( Physical anthropology became "Racial Science"). Hitler had a very definite role in mind for doctors in the Reich. When he spoke of responsibility of physicians to the Volk, he meant that the first responsibility was not to the individual patient, but the "racial health" of the Aryan race. Mengele had no difficulty with this concept. He saw "impure" races as non-humans and later as the "already dead". First do no harm applied only to the Volk. Mengele would eventually study at 5 universities including Bonn, Vienna, Frankfurt, and Leipzig ( medical internship ) In 1937 he 2 years later, at the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Frankfurt, he became the assistant of Dr. Otmar von Verschuer, a scientist known for his research in twins. " Ding Ding Ding!!!" To be continued.... I was surprised since Mengele clearly supported Hitler's regime, that he did not join the Nazi party and the SS until 1938. The reason was a moratorium on joining the party of which I was unaware. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, there was a rush of individuals to join the ruling powers. The Nazis feared that opportunists would dilute the party ideology. A ban on new membership was put in place ( except for Hitler youth who came of age after 1933 and a few others ). This was strictly enforced until 1937. When the ban was lifted there were so many applications that Mengele did not become a Nazi and SS member until 1938. Thru the efforts of Von Versheur Mengele joined the staff of The Frankfurt Institute. In addition to being a pioneer in the twin methodology and in the study of the inheritance of diseases and anomalies, he was a eugenicist with an interest in racial hygiene and an advocate of compulsory sterilization programs. Versheur was Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Münster until his 1965 retirement. ( Who says crime does not pay???? ) As the war was drawing to a close in 1945, Verschuer moved the files of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology into the Western part of Germany, hoping for a more favorable response from the advancing Allied armies than from the Russians. This was not a bizarre wish given the fact that the Rockefeller foundation had been a major financial support for the Institute... After the war, he petitioned to be allowed to reestablish the KWIfA. However, the commission in charge of rebuilding the Kaiser Wilhelm Gesellschaft decreed that "Verschuer should be considered not as a collaborator, but one of the most dangerous Nazi activists of the Third Reich." ( That took care of him - NOT!! )…… Five weeks before the invasion of Poland Mengele married. Sometime in 1940 he was assigned to the Viking Division of the Waffen SS. What has always disturbed me about the "Viking Division" is that it was composed of three regiments: Nordland = Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian volunteers. Westland = Dutch and Flemish volunteers, and Germania = mainly ethnic Germans. Volunteers!! Their justification most of these non-German soldiers used after the war was they were fighting against Communism. Right! Quisling was not the only Norwegian traitor. ( Half of my heritage is Norwegian ) By 1941 this SS division was part of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia. They were assigned to the Ukraine. The Viking Division were responsible for an unknowable number of atrocities / mass murders. There is speculation on why Mengele returned to Berlin in January of 1943 - wound vs shell shock. See what you think.... Verschauer tried to recruit him, but instead he was transferred to Auschwitz.... To be continued. Part II - Auschwitz covers pages 61 - 132. I don't think anyone is unaware of the atrocities committed by Josef Menegele during his years as medical officer in the concentration camp. ( At least I hope everyone knows. ) The most important feature of this section to me is the removal of the mythology that has grown about his role in selections and medical experiments. The author in no way minimizes the evil of Mengele, but two sentences capture the essence of the Auschwitz history. "Relegating Mengele and his research to the ranks of the anomalous and bizarre is perhaps more palatable than understanding that he was the product - and promise - of a much larger system of thought and practice. It is easier to dismiss an individual monster than to recognize the monstrous that can emerge from otherwise respected and enshrined institutions. " Part III. Flight. ( May 1945 - June 1949 ) Mengele was interned and released from American custody at the Helmbrechts POW camp. This was the result of a major military SNAFU + the fact that the U.S. Army had so many prisoners that they could not even feed them. No Nazi or German military man wanted to be in the custody of the Russians. What about the SS blood type tattoo??? The answer awaits you in this section. Mengele did not decide to leave Europe until the fall of 1948. The tale of hiding in plain sight and the escape pipeline is amazing. In his autobiographical account of train travel on the route to South America Mengele wrote: " Fate always accompanies you on a train journey," Really?? Especially if your train takes you to Auschwitz.... ( June 1949 - July 1962 ) This portion looks at Mengele's time in Argentina and Paraguay and the people who hid him and helped him communicate with and receive money from his family in Germany. Amazingly Israel's Mossad almost caught him in 1962. Part IV: Pursuit covers the actual search for a living man and the efforts to prove the exhumed body was truly that of Josef Mengele. ( more pursuit of the truth than the man ) The Israeli Mossad had largely stopped hunting Nazi war criminals until the election of Menachem Begin in 1977. A "large-scale targeted killing campaign" became the new policy. Despite the new attitude, they failed to capitalize on earlier success in discovering Mengele's network. Germany became engaged to counteract their minimal efforts in seeking and arresting Nazi war criminals. In the U.S. Rabbi Marvin Hier, who founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center in 1977, pressed President Reagan to pursue Mengele. Senators D'Amato and Specter joined the campaign. Elliott Abrams, then assistant secretary of state for human rights wanted the task taken on by the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) ( the author, David Marwell, was a central figure in this effort. ) The U.S. sought to answer 4 questions. 1. Was Mengele in American custody in 1945 and knowingly released?? 2. Did Mengele live openly in his German home town in the U. S. Zone of Occupation with the tacit approval of American personnel?? 3. Was Mengele arrested as a "war criminal" by U. S. authorities?? 4. Was Mengele used by American intelligence and helped to flee Europe?? ( Based upon discoveries involving Klaus Barbie. ) Then just to make things interesting Reagan decided to lay flowers at a cemetery in Bitburg, Germany where SS members were buried... Of course the CIA via the U. S. Marshals service decided to try to steal the thunder.... The three countries met in Frankfurt to attempt to co-ordinate efforts. Then the bombshell evidence!! A letter was discovered which indicated that "uncle" had drowned in 1979. Thus hangs the rest of the tale... In June of 1985 the Brazilians ( in best Keystone Kops style ) exhumed the body - well parts of the body - while crushing the casket and the skull... We have become so accustomed to the use of DNA to identify remains that the ensuing investigation seems more than primitive. Not until 1988 did DNA testing advance to a point to be probative... The fascinating and convoluted efforts of 4 nations to declare Mengele officially dead lasted for the U. S. until 1992. The man who had sought to destroy "contaminated races" by anthropological and genetic testing was in the end thwarted by his own methodologies. The Germans had long been ready to accept the finding, but did not wish to be the first due to their long history of failure to investigate war criminals. Understandably the last to accept the fact that Mengele was dead were the Holocaust survivors and Israel. The motivation was probably the same for the people and the state. The Jews, whether survivors or not, wanted a live Mengele under their power who could be tried and punished. They wanted the chance to do the final selection. The book closes with a powerful and poignant epilogue which describes Rolf's visit with his father. In 1977 Rolf was 33, the same age as his father had been in the summer of 1944..... This book could have been another Auschwitz / WWII era story of Mengele. I am certain that Marwell had sufficient data to create such a volume. Instead we learn about his youth and education and the fascinating efforts to find Mengele and later to prove he had been found. I enjoyed every page and highly recommend the book. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely changed the way I thought about Mengele. More a product of his time and political leanings than a true monster who would have done what he did and enjoyed the victims pain. I do think that he was affected greatly by the early part of the war.
A very clever man who could have changed the world for the better if only he was born in another time and place

[Rachel Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful book on the life of a monster.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, researched and presented discussion of Mengele, alive, and dead.

[William Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to say about this book. It’s really well researched and factual. I have read other books about Mengele and this one blows them away in details.

[Dada_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Mengele guy... Was awful. Like a lot. The book was great tho

[John McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historian David Marwell, who as one of several DOJ Office of Special Investigations investigators which included lawyers, historians, anthropologists, and other medical professionals seeking to find and get Nazi doctor Joseph Mengele to trial for war crimes, has given us a book that really has 2 parts: the first is a rather dense description of Mengele's biography and his medical atrocities committed during his tenure as the medical director at Auschwitz, and second, the actual investigation conducted by OSI, Germany, and Israel.

The first part was so densely written that it reminded me of reading Ph.D. theses I was forced to read doing legal research, and I almost stopped reading. But, to my great pleasure and enlightenment, I persisted to read Marwell's description of the investigation which outlined frankly and clearly the forensic investigation involving the search for Mengele and his death, and the political disputes that arose, in particular, the refusal of the Israeli government to accept as forensically final Mengele's death. Holocaust survivors expected to find Mengele alive to put him on trial, which likely clouded the Israeli refusal to join in consensus findings of the US, Argentine, and German investigators.

This second part was a fairly detailed description of the investigative technique, the reason I read the book in the first place and I was not disappointed, indeed I couldn't put the book down reading into the early morning hours. It was surprising, too, to learn some of the methods used to obtain interviews or Mengele's capture when he was thought to be alive. One such instance was a plan devised by the Israeli Mossad, fortunately not implemented, to hold hostage the 12-year-old son of someone with knowledge of Mengele's believed location and then kill the boy if the father would not cooperate, a seriously considered plan rejected by Mossad governors. Another was the author's threat (more like extorsion) to inform the international press of the putative witness' past knowledge of Mengele with the stated goal of having the press show up and hound the witness unless the putative witness cooperated. Of course, the reluctant witness cooperated when the threat was made, but since the German witness, who was not the subject of any investigation or involvement in Mengele's atrocities, was statutorily entitled to peace in his home, it became a question to me, a lawyer, whether Marwell used unlawful means to secure his end and whether he undertook his extortionary threat with DOJ approval. It would not be the first time investigators danced around the edges of the law to secure their end, but I was surprised that Marwell, so careful and meticulous in his factual/legal accounts of the investigation, simply ignored the legal implications of his action in regard to his witness. Did DOJ approve of the tactic? I wonder.

The story of the investigation revealed just how wily Mengele was in securing his escape to South America and ensuring that he would not be apprehended. It was somewhat of a shock to learn that Mengele, after the War, had been in custody of the US Army and may have had US assistance in escaping through the 'Rat Line', an escape route with scouts and protectors to ensure the successful escape of Nazis wanted from being held accountable for their war crimes.

This book answered a lot of questions for me about Mengele's self-imposed captivity and his death.
I followed closely the period when it was a matter of frequent debate whether he was alive or dead, and, now, because of this work, I understand the complications of drawing conclusions about that at the time. I think Marwell has given historians and researchers a very valuable work to research and open up fields of inquiry. There is probably no one better situated to do this than Marwell, an historian who understands how to develop information from the past, some of it very hard to come by, to enlighten us about grave matters that good people don't ever want to see happen ever again.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very in depth story of the life of Mengele. It does not however mainly focus on the atrocities of his time in Auschwitz, but his life before and after he left Europe for South America. A lot of time is devoted to trying to find him, and once the grave was found to identify his bones. The book leaves no doubt this the bones are his. Truly exhaustive research went into the writing of this history.
A must for any WWII buff

[Tiemu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final third of the book seemed unnecessarily detailed in recounting the minutiae of who contacted whom among the American investigators, and the German investigators, and the American and German investigators, and the Israeli investigators, and the Brazilian investigators, and so on and so forth. There wasn't much actually about Mengele once he disappeared from the radar.

The book does a fair enough job in recounting Mengele's life up the point he disappears from public view. The book is also useful for learning what Mengele actually was up to when he was employed in Auschwitz. As the author explains, Mengele wasn't some mad Frankenstein character performing extremely gruesome experiments that have been widely and erroneously attributed to him. If you compare Mengele to Dr Shiro Ishi- the Japanese imperial army scientist who oversaw truly grotesque medical experiments performed on prisoners of the Japanese- Mengele is a far cry from being "perhaps the most notorious war criminal of all time". Western popular culture, geopolitics, lobbying and a limited world view are the reason for this. Whilst Nazi scientists were war criminals in the eyes of the Allied victors, the Japanese scientists who inflicted infinitely worse experiments on helpless human beings were actually protected by the Allies following their capture, with Dr Shiro Ishi even attaining employment in America and dying peacefully there under American protection.

[Ionia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a phenomenal book. Incredibly well-researched, presented in a format that makes it easy to follow and enjoy and by a more than credible source.

If you are looking for the answers to who Mengele was, what his life was like before and after his involvement in WWII and trying to draw a conclusion about what happened to him, this is the book to read. If you are bothered by discussions of the Shoah, you should perhaps be warned that this book does go into detail on some of the atrocities committed, but in a responsible and tolerable way.

I felt the author did a good job representing the facts in this book without making it boring. He brought a feeling of personal passion to this project, which made it feel more human and relatable. Unlike many other books on Mengele, this is not a sensationalist work designed to inflame people. I got the opinion that the author had no personal vendetta, and was more than happy to simply recount the facts.

This is an important book and I encourage others to read it. It will help one understand the man behind the myth much more clearly.

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

[june3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Marwell presents us with Mengele. The name alone sends shivers down the spine of anyone familiar with, indeed raised on Holocaust literature. Mengele. Who was he and how did he become, well, Mengele???

Mr. Marwell's new book does not disappoint. At all. Indeed, his extensive research into these questions (and more) ultimately stands in support of the infamous observations of the philosopher, Hannah Arendt, who coined the phrase "the banality of evil." While Arendt was reporting on the trial of another Holocaust "luminary" - Adolf Eichmann - her words echo silently through Mr. Marwell's text. Mengele. Der Weisse Engel. As Mr. Marwell makes clear, he was an ambitious guy with routine personal insecurities who saw the situation at Auschwitz as a decent opportunity to advance his own interests and his future academic career.

Moment in time?
Never again?
Dream on.

[Oliver Bogler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written and researched biography of Mengele that lays out clearly the man's life and career. The book is more or less split between the biographical section and then the story of how Mengele's remains were tracked down in Brazil and identified by a large, international team of scientists. Mr. Marwell participated actively in the investigations and brings much detail and perspective to that part of the story. I found the biography of Mengele more interesting. Since I never doubted that the remains of Mengele had been found and properly identified I found much of the detail in the second part less interesting. However, Mr. Marwell presents it in a compelling way, and I found the science used interesting, and I do see his desire to layout the entire evidence set for the historic record, and I commend him on this.

[Mohamed Tahar Hamada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Randomly found this book in one of goodread's Lists I got immediatly interested by the name of it because i have heared soo many times about ''Mengele'' or even the name he was known for ''Angel of death'' but i never really got the chance to find a good book neither about him nor about the nazi regime,That book was first a very good educational opportunity for me to know more about anthropology and especially the racial studies and the time and just the overall political ideas that were at the time,Second of all i found that this book was a really a historical witness and an important one to denonce all the crimes that were made against humanity and to bring justice to the people who suffered through those inhuman experiments and situations,I found that this book was really interesting and totally worth reading for every political enthusiast or general public.

[Атанас Илиев · Rating 3 out of 5]

... този немски "убавец" го следя и чета от време ''оно''. Беше ми много интересен изверг, за който съм чел и изгледал доста. Ами, не научих нищо ново. Четох по диагонал. Абе, ако се запознавате тепърва с Менгеле, може и да ви хване след половината, тъй като началото може и да ви отблъсне с нормалността си. Въобще този момент от човешката история е много деликатен (болезнен) и си трябва подготовка при анализа на една личност, която по никакъв начин не показва в какви изродии ще бъде тласната от факторите - среда/ситуация. Вярвам и продължавам да вярвам, че човек не се ражда чудовище. Той се превръща постфактум в такова.