"I've always wondered why my primary school teacher hid and protected Mengele."

BarcelonaJosef Mengele (Günzburg, Germany, 1911 – Bertioga, Brazil, 1979) was one of the most sadistic criminals of the Nazi regime, known above all for his experiments on children at Auschwitz. After Hitler's defeat, he managed to evade justice. He fled to Argentina, where he was welcomed with open arms. There, he first posed as Helmut Gregor, worked as a carpenter, and entered Nazi circles, where he met Hans-Ulrich Rudel, a Luftwaffe pilot. This friendship proved invaluable, as Rudel created the Kameradenwerk network, which sheltered many Nazis in Latin America. From Argentina, Mengele went to Paraguay and from there to Brazil. In Brazil, he received the most help from Liselotte Bossert, an Austrian-born primary school teacher. The Brazilian journalist Betina Anton, a former student of Bossert's, later sought her out and asked her questions about the Nazi criminal. It was the beginning of an investigation that led him to discover how the network that hid Mengele operated, even after his death. He discusses this in the book. Hunt Mengele. Like a net, it gave refuge to the angel of deathTranslated by Sebastià Bennasar and published in Catalan by Manifiesto and in Spanish by Plataforma.

The first time you heard about Mengele was at the German school where you studied in São Paulo. It was because your primary school teacher disappeared mid-year. Who was Liselotte?

— She was my teacher, and she was Austrian. She spoke German and Portuguese, and she disappeared suddenly in 1985. When it happened, the adults around me started talking about Mengele. All I knew was that something terrible had happened. Television programs began airing about the Nazi doctor who had conducted experiments on people at Auschwitz.

When she grew older, she decided to find Liselotte and talk to her. It's surprising that a primary school teacher was the one who hid and buried the fearsome Nazi doctor under a false name. Did she find out why she did it?

— Yes, it shocked me that such a man could have lived and moved about with impunity in places so close to where I live, and that one of my teachers had lived with him so intimately. I've always wondered why she had hidden and protected Mengele. When I found her, she was ninety years old and told me she didn't want to talk about Mengele. Even so, she spoke with me for over an hour and told me that Mengele had been a friend, someone very close to her family. When I saw the photographs and newspaper articles about Mengele, I thought that perhaps it was convenient for her. Liselotte's husband wasn't helping her at all, and Mengele became someone very close to her, taking care of the children and showing her a lot of attention. She didn't see him as a Nazi criminal, but as a loving uncle who helped her a great deal. In her reasoning (and using her own words), she wanted to help someone in need, a friend, out of the goodness of her heart.

It is still surprising that, even though she later learned he was a Nazi criminal, she remained loyal to Mengele and his secrets.

— She insisted he was just a scientist. She was deluding herself. Liselotte's husband, Wolfram, had fought in World War II, and he admired Uncle Peter, as Mengele called himself and as he was known then, because he had been a member of the dreaded SS.

When the interview with Liselotte ended, she explained that she was afraid and almost gave up. Why?

— I was very afraid because Liselotte had been very mysterious and had made threats. I didn't know what contacts she had, or if there were still Nazi cells in Brazil. She told me she didn't want one of her former students to get hurt. I spoke with more people and gradually gained confidence. Some families complained to me, saying that my book would damage their reputation and they would be labeled Nazis. There's a photograph of Mengele having a barbecue with many families. Some of them are still alive, or their children are. They threatened to sue me. I was afraid my daughter would be expelled from the German school where I had also studied. The opposite happened; they invited me to speak about World War II and the Nazis in Brazil.

Was it difficult to access the documentation? Was I able to read many of the documents held by the Brazilian police?

— It was complicated, but thanks to a contact I have in the federal police in São Paulo, I managed to obtain all the documentation from the 1985 investigation, when it was discovered that Mengele had drowned on Bertioga beach and had been buried under a false name in 1979. It was important because it included statements from many people. Then I managed to get hold of all the notebooks Mengele had written, which were in a dusty closet in Brasília. There were 80 folders! Inside were many letters and even poems by Mengele. I expected to find something resembling remorse or some mention of Auschwitz, but there was nothing of the sort. If I had only accessed this documentation, I would have thought he was a good man, who enjoyed the good life: his dogs, his garden, his books, astrology, children... He loved Brazilian soap operas. That's why I dedicate five chapters of the book to recounting everything he did at Auschwitz. The only negative version he gives of himself is his racist comments.

Those who protected Mengele had no special training. They were seemingly ordinary families. Even so, one of the world's most wanted Nazis, sought after by both Mossad and renowned Nazi hunters, managed to escape and die peacefully without ever serving time in prison.

— Mengele knew exactly what he had to do. He was extremely careful in everything he did. He was always one step ahead of his pursuers. He also had a lot of luck and money.

Liselotte managed to bury Mengele on her own and deceive everyone for six years with a false name.

— Yes. She had to make many decisions quickly and alone. Wolfram, her husband, almost died trying to save Mengele. It's ironic because the Nazi doctor was terrified of dying alone, without love. It was clear from his letters that it was important for him to be surrounded by people who loved him. The irony is that someone almost died trying to save him. So, neither of his greatest fears—dying without love or being captured—came true.

She had a good life. Liselotte also went to prison. In contrast, her victims never even learned what had been done to them at Auschwitz, despite their best efforts, because they suffered the physical consequences for the rest of their lives.

— Yes, impunity and the lack of justice are major themes in the book. If Mengele was never brought to justice, what message does that send?