World · Europe · 5 hrs ago
Swiss intelligence file on Josef Mengele declassified with redactions
A 217-page Swiss intelligence file on Josef Mengele has been declassified, though parts are blacked out.
The file was not due to become public until 2071 and includes reports on leads about the Nazi criminal that came to nothing.
One record describes a man who claimed to be an Israeli secret service member visiting a Swiss boarding school in 1964 to ask about Mengele’s nephew.
The documents do not show that Swiss authorities actively searched for Mengele, who fled after World War II and died in Brazil in 1979 without being tried.
Historians say the redactions block independent research and could set a precedent for restricting access to other records.
The Swiss Society of Historians has also called for researchers to see the complete file.
Historian Gérard Wettstein has appealed the redactions in court, seeking access to the uncensored dossier.
The Swiss intelligence service has declassified a 217-page file on Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele, with parts of the documents blacked out.
The redactions have prompted Swiss historians to seek access to the complete file and have raised concerns about future censorship.
The dossier includes reports about leads that went nowhere, an Interpol wanted notice and newspaper clippings.
It does not show Swiss authorities taking the initiative to search for Mengele, according to historian Regula Bochsler.
Mengele died in Brazil in 1979 and was never tried.
- Who
- The Swiss intelligence service and historians seeking access to the file. The file concerns Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele.
- What
- Switzerland declassified a 217-page intelligence file on Mengele, with some material redacted.
- When
- The file was originally due to be made public in 2071. It has recently been declassified.
- Where
- Switzerland.
- Why
- Historian Gérard Wettstein challenged the file’s classification in court, after Regula Bochsler had been refused access. The intelligence service agreed to provide access with redactions.
Swiss intelligence service (NDB)
Swiss historians
Redactions
Swiss intelligence service (NDB)
The NDB justified redactions as necessary to protect sources or staff.
Swiss historians
Historians say the redactions obstruct independent historical assessment and should be removed.
Access
Swiss intelligence service (NDB)
The NDB granted access under conditions that included censorship.
Swiss historians
Historians are seeking access to the complete, uncensored file.
Mengele took a quiet ski holiday in Switzerland with his son.
An international arrest warrant was issued for Mengele.
A man identifying himself as an Israeli secret service member visited a boarding school in Montreux seeking information about Mengele.
Mengele died in Brazil.
His remains were identified.
- File length
- 217 pages
- Original release date
- 2071
- Visitor to Montreux school
- May 14, 1964, at 3.30 p.m.
- Mengele's death
- 1979, Brazil
- Identification of remains
- 1985
What people are saying
Only an examination of the original, uncensored file allows for an independent scientific and historical assessment,
The blackouts are amateurish. Some data are redacted in one place and legible in another. It’s inconsistent.
very problematic