Mengele Is Expelled by the Stammers After Slapping Gita

The expulsion from the Stammer household turned a domestic conflict into a lasting rupture in Josef Mengele’s refuge in Brazil. After thirteen years living with Geza and Gitta Stammer, he was told to leave; the couple’s refusal to shelter him, even for $5,000, made the episode more than a temporary quarrel. It set in motion his first prolonged experience of living alone since leaving Buenos Aires.

The Dispute and Its Immediate Consequences

The incident arose from an argument whose precise cause the account leaves unclear. It mentions a last square of chocolate and a broken jar of jam before Mengele slapped Gitta. Geza intervened and telephoned Wolfram Bossert. The Stammers were no longer willing to accommodate Mengele while he waited for Hans Sedlmeier to cross the Atlantic, and the offered $5,000 did not change their decision. Their separation ended a thirteen-year domestic arrangement.

The rupture also exposed how few alternatives remained. Mengele’s close friend, who had agreed to take him in, withdrew after becoming convinced that he was being followed. Bossert would not bring him into his own household, while Hans-Ulrich Rudel was away and Musikus lacked Gerhard’s connections. The immediate problem was therefore not simply finding another room: the people and networks on whom Mengele had relied could no longer provide a secure replacement for the Stammers’ home.

Eviction and the Move to Eldorado

The Stammers had sold their property in Caieiras and moved to a villa in São Paulo. Mengele and Cigano had two months to vacate, with the deadline falling at the end of January 1975. The bungalow in which Mengele had acquired a share through the sale did not become a free refuge: Geza required him to pay rent to live there. Thus the man who had bought the house found himself financially dependent on the former host who had expelled him.

The new home was a small, poorly maintained bungalow in Eldorado, an impoverished suburb of São Paulo. Its mouldy walls, leaking roof, cramped bathroom, and portable butane stove sharply contrasted with the security and household company he had lost. For the first time since leaving Buenos Aires, he faced living alone. The move gave him an address, but not the protection or companionship that had made his previous arrangement possible.

A Narrowing Circle of Support

At first, Mengele tried to improve and secure the bungalow. He began work on the bathroom and kitchen and started installing bars at the windows, but his efforts remained unfinished as solitude drained his energy. His difficulties accumulated in ordinary details: the water he had filtered still tasted of iron, the rooms retained a musty smell, and he could not bring himself to complete the repairs. The practical work of settling in did not restore a sense of control.

The Stammers thereafter saw him mainly to settle accounts. Bossert, despite having refused to house him, became his most dependable visitor, coming to dinner every Wednesday and listening to his complaints. Mengele was also coping with high blood pressure, rheumatism, insomnia, fears about prostate surgery, and serious back trouble that made walking difficult. The expulsion therefore began a lasting period of isolation, softened only by Bossert’s regular visits; it did not reconnect Mengele to the household and network he had lost.