From Fugitive to Buenos Aires Businessman

The Disappearance of Josef Mengele

This flow follows Josef Mengele’s attempt to turn refuge in Argentina into a secure, prosperous bourgeois existence.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Failed Welcome A Failed Welcome from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". A Failed Welcome No official reception Josef Mengele expected a powerful contact in Buenos Aires to smooth his arrival.

A Failed Welcome from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". A Failed Welcome No official reception Josef Mengele expected a powerful contact in Buenos Aires to smooth his arrival.

A Failed Welcome No official reception Josef Mengele expected a powerful contact in Buenos Aires to smooth his arrival. No one met him, leaving him to navigate the city alone. Rejected employment A German-Argentine company offered him menial work. He rejected it, convinced his education and family standing entitled him to more.

Finding the Nazi Circle Finding the Nazi Circle from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Finding the Nazi Circle A meeting place Josef Mengele approached Eberhard Fritsch’s newspaper office and discovered a network of Nazi expatriates.

Finding the Nazi Circle from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Finding the Nazi Circle A meeting place Josef Mengele approached Eberhard Fritsch’s newspaper office and discovered a network of Nazi expatriates.

Finding the Nazi Circle A meeting place Josef Mengele approached Eberhard Fritsch’s newspaper office and discovered a network of Nazi expatriates. Its members offered fellowship and practical connections. Selective trust Through Willem Sassen, Josef Mengele eventually disclosed his identity. He found allies who valued his status and shared his politics, but also entered a community of conspicuous fugitives.

Family Capital Family Capital from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Family Capital Business foothold Money from the Mengele family supported a carpentry business, furniture production, and agricultural machinery sales.

Family Capital from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Family Capital Business foothold Money from the Mengele family supported a carpentry business, furniture production, and agricultural machinery sales.

Family Capital Business foothold Money from the Mengele family supported a carpentry business, furniture production, and agricultural machinery sales. Josef Mengele turned private resources into local independence. Social standing He cultivated a reputation as a cultured entrepreneur and acquired a comfortable home. Business success made his life less precarious, though it also tied him to the family that sheltered him.

Martha Joins Him Martha Joins Him from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Martha Joins Him A new household After his divorce from Irene, Josef Mengele married Martha Mengele and brought her and Karl-Heinz to Argentina.

Martha Joins Him from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". Martha Joins Him A new household After his divorce from Irene, Josef Mengele married Martha Mengele and brought her and Karl-Heinz to Argentina.

Martha Joins Him A new household After his divorce from Irene, Josef Mengele married Martha Mengele and brought her and Karl-Heinz to Argentina. The marriage supplied companionship and a family setting. A public identity He bought a house near Olivos and presented his nephew as his son. The domestic arrangement helped him look like a settled immigrant rather than a fugitive.

The Cocoon Breaks The Cocoon Breaks from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". The Cocoon Breaks Exposure through a case A clandestine abortion investigation brought police to Josef Mengele, who was briefly detained and released after a…

The Cocoon Breaks from "The Disappearance of Josef Mengele". The Cocoon Breaks Exposure through a case A clandestine abortion investigation brought police to Josef Mengele, who was briefly detained and released after a…

The Cocoon Breaks Exposure through a case A clandestine abortion investigation brought police to Josef Mengele, who was briefly detained and released after a bribe. An anonymous report in Germany then connected him to South America. Flight again Fearing that the investigation would reach him, Josef Mengele abandoned his house and business. The respectable life he had built in Argentina dissolved almost overnight.

June 1949

late 1949

1950 to 1953

1956

August to October 1958