Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Hiding Mengele

How a Nazi Network Harbored the Angel of Death

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Read the international sensation already translated into 9 languages!

A Brazilian journalist's investigation unearths the story of a network of people responsible for hiding The Angel of Death, the infamous Nazi doctor who fled to South America and escaped justice for over thirty years.

Josef Mengele, known worldwide for unimaginably cruel human experiments and for sending thousands of people to the gas chambers at Auschwitz, was a fugitive in South America for thirty-four years after World War II, sought by the Israeli secret service and Nazi hunters. Hidden for half that time in Brazil, Mengele created his own paradise, a life where he could speak German, maintain his beliefs, his friends, and his connection with the homeland. Never caught, he lived out the rest of his days thanks to a small circle of expatriate Europeans willing to help him.

One such person was Austrian ex-pat Liselotte Bossert, who buried Mengele with false documents to keep his true identity hidden even after his death in 1979. When the world finally discovered where the remains of Josef Mengele were in 1985, kindergarten teacher Liselotte was escorted from the São Paulo school without further explanation to the students. One six-year-old, Betina Anton, could not let this mystery go. Decades later as an experienced journalist, Betina decided to investigate, but when she found Liselotte, she could not imagine how deep this case would take her.

Written in Portuguese and English by the author and based on extensive research—including interviews, unpublished documents, and news coverage from that era—Hiding Mengele is a suspenseful narrative not only haunted by the doctor's horrific experiments, but also by the motivations driving a community to protect one of the most evil people known to mankind.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      Starred review from March 1, 2025

      Brazilian journalist Anton debuts with an investigation into the network that sheltered Nazi doctor Josef Mengele in South America (the majority of the time in Brazil) until his death in 1979. Anton begins her account with the personal--a memory of her kindergarten teacher, Liselotte Bossert, who was arrested at work for the role she played in protecting the notorious war criminal. As an adult, Anton went on to unearth information about the well-coordinated community of expatriate Europeans in Brazil who endeavored to keep Mengele from justice. Anton supplies horrific details of Mengele's experiments, gleaned from Holocaust survivors. She employs interviews, news coverage, and court transcripts to reveal the network of connections, both in South America and abroad, who arranged for sanctuary, falsified documents, and ensured Mengele's financial security. Mengele's correspondence, diaries, and interviews provide an unsettling glimpse into his relatively comfortable postwar life and lack of remorse. Narrator Taylor Harvey offers a performance that is well paced, precise, and somberly engaging. Harvey's pronunciation of German, Spanish, and Portuguese is especially pleasing and accurate, and her empathetic storytelling makes an impact. VERDICT A sensitively presented, unputdownable account of the people who helped make a "tropical Bavaria" for a criminal whose cruelty knew no bounds.--Scott DiMarco

      Copyright 2025 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

Loading