Walter Rauff

Walter Rauff
Walter Rauff during his arrest in Italy in 1945
Born(1906-06-19)19 June 1906
Köthen, Germany
Died14 May 1984(1984-05-14) (aged 77)
Santiago, Chile
Allegiance Weimar Republic (1924–1933)
 Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Second Syrian Republic Syrian Republic (1948–1949)
 West Germany (1958–1963)
 Chile (since 1973)
Service / branch Reichsmarine
 Kriegsmarine
Schutzstaffel
Bundesnachrichtendienst
Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional
RankSS-Standartenführer (Schutzstaffel)
Korvettenkapitän (Kriegsmarine)

Hermann Julius Walther Rauff, also Walther Rauff (19 June 1906 – 14 May 1984) was a mid-ranking SS commander in Nazi Germany. From January 1938, he was an aide of Reinhard Heydrich firstly in the Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst or SD), later in the Reich Security Main Office. He worked for the Federal Intelligence Service of West Germany (Bundesnachrichtendienst) between 1958 and 1962,[1] and was subsequently employed by the Mossad,[2] the Israeli secret service. He sailed to South America in December 1949 and landed in Ecuador, initially living in Quito. He was described in a documentary on the History Channel as one of the 7 most dangerous Nazis who fled to South America after World War II.

Rauff escaped an Allied internment camp in Italy and then was able to hide in Italian monasteries.

Rauff was able to live in Quito, for almost ten years after World War II, departing in 1958 and travelling to Chile before returning to Germany in 1960 to collect his Nazi pension. After this Rauff was then recruited by Augusto Pinochet. Rauff played a role in the creation of the Chilean internal security apparatus during the military dictatorship. His funeral in Santiago, Chile, was attended by several former Nazis.[3]

Rauff is accused of being responsible for nearly 100,000 deaths during World War II. Among other actions, he was instrumental in the use of mobile gas chambers for the execution of prisoners.[3] He was arrested in 1945, but subsequently escaped and was never brought to trial.[4]

  1. ^ "Wanted Nazi Walther Rauff 'was West German spy'". BBC News. 27 September 2011.
  2. ^ "In the Service of the Jewish State". Haaretz. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Indep270113 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ CIA RAUFF, WALTER-Possible Leads 8 July 1977