Chile Forum

Vicki and Greg Lansen wrote:. . . . Nah! Ari . . . . always gives me a high-five salute when I walk by. . . .

What exactly does that look like, again?

A brief report on National Public Radio this morning, consisting largely of an interview with a man with an Ashkenazi accent who's just arrived in Santiago de Chile in order (in seems) to coördinate the apprehension of Aribert Heim, states that at least one Chilean informant, drawn by the large cash reward, has informed Israel or related organizations that Dr. Heim is living, probably in Chile, somewhere between Puerto Montt and Bariloche. I had the feeling while half listening that the interviewed man expects to capture Dr. Heim within the next few weeks; time will tell.

If anyone's interested, the reward is 315,000 euros, nearly a half-million American dollars.

Here's the link to the short article in the English-language Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia [dot] org/wiki/Aribert_Heim . There's much more information in the German-language article.

HUNT FOR “DR. DEATH” LEADS TO CHILE’S PUERTO MONTT
Tuesday, 08 July 2008
Santiago Times
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotim ... montt.html

That's the man, Efraim Zuroff. The article's at least as detailled as the report (omitting only some gruesome particulars of Heim's two-month posting to Mauthausen), save in one aspect: that solid leads from Chilean informants likely will result in Heim's capture imminently. Or, that could merely be disinformation.

Osorno. Big German speaking community.

Great, so I suppose we'll be treated to a picture of this intrepid Nazi hunter posed at the grave, handcuffs in hand. Front page of course.
Heim’s family claims he died of cancer in 1993 in Argentina. The SWC, however, is convinced the Nazi is still alive and kicking.

admin wrote:Osorno. Big German speaking community.

I'd guess that the man lives far out into the countryside, perhaps on the edge of a smallish town. But, true, a foreigner would blend better into a city.

MikieO wrote:. . . . The SWC, however, is convinced the Nazi is still alive and kicking.

That (according to one version of this morning's story -- it was altered for the rebroadcast) is because a large bank account still in Dr. Heim's name is yet unclaimed by his putative heirs, who'd need to do little more than show a death certificate in order to receive US$1,400,000 or so. But I'm not certain that the reasoning employed by the SWC is applicable, as those same heirs might believe that claiming the account would simply be to invite a crippling string of lawsuits which, even if beaten back, could wipe out all value (to say nothing of stress, death threats, etc.).

It's interesting to note that this physician, who served but two months in a concentration camp and merely as a medical officer (he otherwise was attached to combat units, I read), is said now to be the most hated Nazi possibly still alive. Clearly, we're getting to the end of that line. Will the world then turn serious attention to, say, Robert Mugabe and his forty thousand or so murders?

RWS, amen to that era, let's move on. Smacks of slavery reparations and the like.

Oh Mikie! A physician who proudly documented his horrific experiments with human beings being sought after, is hardly like slave reparations in my opinion. He is an accused murderer. Your analogy would be like saying Jeffrey Dahmer, having fled to Costa Rica prior to trial and lived to a ripe old age...ah, let the old feller go. If dear old Ari did nothing at all, it's not an excuse to flee prosecution. For some folks I get the sense that it's rather, "I'm tired of hearing about it, it's over!" And that in itself is the hope of people who flee allegations and alleged crimes. Maybe it will all blow over.

On the same subject of Germans and Nazi's in Patagonia...I believe there was a significant number of Germans who immigrated to Patagonia (both in Argentina and Chile) in the mid-to-late 1800's. They established schools, and helped settle towns (Osorno, for example). Tourists who meet German descendants, and Germans in this area and get to know them are often treated to a brief history of how "my family came to Chile/Argentina 18??". Whether they are being truthful or not, a significant community existed long before the 1940's, and it would have been extremely easy for someone to "fit in", have a history created and a life started without suspicion. I appreciate El P's thoughts on Germans in the lumber industry, however I question whether or not someone trained as a physician would adapt to that lifestyle. I would suspect he would more than likely slip into a gentleman farmer life, or with sufficient funds, set up in a little town, in a little house with a little garden and live a quiet life. If he came with some substantial money, it's possible he found a way to move around...Chile, Argentina, and other South American countries with the help of others who had paved the way, not to mention a possible "wink and nod" from various government officials.

Someone knows.

I gotcha, I wasn't debunking you, just basing it on reports that after Germany, he set up shop as a gynecologist (yikes) and practiced for a couple of years in another easter European country. It's awful hard to sort out facts, from rumors and hysteria. So I based my assumptions on "a leopard doesn't change his spots" and the old dogs new tricks thing. It will certainly be interesting to see how things play out. They either find him, or don't.

half a million bucks P.