Regnery
History
October 8, 2019
War/Germany/Intelligence/Espionage
162157735X |
Review
and Interview by Elise Cooper
The Hidden Nazi by Dean Reuter, Colm Lowery,
and Keith Chester delves into the story about America’s
deal with the devil. It lays out the case that Hans
Kammler was truly the worst of the worst, a general
in the SS who perpetrated war crimes.
Who was this little-known
Nazi? Kammler was an assistant to Heinrich Himmler,
the leader of the Reichsfuhrer-SS, head of the Gestapo
and the Waffen-SS, and Nazi Minister of the Interior.
Kammler was in charge of building the concentration
camps, perfecting the gas chambers/crematoria, deciding
to use slave labor, and supervised underground factories
where the V-2 rocket was built, which could have had
the capability of reaching the US.
This war criminal
appears to have escaped punishment, helped by the Americans,
in exchange for the scientists that would assist in
defeating the Russians in the Cold War. The book begins
with the hypothesis that Kammler did not commit suicide
as was reported and probably lived out his life in South
America. The authors use past and present documents
to prove their assumption, that Kammler cheated justice
and death.
Even more interesting
is the author’s side note that explains how Wherner
von Braun was not the American hero he became. He was
involved in the Nazi program to attack the US with rockets,
had used slave laborers, and kept the US in the dark
about some of his research.
The authors take readers
on a spellbinding, thrilling, and suspenseful hunt in
search of this mysterious war criminal. The Hidden Nazi
reads like a crime thriller. People are once again reminded
how many Nazis survived the war and escaped justice
after they struck a deal with the Devil in exchange
for their secrets.
Elise Cooper:
How did you come across Kammler?
Dean Reuter:
About twelve years ago someone I knew in college had
written a book on WWII. Since I am a lawyer he asked
me for a collaboration agreement between himself and
someone who did a WWII forum on line. Because of my
fascination with WWII, being born in Germany, and my
German heritage, I was fascinated to learn about this
Nazi-figure, Hans Kammler.
Elise: How
would you describe Kammler?
Dean: He
was Himmler’s most brutal henchman, the worst
of the worst. He was described by other SS men as obstinate,
ruthless, and the worst man they knew. These are from
those that were involved in an organized genocide. There
is nothing redeeming about his character.
Elise: As
a German did you reflect on the Nazis?
Dean: I was
born in Heidelberg Germany, because my dad was a US
army officer. My family has been in America since the
late 1800s. Yet, one of the things I struggled with
is how such a highly advanced society could do such
actions. I was appalled by what happened in WWII, particularly
with the Holocaust. Part of the reason I wrote this
book is to make sure what happened is studied so it
does not repeat itself.
Elise: You
delve into the atrocities against the Jews in this book?
Dean: It
happened incrementally. First Jews were denied admission
to college and jobs; they did not allow them to own
businesses; they were forced to sell their homes at
low prices; and then even at the end of the war the
German leaders decided to kill as many Jews as possible,
wanting that to be their legacy.
Elise: There
was actual a program where children were kidnapped?
Dean: Yes.
Himmler wanted to populate the Reich with German Aryan
people. He took over Poland and the Baltic States and
then paid German families to live in the occupied territories.
Since there were not enough German families, the regime
would kidnap children from their families and give them
to their officers’ families to raise. After I
talked to Kammler’s son, during the interview
I thought “could I be looking at one of the kidnapped
children.’ After all, he had lost two children
and was an officer on the rise.
Elise: What
was Kammler’s involvement in the rocket program?
Dean: He
oversaw the V1 and V2 rockets and was in charge of the
research and mass production. He was the person in command
from cradle to grave, from the research to the firing
on England.
Elise: There
is a powerful quote in the book about the Holocaust?
Dean: You
must be referring to, “If Adolf Eichmann was the
architect of the Holocaust, then General Hans Kammler,
was its engineer.” He identified Auschwitz as
the source, drafted up plans to double and then redouble
it, negotiated with the locals, put in irrigation and
waterways, designed the concentration camp barracks,
and the gas chambers/ovens. He actually went from one
camp to another to study methods of the death camps.
Elise: He
also engineered the slave program?
Dean: It
was his idea to turn healthy prisoners into slaves.
He took them and rented them to the government, army,
and private companies. These people were worked to death
and that created the work force.
Elise: You
make the case that the US aided and abetted Kammler’s
escaping justice?
Dean: We
have multiple documents that Kammler surrendered to
the US, was held in US custody, and at the same time
was sought by the War Crimes Branch as a wanted war
criminal. We have this book quote, “Everything
American officials did from that point forward to help
Kammler was aiding and abetting a wanted war criminal.”
Elise: The
US helped him for what reason?
Dean: Kammler
wanted to make sure the Americans had the entire technology
for jet planes, as well as the V-2 rockets and the transcontinental
rocket. He knew he could trade this technology and his
rocket team for his freedom. On April 3, 1945 Kammler
told Albert Speer about the deal with the Americans
and that is the same date he ordered the rocket team
to move down to the American zone. As I say in the book,
if the deal with Kammler was not made, the US might
not have gotten the rocket team and we might have lost
the Cold War. Basically, it was a deal with the Devil
to win the Cold War.
Elise: One
of the most famous scientists the US helped was Von
Braun?
Dean: We
discuss at length in the book how he was Kammler’s
underling who delivered him to the US and made sure
he did not fall into the hands of the Russians. Records
were ignored, scrubbed, and the hard questions about
their involvement in the Nazi regime were not asked.
Von Braun actually withheld documents from the US. Through
our research we found that he hid documents on some
technological advances of the rocket team. He never
told anyone he withheld them. I think he kept them hidden
as a trade, but became trapped, and if he revealed them,
he would look devious. In essence, he betrayed his saviors
by never turning over the documents.
Elise: He also worked on making chemical weapons?
Dean: He
was working on rockets that could reach the US Eastern
seaboard and turning them into chemical weapons. In
his initial interrogation when asked why he did not
tell anyone about this he said, ‘nobody asked.’
Elise: What
do you want readers to get out of the book?
Dean: I hope
it reads as a thriller. But I want them to learn these
heart-wrenching stories and in a sense to have Kammler
face justice and to be exposed.
Elise
and MyShelf.com would like to thank Dean
Reuter
for the interview. |