After World War II, thousands of Nazis and their collaborators evaded justice by escaping to the Americas, both North and South. Rumors circulated that a secret organization named “Odessa” was ferrying the Nazis out of Europe. But that was just a myth. The truth, though, is no less startling. As University of Nebraska historian Gerald Steinacher has uncovered in newly opened archives, the Red Cross, Vatican, and CIA all played a role, sometimes unwittingly, in the “ratline” from Germany to Italy and on to the New World. Join Steinacher as he discusses this extraordinary episode in 20th-century history with the Third Coast Audio Festival’s Gwen Macsai, herself the child of Holocaust survivors.
This program is presented in partnership with College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
