Key actors — tap for context
Josef Mengele
SS doctor at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, nicknamed the "angel of death" for his sadistic experiments on prisoners.
Why here: The dossier concerns his possible presence in Switzerland.
More info →Gérard Wettstein
Swiss historian who used crowdfunding to challenge the archive's classification in court.
Why here: His appeal triggered the release of the file.
Bergier Commission
Expert commission of the Swiss government (1996–2002) tasked with examining Switzerland's role during the Second World War.
Why here: The decision on a "liberal approach" to its materials opened the Mengele file.
After the war, Mengele fled to Argentina and died in Brazil in 1979 without ever being convicted. It is documented that in 1956 he went skiing with his son in Engelberg. Five years later, his wife rented a monitored apartment in Kloten near Zurich Airport. Whether he himself was there was never confirmed. Wettstein fears that the file will ultimately turn out to be "more black than transparent." El País ↗
Read also: Switzerland released the Mengele file redacted. Historians speak of a scandal and want to take it to court
