The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive

The Sunday Times bestselling new book by the winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize and author of East West Street – a historical detective story that sets out to uncover the truth behind what happened to leading Nazi Otto von Wachter

In this riveting real-life thriller, Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of senior Nazi SS Brigadefuhrer Otto Freiherr von Wachter and his wife, Charlotte. Drawing on a remarkable archive of family letters and diaries, he unveils a fascinating insight into life before and during the war, as a fugitive on the run in the Alps and then in Rome, and into the Cold War. Eventually the door is unlocked to a mystery that haunts Wachter’s youngest son, who continues to believe his father was a good man – what happened to Otto Wachter while he was preparing to travel to Argentina on the ‘ratline’, assisted by a Vatican bishop, and what was the explanation for his sudden and unexpected death?

Publisher: W&N

Paperback

2020

ISBN: 9781474608138