HistoryExtra podcast A Nazi mystery
Apr 24, 2020
Philippe Sands, lawyer and acclaimed author of East West Street, explores the life and mysterious death of senior Nazi Otto von Wächter. He uncovers family archives and Charlotte Wächter’s diaries. Topics include command responsibility, postwar escape routes called the ratline, Vatican links and Cold War cover-ups. Personal stakes and forensic sleuthing drive the investigation.
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How The Archive Reached Philippe Sands
- Philippe Sands met Horst Wächter in 2012 and gradually gained access to thousands of family documents.
- Horst eventually sent 10,000 pages to the US Holocaust Museum and a USB stick to Sands, enabling long-term research.
Family Loyalty Shapes Historical Memory
- Horst defends his father as decent while accepting Nazi crimes happened generally.
- Sands argues family loyalty and devotion to Charlotte shaped Horst's protective view.
Documents Can Prove Command Guilt
- Command responsibility makes document-signing officials criminally liable even if they didn't pull the trigger.
- Sands found photographs proving Otto Wächter supervised an early reprisal killing, establishing culpability.
