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The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive Hardcover – Deckle Edge, February 2, 2021

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 527 ratings

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A tale of Nazi lives, mass murder, love, Cold War espionage, a mysterious death in the Vatican, and the Nazi escape route to Perón's Argentina,"the Ratline"—from the author of the internationally acclaimed, award-winning East West Street.

"Hypnotic, shocking, and unputdownable." —
John le Carré, internationally renowned bestselling author

Baron Otto von Wächter, Austrian lawyer, husband, father, high Nazi official, senior SS officer, former governor of Galicia during the war, creator and overseer of the Krakow ghetto, indicted after as a war criminal for the mass murder of more than 100,000 Poles, hunted by the Soviets, the Americans, the British, by Simon Wiesenthal, on the run for three years, from 1945 to 1948 . . .

Philippe Sands pieces together, in riveting detail, Wächter's extraordinary, shocking story. Given full access to the Wächter family archives--journals, diaries, tapes, and more--and with the assistance of the Wächters' son Horst, who believes his father to have been a "good man," Sands writes of Wächter's rise through the Nazi high command, his "blissful" marriage and family life as their world was brought to ruin, and his four-year flight to escape justice--to the Tirol, to Rome, and the Vatican; given a new identity, on his way to a new life via "the Ratline" to Perón's Argentina, the escape route taken by Eichmann, Mengele, and thousands of other Nazis. Wächter's escape was cut short by his mysterious, shocking death in Rome, in the midst of the burgeoning Cold War (was he being recruited in postwar Italy by the Americans and the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps or by the Soviet NKVD or by both; or was he poisoned by one side or the other, as his son believes--or by both?) . . .

An extraordinary discovery, told up-close through access to a trove of family correspondence between Wächter and his wife--part historical detective story, part love story, part family memoir, part Cold War espionage thriller.

"Breathtaking, gripping, shattering." --Elif Shafak
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From the Publisher

books for men

european history

world war ii

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gripping ... fascinating and important, told in vivid detail ... fiercely inquiring ... suspenseful ... extraordinary."--The New York Times Book Review

"Fascinating and haunting, a disquieting book that raises more questions than Sands could possibly answer ... a book that should be read and pondered again and again."--
BookPage

"Part detective story and part love story ... Sands's ability to tease out Horst's emotional, and often contradictory, views of his father as an indicted war criminal is fascinating ... he unlocks here a series of provocative questions about culpability, collective guilt, and the advancement of international law."--
LA Review of Books

"Solemn, graceful, and powerful ... rich, compulsively readable ... a far-reaching whodunit into a mysterious death, where even the dead ends are engaging; a wartime love story between a high-ranking SS official and his ambitious wife (and a subtly corrosive portrait of their bewildering and criminal delusions as they enjoy their gilded life); a story of a son who desperately struggles in spite of condemning evidence 'to find the good things' in his deeply flawed parents; an infuriating spotlight on cynically pragmatic ties between American spymasters, the Vatican, and Nazi war criminals; and, in a revelation that blindsides the reader, a resourceful probing into buried familial ties ... Sands is a reliable narrator--gracious, wise, and intrepid ... a remarkable chronicle."--
Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Extraordinary ... fast-paced ... with enough twists and turns to keep the reader grimly absorbed,
The Ratline is an electrifying true crime."--Evening Standard

"A gripping adventure, an astounding journey of discovery, and a terrifying and timely portrait of evil in all its complexity, banality, self-justification, and madness. A stunning achievement."--Stephen Fry

"Poignant ... shocking ... estraordinarily moving."--
Daily Express

"Breathtaking, gripping, and ultimately, shattering. Philippe Sands has done the unimaginable: look a butcher in the eye and tell his story without flinching."--Elif Shafak

"A burningly necessary book. Sands makes a gently unsparing dissection of deception, love, delusion, and ineradicable evil. Elegant, painstaking, passionate, and quietly enraging."--A.L. Kennedy

"A triumph of research and brilliant storytelling."--Antony Beevor

About the Author

PHILIPPE SANDS is an international lawyer and, since 2018, the president of English PEN. He is a frequent commentator on CNN and the BBC World Service. In 2003 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel. He lives in London.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf; First Edition (February 2, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0525520961
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0525520962
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.8 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.48 x 9.53 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 527 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
527 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched and informative. They describe it as an engaging and fast-paced read that keeps them hooked. The writing quality is praised as good and the story is thought-provoking on many levels. Overall, customers find it a valuable addition to Holocaust literature and an interesting complement to East West Street.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

15 customers mention "Readability"11 positive4 negative

Customers find the book engaging and absorbing. They describe it as a fast-paced thriller that keeps them hooked.

"...He’s a good - not great - writer who knows his stuff. His book is good reading as long as you know something about the times and the people." Read more

"...then you should note that the book is infinitely richer and more rewarding. Highly recommended." Read more

"...be fully acknowledged or held to account, but Sands has written a remarkable book that will sear its record into readers’ minds and hearts...." Read more

"This is a very detailed book, and it takes some time to read and digest, but it also is profoundly moving and fascinating...." Read more

14 customers mention "Depth of story"14 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's depth of story. They find it well-researched, with a deft integration of storytelling and facts. The book is described as informative, interesting, and a valuable addition to the historical narrative. Readers also mention that the book is a lesson in historical narrative and how history intertwines with historians.

"...The book is meticulously researched and professionally written, and while some may fault the author for not being more harsh in some of his judgments..." Read more

"...This book is impeccably written and researched. The pacing is such that the flow of history is revealed in a logical, concise way...." Read more

"...Deftly integrating storytelling and facts, The Ratline is a valuable and unique addition to Holocaust literature." Read more

"...The writing is engaging and the author's research is first rate. But this is actually several books...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing quality"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality. They find it well-written and engaging, like a novel.

"...The book is meticulously researched and professionally written, and while some may fault the author for not being more harsh in some of his judgments..." Read more

"...This book is impeccably written and researched. The pacing is such that the flow of history is revealed in a logical, concise way...." Read more

"...The writing is engaging and the author's research is first rate. But this is actually several books...." Read more

"Another piece of superb writting by Sands. Deep digging, exploration ,investigation, probing. He is great asking questions,...." Read more

4 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's pacing. They find the story fascinating and thought-provoking. The book is a valuable addition to Holocaust literature, set in the early Cold War, when former friends turned into foes.

"...Second, the book is a Nazi atrocity story about a man whose name deserves to be as well known as more familiar ones, like Himmler...." Read more

"...law at University College, London and at Harvard University, tells a fascinating story that deals with moral equivocation and intrigue of which..." Read more

"Well written and researched..it is a fascinating story of a Nazi and his Nazi wife who never felt remorse over the past...." Read more

"...Well researched and presented and thought provoking on many levels." Read more

3 customers mention "Interest"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and fast-paced. They say it's a great read and an interesting complement to East West Street.

"...some time to read and digest, but it also is profoundly moving and fascinating...." Read more

"Interesting, fast paced. Really great read!" Read more

"Interesting complement to East West Street..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2021
    Mark Twain quipped that truth is often stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable. Accurate as it is, however, that insightful observation doesn’t do this book justice. An historical narrative, this story ultimately reads like the most engrossing novel you’ve ever read.

    On the surface, it is the story of Baron Otto von Wächter, a womanizing Austrian lawyer who became a high Nazi official, a senior SS officer, and among other things, the former governor of Galicia (Poland) for the Third Reich. He created the infamous Krakow ghetto and was ultimately indicted as a war criminal for the mass murder of more than 100,000 Poles, although the number of people he was responsible for slaughtering was undoubtedly much higher.

    After the war Wachter escaped to Rome, where he hid in plain sight and ultimately died of unknown causes. He was never brought to justice for his war atrocities and much of the most incredible details of the book have to do with why.

    The book is meticulously researched and professionally written, and while some may fault the author for not being more harsh in some of his judgments, I believe that is very much to his credit, because at least one of the major themes of the book is the power, very often abused, of rationalization.

    The story of Otto is also the story of Charlotte, his wife, a protagonist unlike any you have ever encountered, her powers of self-delusion equaled only by her total inability to abide by any moral compass. And it includes an ongoing dialogue and debate between the author and the Wachter’s youngest son, Horst, who spends the entire book, despite finally admitting that he never really knew his father, defending his father as a good man only doing what he was forced to do and, in fact, doing much good along the way.

    The Ratline refers to an escape route set up after the war to help former (and generally unrepentant) Nazis escape through Rome on their way to South America and the Middle East. Otto became a part of it, as did Soviet and American Intelligence, the latter of which may have set up the whole thing.

    In the end, the rationalization is overwhelmingly disheartening, and when I was finally able to put down the book, it left me deeply saddened. Does the end always justify the means? I don’t think so. Yet, few in this story, other than the author himself, seem to have ever considered the question, a fact starkly reinforced by the author’s attempts to be balanced and to reserve his harshest judgments. (A brilliant literary strategy, I think.)

    Charlotte’s failure to condemn Otto, or even repent her own villainous activities and involvement (she stole many precious pieces of art and other valuables), is deplorable. Horst’s insistence on the goodness of his father is too, but perhaps a little more understandable. What truly rocked my core, however, was the degree to which American Intelligence, after the war, embraced known Nazis in order to use them as tools in the Cold War. They clearly knew Otto was in Rome for many months, for example, but never made any attempt to bring him to justice. And both the father and the father-in-law of one man who the author uncovered were American spies after the war, the former, an American Intelligence officer, actually being the handler of the latter, a known SS officer and heinous war criminal.

    What, in the end, do we really stand for if every moral dilemma becomes a transactional decision that we can rationalize in our self-interest as we momentarily define it? What do we teach our children? What ultimate fate do we crystalize?

    In the end, the Nazis slaughtered millions of Jews and other innocent civilians and many of fathers, sons, brothers, and other relatives died trying to stop them. While we shouldn’t blame current generations for the barbarous acts of their elders, none of those lost should ever be forgotten for any reason, whatever the rationalization.
    48 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    Okay, I’ve been trying to figure out what to write in this review of Philippe Sands’ book, “The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive”. The book’s title doesn’t exactly square with what I’d always thought the post-WW2 ratlines were, which were escape routes out of Europe for Nazis to settle in South America or some Middle-East countries. But in the case of Otto von Wachter, governor of the Polish area around Kraków, he got as far as Rome before dying in 1949 of an infection of some sort, presumably caught from swimming in fetid waters.

    I finished a long, convoluted review of the book but as I reread the review, it made very little sense at all. It is difficult to explain what the book is about except that Otto von Wachter was a wanted Nazi war criminal who evaded capture after the war and died before escaping to more pleasant “political” climes. There are other Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, particularly as part of Pope Pius XII’s Vatican, who are also on the run. Otto von Wachter’s wife and son are also part of the story. Horst Wachter has never come to terms with his father’s guilt and his mother, Charlotte, was seen as an abeter to Otto’s activity, both during and after the war.

    Phillipe Sands is an international lawyer who has written a couple of other books about other Nazis. He’s a good - not great - writer who knows his stuff. His book is good reading as long as you know something about the times and the people.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2021
    This book is the follow up to East West Street. It is written by Philippe Sands who is a lawyer specialising in international law.
    In East West Street we are introduced to Otto Wachter, governor of Lemberg and Nazi. In this book we learn a lot more about Otto's journey into national socialism and his deeds in world war II. It ends with him going into hiding after the end of WW II and how he ended up in Rome where he died. There is very little about the actual Ratline in the book. For that history you may want to read Unholy Trinity or Justice not vengeance.
    This is really four stories which intertwine throughout the book. The lead historical characters are Otto and Charlotte Wachter. The real stars are Philippe Sands and Horst Wachter. Horst is one of Otto's six children and the real story is the interaction between the author whose family was killed in the concentration camps and Horst who tries not to see that Otto was responsible for the deaths of Sands' family and many more. Horst is not a holocaust denier and not an anti-semite but his family loyalty skews his reading of history and Sands tries to show him a different world view.
    This book is impeccably written and researched. The pacing is such that the flow of history is revealed in a logical, concise way. It is a lesson in historical narrative and in how history intertwines with historians and families. If you've heard the "Ratline" podcast then you should note that the book is infinitely richer and more rewarding. Highly recommended.
    5 people found this helpful
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