TIMES' REWARD SEEKS SCOURGE OF JOSEF MENGELE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00845R000201260005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: March 26, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/11: CIA-RDP90-00845R000201260005-2
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26 March 1985
Times' reward
seeks scourge of
'Josef Mengele
The Washington Times will pay a
$1 million reward for evidence lead-
ing to the apprehension, trial and
conviction of Nazi war criminal Dr.
Josef Mengele, Editor-in-Chief
Arnaud de Borchgrave announced
today.
`Apprehension and conviction of
Mengele is a first priority for any
person or institution concerned
about human rights yesterday, today
or tomorrow;' said Mr. de Borch-
grave, who called Mengele "a mon-
ster whose successful escape from
justice must be ended:' . - '
Known and feared as the "Angel of
Death" because of the experiments
he performed on prisoners at the
Auschwitz concentration camp in
Nazi-occupied Poland during World
War II, Mengele is the most noto-
rious Nazi war criminal still at large.
Though he has been pursued
since the end of World War II, Men-
gele recently returned to the world
spotlight when a former U.S. Army
counter-intelligence officer said he
believed that American intelligence
services had arrested, questioned
and released Mengele in Austria in
1947.
The reward, guaranteed by an
insurance policy "to insure there is
no question;" Mr de Borchgrave
said, will be offered for one year
from the date this information is
first published in The Washington
Times. The paper has set the follow-
ing conditions for the reward to be'
paid:
?lb convey information regard-
ing Mengele, one should address a
letter to the Editor-in-Chief at The
Washington Times, 3600 New York
Ave., NE, Washington, D.C., 20002.
? Mengele need not be appre-
hended during the period the
reward is offered, but the informa-
tion leading to his arrest must be
submitted to the paper within a year.
? The arrest can occur anywhere
in the world by any recognized gov-
ernment or civic authority. The trial
and conviction also can occur any-
where in the world. But Mengele
must be apprehended, tried and con-
victed for the crimes he committed
at Auschwitz, - and the conviction
must carry a sentence under the
country of trial's law appropriate for
mass murder.
? The reward will be paid after
the conviction directly to the person
supplying the information.
Mr. de Borchgrave stressed that
the reward was not a publicity stunt
and that the paper was making the
offer because of its belief in and
strong support of human rights.
"When you have victims of this
barbarian still living and
graphically testifying of the horrors
Mengele did, it is no publicity stunt;"
he said. "If Dr. Josef Mengele is alive
and allowed to go unpunished, his life
will be proof that our world cannot
forcefully pursue and punish viola-
tions of human rights.... Josef Men-
gele must not escape his obscene
crime."
The Washington Times chose to
make the offer rather than spend the
money to mount its own manhunt
because it believes "providing a
financial incentive they cannnot
resist" to someone who knows Men-
gele's whereabouts would prove
more effective, Mr. de Borchgrave
said. He noted that Sen. Edward
Kennedy, D-Mass., recently pro-
posed a similar approach, using gov-
ernment funds, and that Sen.
Alfonse d'Amato, R-N.Y., and others
recently have generated a concern
that "makes us believe that evidence
will be aggressively pursued by the
United States government at this
iime:'
Known for his good looks and ele-
gant manners, Mengele is accused
of ordering the deaths of 400,000
people, half of whom were children,
at Auschwitz. Survivors say he fre-
quently whistled operas while decid-
ing the fate of his prisoners.
A physician and former major in
the Nazi secret service, Mengele
headed a genetic investigation team
which operated on twins, children
and midgets in the Nazi eugenic pro-
gram in search of methods to pro-
duce perfect Aryan specimens with
blond hair and blue eyes.
Though many believe Mengele is
in Paraguay or elsewhere in South
America, information regarding his
whereabouts is vague and incom-
plete. He is known to have fled
Europe for Paraguay in 1959 and
become a naturalized citizen. He
reportedly dropped out of sight in
1962, however, and his Paraguayan
citizenship was revoked in 1979
under intense international pres-
sure.
A West German magazine
reported over the weekend that
Chancellor Helmut Kohl believes
Mengele is still in Paraguay, despite
claims by that South American gov-
ernment that it knows nothing about
the former Nazi's whereabouts. The
Paraguayan government has been
controlled for the last 30 years by the
son of a Bavarian immigrant.
Sources said Mr. Kohl would
press Paraguayan President Alfredo
Stroessner for clarification when
Mr. Stroessner visits West Germany
in July.
The Times "may very well" offer
similar rewards for the apprehen-
sion, trial and conviction of other
notorious human rights violators,
Mr. de Borchgrave said. But for now,
he hopes to focus international atten-
tion on the search for Mengele.
"Mengele is such a heinous case,
particularly if he is allowed to go
unpunished, that we believe he,
above all others, at this time must
not be allowed to escape justice;' he
said.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/06/11: CIA-RDP90-00845R000201260005-2