Fugitives

From Spain to Syria, the thrilling, untold history of Nazi fugitives turned postwar agents – for America, the Soviets, the Third World, or themselves.

After the Second World War, the Allies vowed to hunt Nazi war criminals 'to the ends of the earth'. Yet many slipped away – or were shielded by the West, in exchange for cooperation in the unfolding confrontation with Communism.

Reinhard Gehlen, founder of West German foreign intelligence, welcomed SS operatives into the fold, overestimating their supposed capabilities. This shortsighted decision nearly brought down his cherished service, as the KGB found his Nazi operatives easy to turn or expose. However, Gehlen was hardly alone in this cynical strategy; the American, Soviet, French and Israeli secret services – and nationalist organisations and independence movements – all used former Nazi operatives in the early Cold War.

Nazi fugitives became freelance arms traffickers, spies, and assassins, playing crucial roles in the clandestine contest between the superpowers. From posh German restaurants, smuggler-infested Yugoslav ports, and fascist holdouts in Franco’s Spain to Damascene safehouses and Egyptian country clubs, these spies created a busy network of influence and information, a uniquely combustible ingredient in the covert struggles of the postwar decades.

Unearthing newly declassified revelations from Mossad and other archives, historian Danny Orbach reveals this long-forgotten arena of the Cold War, and its colourful cast of characters. Shrouded in official secrecy, clouded by myth and propaganda, the extraordinary tale of these Nazi agents has never been properly told – until now.

‘Exceptional. A work of prodigious research and original storytelling that sheds remarkable and troubling light on one of the darkest corners of recent history.’ – Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline and East West Street

‘Orbach has delved deeply into notoriously inaccessible sources to uncover the murky stories of ex-Nazis. Few rogues’ galleries can compare with the cast of turncoats, double agents and merchants of death in Fugitives. I found it as gripping as a le Carré novel.’ – Niall Ferguson, Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of Kissinger, 1923-1968

‘A highly original, compulsively readable book, painting an often-shocking picture of post-war Germany and its global connections, from black-market cigarettes to Algerian revolutionaries. Orbach tells an amazing story of former Nazi spies and soldiers plying their trade across Europe and the Middle East.’ – Benjamin Hett, Professor of History, Hunter College CUNY, and author of The Nazi Menace

‘Based on a wealth of hitherto unexplored sources, Orbach’s compelling new book about Nazis’ “Great Game” during the Cold War is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the Middle East, or the aftermath of the Second World War.’ – Shlomo Shpiro, Chairman of the International Intelligence History Association, and Paterson Chair in Security and Intelligence, Bar-Ilan University

'Riveting…a horrifying and entertaining account of the role played by former (or so they claimed) Nazis in Cold War espionage.’ – The Daily Telegraph

‘A gripping and often shocking account of what the former Nazis did next…consistently absorbing and judiciously written.’ – The Times

‘Genuinely revelatory…impressive and scholarly…the many fascinating narratives…could easily provide the raw material for a dozen espionage novels…a lot of writers will be inspired.’ – The New Statesman