After the Second World War, while Allied authorities hunted down Nazi leaders across Europe, one Catholic bishop secretly helped many of them disappear. Using his position in Rome, Alois Hudal provided false identity papers, arranged travel documents, and assisted some of the most notorious perpetrators of the Holocaust in escaping to South America and the Middle East through the infamous Nazi "ratlines."
Discover how Hudal's admiration for Adolf Hitler, his fierce anti-communism, and his influence within the Catholic Church enabled the escapes of men such as Franz Stangl, Adolf Eichmann, Gustav Wagner, Alois Brunner, Erich Priebke, and Josef Mengele. Explore the origins of the ratlines, Hudal's relationship with the Vatican, and how the bishop who defended Nazi fugitives avoided prosecution until his death in 1963.
Up Next in Season 1
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The Dutch Al Capone Who Hunted Jews f...
Dries Riphagen was one of the most notorious Dutch collaborators of the Second World War. Known as the “Dutch Al Capone,” the Amsterdam gangster exploited the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands to enrich himself through betrayal, theft, and the persecution of Jews.
Working with the Nazi Sicherhe...
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Polish Resistance Heroine Who Became ...
Blanka Kaczorowska was only sixteen when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. She soon joined the Polish underground and was awarded the Cross of Valour on the order of General Stefan Rowecki, commander of the Home Army.
But Kaczorowska ultimately betrayed the resistance she had once s...
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Dutch Prostitute Who Lured Jews into ...
Adriana Valkenburg was a Dutch prostitute and brothel owner who became one of the most notorious collaborators in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. After initially presenting herself as someone willing to help persecuted Jews find hiding places and escape deportation, she began working with the German-con...
