1 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: Diversion podcasts. A note this episode contains descriptions of graphic 2 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: violence listener's discretion as advised judgment. Day had arrived February 3 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: in sal Paolo. Herbert Sukers was getting ready to board 4 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: his flight, which left around seven am. The trip to 5 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: Mount of the Dao would take about two and a 6 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:47,639 Speaker 1: half hours. He put on a dress shirt, a light 7 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:51,400 Speaker 1: colored suit and a tie. I could just picture it. 8 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: Although Zookers was rarely photographed wearing a suit, it was 9 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: as if he was going to his first day on 10 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: a job, dressing for success. He said goodbye to his family. 11 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:06,680 Speaker 1: His flight was Air France Flight three. He got to 12 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: the airport early and sat in the departure lounge. He 13 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: must have been excited worried too. It was a big 14 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,040 Speaker 1: deal for him, this whole thing. He wanted a different 15 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: sort of life. He knew that at sixty four he 16 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 1: wouldn't get many more chances, so he was taking a risk, 17 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: a big risk that Anton Kunzla was on the level. 18 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: But even in taking a risk, he needed a little insurance. 19 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: So underneath the suit was his nine millimeter Baretta. You 20 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: could still carry a gun on a commercial flight. It 21 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: wasn't until the late sixties, when there was a rash 22 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: of hijackings in the US, mostly by radicals who wanted 23 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: to go to Cuba, that the policy changed. Sukers carried 24 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: his gun in a leather holster as he boarded the 25 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: plane and headed off into what he must have imagined 26 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: was his new life. Yeah, I'm Stephen Talty and this 27 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:20,919 Speaker 1: is good. Assassin's hunting the butcher. So it's the first 28 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: file was to find and not been looking forward, while 29 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: the second part was the minor Nazi and killing. We 30 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: must thwart this shameful forces, the end of a trayal 31 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: and blood and horror, the end of a man whose 32 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: name will be written in inform episode nine Judgment Day. 33 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: The men in them Sod Kill Team were spread out 34 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: in various hotels across Montevideo, Uruguay. They woke up early 35 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: on that February morning and began to get ready for 36 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: the Butcher's arrival. Neo had the first assignment. He had 37 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,640 Speaker 1: to go to the airport and pick up Suckers. He 38 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: had to check Sukers into the hotel and confirmed their 39 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: seats on their flights to Chile. He had to convince 40 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: the butcher. They had a busy day ahead, which would 41 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: include driving around the city looking at properties. They also 42 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,800 Speaker 1: was stopped by Cassa Kubertini for a look at the 43 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: company's temporary headquarters, who was a full schedule. Neo didn't 44 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: want to give suckers much time to think. The agent 45 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: got up, showered and took librium. Mio had a condition. 46 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,600 Speaker 1: He sweat a lot, and because he was concerned the 47 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: paranoid sukers might take his sweating as a sign of nervousness, 48 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: Mio had planned ahead. He'd gone to a drug store 49 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: back in Paris and asked the pharmacist to recommend something. 50 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: Demand prescribed an anti anxiety drug called librium, and when 51 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,880 Speaker 1: Mio had tested it, he found it cured his problem. 52 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: So Mio took his librium. Then he dressed and took 53 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: the elevator down to the lobby. As he passed by 54 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 1: the news stand, the headline on one of the papers 55 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: they I read Bond Government will discuss tomorrow the investigation 56 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: of Nazi crimes. The story covered a meeting about the 57 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: amnesty debate coming up in the German parliament. The amnesty 58 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: was getting more and more international attention. In the U S. 59 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: The c P had added its name to Simon Enthal's letter, 60 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: pressure was building both for the amnesty and against it. 61 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: At one point, politicians in Germany tried to avoid a crisis. 62 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,520 Speaker 1: Pro amnesty legislators made an offer to the anti amnesty forces. 63 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: They would change the statute if ordinary s s men 64 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:59,279 Speaker 1: would kill during the war were given an amnesty. To some, 65 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: it wasn't such a crazy idea. Many countries gave soldiers 66 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: a free pass for crimes that were committed on the 67 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 1: battlefield and sometimes off the battlefield. It had been done before. 68 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: The amnesty opponents agreed to consider the offer, but when 69 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,480 Speaker 1: they read the actual text of the proposed statute, they 70 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: were shocked. It wasn't just ordinary soldiers that would go free. 71 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:28,040 Speaker 1: It was quote all perpetrators within the Nationalist Socialist administrative 72 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,919 Speaker 1: machinery unquote. Who that included wasn't spelled out exactly, but 73 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: it sounded like every Nazi, every camp commander, every criminal, 74 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:44,800 Speaker 1: every killer, like the butcher free forever. They rejected the deal. 75 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,440 Speaker 1: There were other stories coming out of Germany too, Some 76 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:54,159 Speaker 1: of them were kind of strange. One journalist had written 77 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: to the Justice Minister. Something had occurred to this journalist. 78 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: Adolph Hitler had never been indict did for ordering the 79 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: killing of six million Jews. What if he'd survived the 80 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: bunker where he'd supposedly committed suicide. What if his death 81 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:12,279 Speaker 1: was a fake? Some people believed that he was alive 82 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: and well and living out his life and hiding. So 83 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: the journalists asked the Justice minister a question, if the 84 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:22,400 Speaker 1: amnesty goes into effect, could Hitler walk down at Berlin 85 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: Street without being arrested. The Justice Ministry, well, they kind 86 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: of freaked out. They didn't know the answer to that question. 87 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 1: They found some war crimes experts and asked them, could 88 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,760 Speaker 1: Hitler face any jail time. The answer was yes and no. 89 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: The former Nazi leader could be charged with political crimes, 90 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,919 Speaker 1: with abusing the power of the state, that was true, 91 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: but he couldn't be charged with his main crime, murder. 92 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,279 Speaker 1: That was disturbing. So the German courts did something about it. 93 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: Twenty years after the fur had supposedly died, they opened 94 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: proceeding against him. They even requested an arrest warrant in 95 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: his name. It made newspapers all over the world. The 96 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,920 Speaker 1: Atlanta Journal Constitution reported, if Adolf Hitler returns from the dead, 97 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 1: you will have to answer for his crimes. It was 98 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 1: kind of a novelty story. Hitler was dead, who really 99 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: cared what he was charged with. But the incident did 100 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: make a point. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of killers 101 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,760 Speaker 1: out there who didn't have an arrest warrant in their name. 102 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: If the amnesty passed, Hitler could still be thrown in 103 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: prison with the men who killed in his name, they 104 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 1: would be untouchable by now. Thousands of people around the 105 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: world that marched against Germany's planned amnesty in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, 106 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: New Orleans, Washington, Tel Aviv, in Paris, they were protests. 107 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 1: A journalist interviewed one of the marchers in Toronto. She 108 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: told him, I am the only survivor of Bergen Belson, 109 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,440 Speaker 1: of my entire family. I am so lonely without my relatives. 110 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: The full debate in the German Parliament was scheduled from 111 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: March tenth, two and a half weeks away. The MISSAD 112 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: team was cutting things close. Maybe they thought the fresher 113 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: Zuker's crimes were the minds of German legislators, the better 114 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: it was for their cause. Maybe it just took this 115 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: long to get the butcher into position, but they knew 116 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: they didn't have a lot of time to mount another 117 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: mission if things went wrong. Neia was composed with tense. 118 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: He wrote later, an exciting chapter in my life was 119 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: about to come to an end. Six months of a 120 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: constant war of wits, tension and uncertainty, and the tireless 121 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,960 Speaker 1: efforts invested in order to bring us to this moment. 122 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 1: He thought about his parents, but he was focused on 123 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: the mission. Your Reeve was all up early that morning. 124 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:03,560 Speaker 1: He wanted to get a look at Suker's to see 125 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,800 Speaker 1: what he was wearing. That way, he could identify him 126 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 1: on site so there'd be no mistakes. Later in the day, 127 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: as Mio got into his rented VW Beetle, your Reef 128 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: was already driving to the airport. He would stand in 129 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: the visitors gallery with the families and friends of passengers 130 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: arriving on different flights. Your Reef would hang out with 131 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: them and hope to get a look at the butcher. 132 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: When he finally showed up, sudep a meat at Kafir, 133 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: had their breakfast, then headed to Kassa Kupertini. They had 134 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: perhaps the most difficult job waiting. The plan was for 135 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,520 Speaker 1: Meo to lead the butcher into the house. The killed. 136 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,000 Speaker 1: Team would rush and immobilize him. Then the verdict would 137 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:50,440 Speaker 1: be read out. We planned a very brief court martial 138 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: and victory intended to read the charges to him. Is 139 00:09:55,160 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: the name of the Selti thousand Jews from Riga and Latvia, children, women, 140 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: the elderly, and men who had been mounted by him 141 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:11,839 Speaker 1: over twenty years ago. We wanted him to know it's 142 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: this entire long affair with Anton Kunzl had been designed 143 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,720 Speaker 1: only to set the stage for the moment of revenge. 144 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:27,320 Speaker 1: It's the name of his innocent victims. And then we 145 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:32,520 Speaker 1: were going to put a bullet in his head. After 146 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: Dukers was dead, they would put him in the leather 147 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: trunk and they would leave a printed version of the 148 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: verdict with the body to explain why the assassination had 149 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,319 Speaker 1: been carried out. The world would know the truth about 150 00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: Herbert Sukers and men like him. There was one line 151 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: in the verdict that I thought was especially interesting. The 152 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: entire long affair had been designed only to set the 153 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:00,960 Speaker 1: stage for the moment of revenge. It was clear that 154 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: the team wanted Zukers to know that he'd been tricked 155 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,199 Speaker 1: and betrayed by Anton kunz La, a man who didn't 156 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: really exist. I wondered why. Maybe it was because Zukers 157 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 1: himself had betrayed many of his Jewish friends and acquaintances 158 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 1: in Riga. He drank with them before the war and 159 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: made them believe he was their friend, and then he 160 00:11:21,360 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: had murdered them. Many survivors talked about how this double 161 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:29,959 Speaker 1: cross made the war years even more painful for them. Now, 162 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,960 Speaker 1: the Massad team wanted to re enact that betrayal with 163 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: the butcher himself. He wouldn't just be executed, he would 164 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:39,719 Speaker 1: be executed in the same way that the Jews of 165 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: Latvia had gone to their deaths. Mio got to the 166 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,280 Speaker 1: airport early and went to the visitors gallery. He looked 167 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,880 Speaker 1: at the arrival's board. Suckers flight was listed on time. 168 00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 1: He inspected the people around him. He spotted your Reeve. 169 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: His face turned away from me. They didn't want anyone 170 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,120 Speaker 1: to see that they knew each other. They didn't even 171 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:11,880 Speaker 1: exchange a glance. At around nine thirty am, Air France 172 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: flight eighty three touchdown. The airplane stairs were pushed to 173 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: the door and passengers began coming out. Neo could see 174 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:26,000 Speaker 1: them clearly. Finally, Zookers emerged. He spotted Mio held up 175 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: one hand making a V for victory sign. He was 176 00:12:29,800 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: smiling from ear to ear. Mio smiled back. The butcher 177 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,959 Speaker 1: seemed to be in a good mood. As Zukers waved 178 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: to him. Neo could see the handgun that he was 179 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: carrying in the shoulder holster. Mio knew he usually liked 180 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,599 Speaker 1: to travel with a gun, but now it was confirmed. 181 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: This meant that if the team failed to bring Zukers down, 182 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,000 Speaker 1: he might be able to wound or kill several of 183 00:12:55,040 --> 00:13:01,680 Speaker 1: its members. Neo felt his anxiety creep up your reeve. 184 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: Standing among the families, spotted Zukers too. He recognized him 185 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: from the photographs he studied in Paris. He memorized what 186 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:11,880 Speaker 1: the pitcher was wearing, then turned and slipped away from 187 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: the crowd. He headed back to the parking lot. We 188 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:21,760 Speaker 1: jumped in his car and drove over to Cassa Kuppertini. Meanwhile, 189 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:25,080 Speaker 1: Suckers found me a waiting for him. The two shook hands. 190 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:30,440 Speaker 1: Suckers was smiling. He passed on greetings from his wife 191 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: and children, and he asked me to catch him up 192 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: on our plans. They told him, believe me only the best, 193 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:42,080 Speaker 1: I told him. We have great plans and you're part 194 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,199 Speaker 1: of The two walked to the VW and headed towards 195 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,520 Speaker 1: the city. Neo drove as naturally as possible, chatting with 196 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 1: Sukers watching his pedometer, he made sure to stay below 197 00:13:54,280 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: the speed limit. When Meo parked in front of the 198 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:00,800 Speaker 1: Victoria Plaza hotel, Suckers took his suit case and went 199 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:05,320 Speaker 1: to check in. He had room seventeen nineteen. When he 200 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,120 Speaker 1: came back down from dropping off his luggage, he was happy. 201 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:13,240 Speaker 1: He remarked to Meo, what a beautiful room. They went 202 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: to the airline office. Nea wanted to confirm their flight 203 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,680 Speaker 1: from Uruguay to Chile. Knowing that they had tikes out 204 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: of Uruguay would help convince Sukers that nothing out of 205 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: the ordinary was going to happen. Why wouldn't assassins spend 206 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: money on plane tickets they weren't going to use. The 207 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: two went to the office. As Mio confirmed the tickets, 208 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 1: he spoke loud enough for Zukers to hear. Later on, 209 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: during the investigation of the whole matter, the clerk said 210 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: that he thought that two men were friends. He was 211 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: acting was pretty good. After they had the tickets, Neo 212 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,320 Speaker 1: and Sukers went to meet with a real estate agent. 213 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 1: They toured a few houses looking for deals for Kunzla's company. 214 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: Every time they visited a house, Meal made sure to 215 00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:02,720 Speaker 1: enter first. Then the butcher followed him in one last 216 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:19,160 Speaker 1: bit of conditioning before they headed to Cassa Kubertini. Hey, 217 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: this is Stephen Talty, the host of this podcast, Good 218 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 1: Assassin's Hunting the Butcher. This podcast project came out of 219 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: my work on a related book called The Good Assassin. 220 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: If you want to explore other parts of this story, 221 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: check it out. It's not just a book version of 222 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: the podcast. I spend time on different aspects of the mission. 223 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: There are chapters diving into World War two history that 224 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: we didn't cover in the podcast, and the book works 225 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: as a kind of a companion to the listening experience. 226 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: You can purchase a copy of The Good Assassin on Amazon, 227 00:15:52,400 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: Apple Books, and on bookshop dot org. Thanks After they'd 228 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,280 Speaker 1: visited a few properties, Neio looked down at the fuel 229 00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:10,000 Speaker 1: gage was getting low. He pointed this out to Suckers 230 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: and they pulled into a nearby gas station. Meo had 231 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,680 Speaker 1: let the fuel run down on purpose. Across the street 232 00:16:16,720 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: from the gas station, a red car was Parked inside 233 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:22,760 Speaker 1: the car was the local Jewish man from the Foreign 234 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,080 Speaker 1: Service that your Reeve had found to act as a lookout. 235 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: He watches Meo filled the tank, then took off. He 236 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:31,920 Speaker 1: would report back to the kill team that the two 237 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: men were on schedule. Neo and Sukers looked at a 238 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: few more houses. Then Mio told the real estate agent 239 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: that they think about it. He'd call them tomorrow let 240 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: them know about their decision. There's another psychological cue to zookers. 241 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,360 Speaker 1: We have plans for tomorrow. We have a flight to Chile. 242 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: Nothing bad is going to happen. It was about noon 243 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: at this point. After they left the real estate agent, 244 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 1: Neo and Sukers got back in the car. Neo had 245 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,640 Speaker 1: a sudden idea. The house he'd runted as the headquarters 246 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 1: was close by. Why didn't they go and have a look. 247 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,680 Speaker 1: It wasn't up to his usual standards, but he wanted 248 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: Sukers to see it. The butcher agreed. They headed toward 249 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: the ocean, drove through the Crossco neighborhood, and, as Fernando 250 00:17:20,800 --> 00:17:27,920 Speaker 1: but Zoni tells us, into Shangri Law. It was an 251 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: ordinary tuesday, not too much traffic, pedestrians strolling by, people 252 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: going to lunch at the casa. The kill team had 253 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,920 Speaker 1: undressed down to their underwear. If MEO's reports had been correct, 254 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,919 Speaker 1: the encounter would be bloody, and they didn't want the 255 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: evidence of a struggle on their clothes. They waited in 256 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: the hot, humid room, listening to the workers banter next 257 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:57,120 Speaker 1: door and the noise of their tools. They checked their watches. 258 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: Neo and Sukers reached the Cassa Kupertini. As Mio pulled 259 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,000 Speaker 1: into the driveway, he saw the four or five men 260 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,399 Speaker 1: working on the house next door. They might hear what 261 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,560 Speaker 1: was about to happen, but there was no turning back. 262 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: Now the killed team was inside. The target was here. 263 00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: Now all Meo had to do was get him into 264 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:27,720 Speaker 1: the house. Here we are, this is the house. Meo 265 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,160 Speaker 1: stopped the car, put it in park, cut the engine. 266 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,800 Speaker 1: Before Zukers could say anything, me was out of the 267 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: car and walking towards the front door. This is it, 268 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:43,080 Speaker 1: I thought, this is the moment of truth. He must 269 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:46,399 Speaker 1: follow me. Now. From the corner of my eye, I 270 00:18:46,400 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 1: could see Tukers get out of the car, still walking. 271 00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: I had already pulled the house keys out of my pocket. 272 00:18:53,800 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: Tuckers was about ten or twelve feet behind me. Meal 273 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: put the key in the lock, turned it, grabbed a handle, 274 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: and pushed the door in. It was kind of dark inside, 275 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,360 Speaker 1: no lights on. The four Massad members were lined up 276 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:15,439 Speaker 1: on either side of the door. Neil gave them a 277 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: quick glance, then positioned himself behind the open door. The 278 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: men listened. They could hear Sucre's footsteps as he approached 279 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: the house. Then suddenly the butcher was coming through the door. 280 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: The change from bright sunshine to semi darkness blinded him 281 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,439 Speaker 1: for split second. That's when Neo slammed the door shut 282 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: behind him and they killed team pounced. Three of the 283 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,640 Speaker 1: men grabbed at Sucre's arms to immobilize him. The last one, 284 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: We're not sure who it was, dashed behind him, preparing 285 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,440 Speaker 1: to execute the Cropmaga maneuver a single downward blow that 286 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 1: would drop the butcher to his knees, but immediately all 287 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:03,400 Speaker 1: hell broke loose. Saucers pushed the men away and started shouting. 288 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: The agent behind him couldn't give the knockout blow. Saucers 289 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: was too quick. He was already turning to run back 290 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:12,920 Speaker 1: out of the house. He shook off the Massad agents, 291 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,640 Speaker 1: thrashing at them with his arms. Sucres worst nightmare had 292 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,359 Speaker 1: come true. He realized immediately he had walked into a trap. 293 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:23,600 Speaker 1: But me, it was a nightmare, the thing he'd fear 294 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: the most, it was also coming true. The butcher was 295 00:20:27,119 --> 00:20:32,119 Speaker 1: attacking the Massad agents and he was winning. He fought 296 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: like a violent and wounded animal. He freed one hand, 297 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 1: grabbed the door handle and tried to pull it open. 298 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,120 Speaker 1: We leaned against the door, trying to push him into 299 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: the center of the room. The fear of death gave 300 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: him incredible strength. Sucers was screaming, bellowing. He pulled back 301 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 1: on the door handle that came ripping out of the wood. 302 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,760 Speaker 1: He seemed to have this superhuman strength. The others grabbed 303 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: of his arms, his throat. They tried to beat him 304 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: to the ground, but nothing worked. In the chaos, knew 305 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:09,040 Speaker 1: heard a voice. The butcher was shouting. Something was in German. 306 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 1: Let me speak, let me speak. Zukers must have known 307 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: why he was being ambushed. Clearly these were Jewish agents 308 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 1: and he wanted to talk to them. This I found fascinating. 309 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 1: What was the butcher going to say? Did he think 310 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: he had an explanation for thirty murders. What could he 311 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: possibly have said? They would have calmed these avengers and 312 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:35,199 Speaker 1: caused them to stop the mission. It didn't matter. Massad 313 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: agents didn't want to listen, and the fight went on. 314 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: The men wrestled with each other in a fury. In 315 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: the melee, Zuker's glasses dropped to the floor, and then 316 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: something really bad. Sucres was, of course armed. Epistol wasn't 317 00:21:48,800 --> 00:21:51,840 Speaker 1: the leather holster. It was the baretta that he'd shown 318 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 1: me a month before when he visited Suker's home. Now, 319 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,679 Speaker 1: Zukers shoved one of the Massad men away and reached 320 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:01,639 Speaker 1: for the gun. The men rushed at Sukers. Mio had 321 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,760 Speaker 1: joined in by now The team was getting desperate. You 322 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,320 Speaker 1: reef grabbed at the butcher's face. He was trying to 323 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,120 Speaker 1: get his hand over Zuker's mouth to stop him from 324 00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: screaming and alerting the workers next door, but his index 325 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,880 Speaker 1: finger slipped into Suker's mouth. The putcher immediately clamped down 326 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: and bit off the tip of his finger. The reef 327 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:24,320 Speaker 1: snatched his hand away, screaming and pain. They were all 328 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 1: gasping now, trying to bring the butcher down. But then 329 00:22:27,720 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 1: one of the team members we don't know who spotted 330 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,720 Speaker 1: something lying on the floor. It was a hammer that 331 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,439 Speaker 1: had been left behind after some recent worked on the house. 332 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,840 Speaker 1: He snatched it up, turned towards Suker's and brought the 333 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:45,560 Speaker 1: hammer down on his head. Blood went everywhere, some even 334 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:49,240 Speaker 1: spurted up on the ceiling. Investigators would later find it there. 335 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:53,679 Speaker 1: Zuker's was badly wounded, his skull was fractured, blood pouring 336 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: down his face, and yet he still kept fighting. It 337 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,919 Speaker 1: was almost hard to believe how tough he was. Finally, 338 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: one of them assad men grabbed his gun from the 339 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: pile of clothes. He came up to Zookers, whose face 340 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,960 Speaker 1: was partially hidden by the blood flowing over it, and 341 00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:12,239 Speaker 1: fired two bullets into his head. Zookers collapsed to the 342 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: floor and lay still. The only sound in the room 343 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,680 Speaker 1: was from your reeve. He was moaning in pain, holding 344 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,840 Speaker 1: his wounded hand. They needed to get it taken care of, 345 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: but first they had some business to attend to. The 346 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,879 Speaker 1: men stood there listening for a moment. They didn't hear 347 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: any police sirens, and they could hear the voices of 348 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: the workers next door. The workers didn't seem to be anxious. 349 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: They were talking normally, so it seemed that nobody had 350 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 1: heard the shots. Sude went to the backyard and turned 351 00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:53,440 Speaker 1: on the hose. One by one, the men went out 352 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,199 Speaker 1: to wash the blood off. Then they put their clothes 353 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 1: on and went back to Zookers. His shirt was so 354 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,960 Speaker 1: with blood. They went through his pockets and found his passport. 355 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 1: They took the bretta, then dragged the leather trunk out 356 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:12,320 Speaker 1: of another room lifted Sucker's body into it. When the 357 00:24:12,320 --> 00:24:16,760 Speaker 1: body was inside, Massadman placed two pieces of paper inside 358 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,520 Speaker 1: a folder on top of the body. The first was 359 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 1: a verdict considering the gravity of the crimes of which 360 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: Herbert Suckers is accused, notably his personal responsibility and the 361 00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: murder of thirty thousand men, women and children, And considering 362 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: the terrible cruelty shown by Herbert Suckers and carrying out 363 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:47,200 Speaker 1: his crimes, we condemned, they said, Suckers to death. Give 364 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:55,720 Speaker 1: us executed on February twenty third. It was signed those 365 00:24:56,359 --> 00:25:01,439 Speaker 1: who will never forget. They late a second document inside 366 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 1: the folder. Bio never mentioned it. He talked about the verdict, 367 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: but not this other piece of paper. I was able 368 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: to find out what it was through police and newspaper reports. 369 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: It was from the Nuremberg trials, where the leaders of 370 00:25:17,119 --> 00:25:20,360 Speaker 1: the Nazi machine were put on trial by the Allies 371 00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,919 Speaker 1: right after the war. The page was part of the 372 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,480 Speaker 1: testimony of a man who saw a large group of 373 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:31,760 Speaker 1: Jews being murdered in the Ukraine. The British Chief Prosecutor, 374 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:36,359 Speaker 1: Sir Hartley Shawcross read this testimony in front of Nazi 375 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,640 Speaker 1: war criminals sitting in the defendant's box, and it's haunting 376 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: to hear even today without screaming, all weeping. These people, undressed, 377 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:58,160 Speaker 1: stowed around in family a groups, gifted each other, said farewells, 378 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: and waited put a side from another ss man who 379 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,120 Speaker 1: stood near the pit, also with a whip in his hand. 380 00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,760 Speaker 1: During the fifteen minutes that I stood near, I heard 381 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:17,040 Speaker 1: no complaint or flee for mercy. I watched a family 382 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,840 Speaker 1: of about eight persons, a man and a woman, both 383 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 1: about fifty, with their children of about one, eight ten 384 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: and two grown up daughters for about twenty or twenty four. 385 00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: An old woman with snow white hair was holding the 386 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: one year old child in her arms and singing to 387 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:43,560 Speaker 1: it and tickling it. The child was toying with delight. 388 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,800 Speaker 1: The couple were looking on with tears in their eyes. 389 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: The father was holding the hand of a boy about 390 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,800 Speaker 1: ten years old and speaking to him something. The boy 391 00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:01,440 Speaker 1: was fighting his tears. The are the pointed to the sky, 392 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: stroked his head, and the same to explain something to 393 00:27:05,840 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 1: the board. A few moments later, the family was dead. 394 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 1: Why did me on the others include this account, He 395 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,680 Speaker 1: never said, but I think it was placed there because 396 00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,720 Speaker 1: it was about the victims. They were the real reason 397 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: that me on the other agents were inside Cassa Kopertini 398 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: on February when the news about Suckers went out into 399 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:36,560 Speaker 1: the world. Massad didn't want the mission to be just 400 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: about the butcher. They wanted the murder Jews to be 401 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:52,119 Speaker 1: remembered too, at least that's my guess. With the verdict 402 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: red and the trunk closed, the men were almost done. 403 00:27:55,920 --> 00:28:00,359 Speaker 1: You reeve told the team, we lean and we've finish. 404 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:03,159 Speaker 1: So they wiped down the walls and tried to make 405 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: sure they hadn't left any clues behind. Then they left. 406 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: Neo dropped off his car on the street near the hotel, 407 00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:15,160 Speaker 1: and the others did the same with their rentals. They 408 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,959 Speaker 1: took care of some other small details and then they 409 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:22,119 Speaker 1: met at a cafe in downtown Montepdeo. There they had 410 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:27,800 Speaker 1: a drink. Weaver at one with ourselves, and thou did 411 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 1: if we felt proud of having the privilege taking part 412 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: is this opimasion. After they finished their drinks, the men 413 00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:42,400 Speaker 1: got up and left the cafe. One by one. They 414 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,720 Speaker 1: took two separate flights to Buenos Aires, sitting apart from 415 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,000 Speaker 1: each other. By the end of the day they were 416 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: all out of Uruguay. Neo had one thing left to 417 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,640 Speaker 1: do in South America. He wrote a letter to the 418 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: butcher's family to throw them off the trail. He addressed 419 00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: the letter to Zucres himself as if he didn't know 420 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: the man was dead. In it, he said that he'd 421 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: found out they've been followed in Uruguay by two strangers. 422 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,640 Speaker 1: Mia wrote that he fled to Chile in order to 423 00:29:13,680 --> 00:29:17,480 Speaker 1: get away from these mysterious people. He implied that he 424 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,760 Speaker 1: was a Nazi war criminal himself, that he and Suckers 425 00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 1: had escaped some kind of kidnapping attempt. He sent the 426 00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: letter in a large envelope to a friend in Chile, 427 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 1: who put stamps on it and mailed it to Suckers 428 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:34,080 Speaker 1: family in sal Paulo. It would buy the team some 429 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: time to get back to Europe to get rid of 430 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,040 Speaker 1: their cover identities. The family would think that Sucres was 431 00:29:40,080 --> 00:29:42,440 Speaker 1: still in Uruguay and that there was no need to 432 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:47,959 Speaker 1: call the police In Buenos Aires. Famisade agents boarded their 433 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: flights back to France. When he arrived in Paris, Nio 434 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:54,560 Speaker 1: went to a branch of the bank he'd opened in 435 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: the count at under the name of Anton Kunsla. He 436 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:02,000 Speaker 1: withdrew the money and closed the account. He got rid 437 00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: of the passport and anything that connected him with the 438 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: Austrian businessman. The others did the same with their documents. 439 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:14,920 Speaker 1: It was over. The mission had been a success. Now 440 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:31,600 Speaker 1: they waited for the story to hit the headlines. By 441 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 1: now it was early March, the debate about the Statute 442 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 1: of Limitations was a week away. Massad was hoping that 443 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:42,360 Speaker 1: the body would be discovered and that stories about the 444 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,720 Speaker 1: butcher and his terrible crimes would run in newspapers and 445 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: on TV channels all over the world. Soon, Meo and 446 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 1: the others were now living ordinary lives in Paris. They 447 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 1: went to breakfast, went to the movies, socialized with their friends. 448 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 1: But every morning they bought newspapers and scanned them for 449 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: the news. A couple of days passed, then another. There 450 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: was nothing on the TV or in the papers. Neo 451 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:17,440 Speaker 1: and the others started to get nervous. It turned out 452 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,480 Speaker 1: that the team had made a crucial mistake. It was 453 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: a mistake that revealed a blind spot in their training 454 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 1: and in their view of the world. As massad agents, 455 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,360 Speaker 1: the five men were trained to hide from the press. 456 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,560 Speaker 1: They avoided journalists at all costs. Publicity was poisoned for 457 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: us by agency, and so for years they've been taught 458 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,720 Speaker 1: how to conceal facts to avoid attention. That was great, 459 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,360 Speaker 1: except when you needed attention. Their training had made them 460 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:53,240 Speaker 1: ignorant about how reporters actually worked. They thought the body 461 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:58,120 Speaker 1: would just be discovered, like by accident. They never really 462 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,760 Speaker 1: thought about how that would have up. They'd hidden their 463 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:06,080 Speaker 1: tracks too well. No one was looking for Herbert Sukers, 464 00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: and no one knew about the body and the trunk. 465 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: The whole point of the mission was slipping away finally 466 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: from Sode. Agents started calling newspapers in Germany to report 467 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: the assassination. No response. The reporters they spoke to thought 468 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,200 Speaker 1: they were cranks. Something about a body and a trunk 469 00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,800 Speaker 1: and Nazis and never forgetting what was that even about. 470 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: Journalists are busy and Uruguay was on the other side 471 00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:37,680 Speaker 1: of the world. Me and the others had no idea 472 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 1: how to get a reporter interested in a body in 473 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:45,840 Speaker 1: some random house in Montevideo. So they wrote letters describing 474 00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: the mission and why it was done, and they sent 475 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: them to a bunch of news agencies. One of them 476 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,640 Speaker 1: reached a reporter. We don't know his name, but he 477 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: read the letter and thought it was interesting. He decided 478 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,040 Speaker 1: to call the police in Montevideo. When he reached them, 479 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,280 Speaker 1: he asked about a murder of a Nazi named Herbert Suckers. 480 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 1: Did they know anything about it? They didn't, but murders 481 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: get attention. The file landed on the desk of the 482 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: head of the Uruguayan Intelligence Service, a man named Alejandro Otero, 483 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,280 Speaker 1: and according to Uruguayan writer Fernando Budizoni, this wasn't the 484 00:33:24,320 --> 00:33:29,120 Speaker 1: type of thing he typically handled. Look intelligence service in 485 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:33,000 Speaker 1: uy was a joke and the data was the chief 486 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:38,000 Speaker 1: was this joke. In fact, prior to this, Potero's main 487 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:42,680 Speaker 1: qualification didn't exactly have much to do with intelligence or 488 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:48,240 Speaker 1: law enforcement. He was the chief of the keeny Euruuayan 489 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:53,120 Speaker 1: Intelligence Service. A young man, very competent, who are so, 490 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: was a soccer referee in the sixties and in uy 491 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: your soccer is very popular, wash, very very But despite 492 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,400 Speaker 1: his inexperience, Otero assembled some officers and got in a 493 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:14,480 Speaker 1: patrol car to try to crack the case. He wandered 494 00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:19,440 Speaker 1: around few days and they see that in the end 495 00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,440 Speaker 1: they smell of the car. He guided him to the house. 496 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:29,400 Speaker 1: Jesus true. The officers knocked on the front door, no answer, 497 00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:34,000 Speaker 1: but they smelled the stench coming from inside, and it 498 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:37,560 Speaker 1: was horrible. They went around the side and broke a 499 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,879 Speaker 1: window with the butts of their guns. They broke into 500 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:45,960 Speaker 1: the house. As they entered, they noticed dark splotches almost black, 501 00:34:46,480 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: on some of the walls. They saw the leather trunk. 502 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:54,799 Speaker 1: Next to it were two shell casings, two caliber. There 503 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: were also parts of a gun on the floor. It 504 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:00,880 Speaker 1: had been broken apart. The office broke the lock on 505 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,840 Speaker 1: the trunk and pulled up the top. When they looked inside, 506 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,440 Speaker 1: they saw a bright red folder laying on what appeared 507 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:19,239 Speaker 1: to be a body. They had found Herbert suckers Hi. 508 00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:23,480 Speaker 1: This is Stephen Talty, host of good assassins Hunting the Butcher. 509 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,440 Speaker 1: The folks that helped me bring you this show, Diversion Podcasts, 510 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,640 Speaker 1: have just launched another podcast that I think you'll like. 511 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,560 Speaker 1: It's called Backstaged The Devil in Metal, a deep dive 512 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,760 Speaker 1: into the history of metal music, filled with never before 513 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: heard interviews and stories from some of the biggest names 514 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,799 Speaker 1: of music, including Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Ben Helen, and 515 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:52,959 Speaker 1: many others. It's outrageous, raw and surprising at times. Backstage 516 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:56,320 Speaker 1: The Devil in Metal is out now. Follow the show 517 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:00,319 Speaker 1: on Apple Podcasts, I hired radio app or wherever listened 518 00:36:00,320 --> 00:36:07,720 Speaker 1: to your podcasts. Back at the station, O Tero began 519 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:12,879 Speaker 1: to develop a basic theory of the case. I think 520 00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:19,280 Speaker 1: that he understood several things from the beginning. First that 521 00:36:19,719 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 1: it was the work of this release and second that 522 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:29,560 Speaker 1: it was an international action done by professionals. And at 523 00:36:29,600 --> 00:36:33,360 Speaker 1: the same time, news of the assassination started to break 524 00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: in Uruguay and it left quite an impression on young 525 00:36:37,080 --> 00:36:45,040 Speaker 1: Fernando good Zoni in I was eleven years old. I remember, 526 00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 1: of course, the Suckers assassination was a shock. This was 527 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:58,240 Speaker 1: a incredibleous situation. International criminal killer in in my country, 528 00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:02,920 Speaker 1: no way. Of course, at eleven years old, I could 529 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:07,360 Speaker 1: already hear the adult conversation and see the front page 530 00:37:07,400 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 1: of the new newspapers and the magazine, and I remember 531 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:17,040 Speaker 1: the pictures on the frontage Google's body in the trunk 532 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:23,040 Speaker 1: or that was very terrifying to me. Really, oh, Tero 533 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:27,160 Speaker 1: would eventually drop his investigation. He didn't want to ignite 534 00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:31,800 Speaker 1: an international crisis. But before he did, he traveled to 535 00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:36,000 Speaker 1: Brazil to meet with Sucre's family and it left a 536 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:41,480 Speaker 1: lingering impression. I interviewed him many years ago and he 537 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:48,360 Speaker 1: told me that Sucos family was unreliable, especially the widow. 538 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:56,279 Speaker 1: He thinks that the family was a dark family. I 539 00:37:56,280 --> 00:38:07,160 Speaker 1: don't know why. At this point, the news of the 540 00:38:07,200 --> 00:38:11,840 Speaker 1: assassination was starting to break around the world. The Massad 541 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,880 Speaker 1: team still in Paris caught it as the lead story 542 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:29,240 Speaker 1: of the French evening news, and it ran in Germany, Israel, 543 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:34,719 Speaker 1: the US and other countries. Journalists blocked to Montevideo to 544 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:37,960 Speaker 1: look into the mysterious killing of a Nazi war criminal. 545 00:38:40,040 --> 00:38:45,080 Speaker 1: Conspiracy theories started sprouting everywhere. One rumor was the air 546 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,920 Speaker 1: holes had been found punched into the leather trunk that 547 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,560 Speaker 1: would indicate that someone had been trying to kidnap Suckers 548 00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:54,200 Speaker 1: but had to kill him instead. Others believed that Suckers 549 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:57,440 Speaker 1: had been part of a Massad plot to catch Joseph Mengela, 550 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: the butcher of Auschwitz, was supposed to lee hiding out 551 00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:04,239 Speaker 1: in South America too. The story went that Massad had 552 00:39:04,239 --> 00:39:07,520 Speaker 1: made a deal if Zuker's lured Mangola out of hiding, 553 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:12,600 Speaker 1: he himself would be allowed to go free. Through all 554 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:17,640 Speaker 1: this public speculation, Massad states silent as usual. They didn't 555 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:21,759 Speaker 1: confirm or deny being involved, but everyone knew it was 556 00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:34,440 Speaker 1: the Israelis. In Germany, as articles about Herbert Sukers appeared 557 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:37,359 Speaker 1: in the press, one of the major networks announced they 558 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:40,359 Speaker 1: were going to televise the debate on the Statute of Limitations. 559 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:44,000 Speaker 1: It would air live. It was rare to do that 560 00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,600 Speaker 1: in Germany at the time, but the issue was getting 561 00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:50,960 Speaker 1: unprecedented attention from the media. Tickets for the visitors gallery 562 00:39:50,960 --> 00:39:54,960 Speaker 1: at the Boonstag became hot commodities. There were dozens of 563 00:39:54,960 --> 00:40:05,160 Speaker 1: requests for every seat all the Colonel. Finally, March tenth arrived, 564 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:11,520 Speaker 1: the debate in the German Parliament began. The Conservative government 565 00:40:11,800 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 1: still backed the amnesty. They wanted to put an end 566 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,400 Speaker 1: to Nazi trials, to draw a line under the Holocaust 567 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:22,040 Speaker 1: and move on. The Liberals, for the most part, I 568 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,600 Speaker 1: believed that was wrong. A full accounting of the Holocaust 569 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,919 Speaker 1: had never been made. There were still killers out there 570 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:35,200 Speaker 1: living happy and free. They had to face justice. Deliss 571 00:40:39,239 --> 00:40:44,640 Speaker 1: shot to the Scotia. There was one Liberal who went 572 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:49,120 Speaker 1: against his party. He supported the statute. His name was 573 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:53,160 Speaker 1: Adolph Aren't, the son of a law professor. The sixty 574 00:40:53,239 --> 00:40:56,480 Speaker 1: year old Aren't was a tall, schoolmasterish guy with a 575 00:40:56,560 --> 00:41:01,200 Speaker 1: serious legal mind. Aren't had refused on principle to join 576 00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:04,680 Speaker 1: the Nazi Party before World War Two began, and he 577 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:08,520 Speaker 1: was fired from the position as a judge because of it. Instead, 578 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:11,200 Speaker 1: he used his skills as a lawyer to help jose 579 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:17,000 Speaker 1: escape to the US, England and Switzerland. After being categorized 580 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,640 Speaker 1: as half Jewish himself, he was interned in a work 581 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:24,200 Speaker 1: camp in and forced to do hard labor. The following year, 582 00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:29,000 Speaker 1: was arrested and sent to prison. And yet Aren't felt 583 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,560 Speaker 1: that changing the statute would only make things worse. Other 584 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:36,520 Speaker 1: regimes in the future might change laws retroactively to accuse 585 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:41,279 Speaker 1: their enemies of crimes. The law should be sacred. That 586 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:47,440 Speaker 1: was Adolph Aren't's position that afternoon, as millions of people 587 00:41:47,480 --> 00:41:51,520 Speaker 1: tuned in on television, Germans were literally debating the meaning 588 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,919 Speaker 1: of the Holocaust. How long should his killers be hunted down? 589 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:59,240 Speaker 1: How many people shared in the guilt. Speaker after speaker 590 00:41:59,440 --> 00:42:02,320 Speaker 1: got up to argue their side of the issue. It 591 00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 1: went on for hours. Finally Adolph Aren't rose to speak. 592 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:10,960 Speaker 1: He supported the statute for months. The fact that he 593 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:14,400 Speaker 1: was half Jewish gave credibility to the pro statute side. 594 00:42:15,160 --> 00:42:18,120 Speaker 1: If one of Hitler's victims said to keep it, who 595 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:21,640 Speaker 1: could argue with that? But his Arn't began to speak, 596 00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:26,800 Speaker 1: His fellow legislators went silent. Something was happening. It became 597 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:29,680 Speaker 1: clear as the minutes went by that Aren't had changed 598 00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:34,040 Speaker 1: his mind. He was coming out against the statute. In 599 00:42:34,080 --> 00:42:38,279 Speaker 1: his speech, Aren't talked about a representative Nazi killer, the 600 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:41,320 Speaker 1: kind of perpetrator who would receive an amnesty if the 601 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:45,759 Speaker 1: law went ahead. A man who takes an infant by 602 00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:49,680 Speaker 1: zavit in front of his mother and shutters his head 603 00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:54,440 Speaker 1: on the nearest iron post. A man who has twenty 604 00:42:54,520 --> 00:42:59,680 Speaker 1: thousand or thousands of people shocked or killed. A man 605 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:03,560 Speaker 1: trains his dog so that he tears apart and prisoners 606 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:07,200 Speaker 1: gentles before the prisoner is put to death in the 607 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:12,400 Speaker 1: most cruel way. A man who forces prisoners to kneel 608 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:16,160 Speaker 1: in the pios they have dubbed themselves, then gives them 609 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:20,080 Speaker 1: the next shot, and then the next victim comes in. 610 00:43:20,960 --> 00:43:25,480 Speaker 1: So that's for days. A fountain of blood splashes out 611 00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:32,240 Speaker 1: of this masskrive. One cannot say of this man, why 612 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:49,000 Speaker 1: is he still dealing with his act today? That number 613 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:54,440 Speaker 1: Aren't mentioned jumped out at me. People. It was the 614 00:43:54,520 --> 00:43:57,719 Speaker 1: same number that thirty thou that was included in the 615 00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:00,880 Speaker 1: verdict that the Massad team had left on Suker's body. 616 00:44:02,040 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 1: It was in many of the stories that ran after 617 00:44:04,640 --> 00:44:09,279 Speaker 1: the news of the assassination was made public. Was it 618 00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:12,560 Speaker 1: just a coincidence that Aren't as he changed his mind 619 00:44:12,719 --> 00:44:16,080 Speaker 1: seemingly at the eleventh hour, mentioned the exact number of 620 00:44:16,160 --> 00:44:19,920 Speaker 1: victims that Herbert Sucres had been accused of killing. I'm 621 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:25,440 Speaker 1: not sure, but it seems unlikely. Chances are Aren't had 622 00:44:25,480 --> 00:44:28,360 Speaker 1: read about Suckers and what he'd done during the war, 623 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:34,560 Speaker 1: and it had affected him. Here's get Chamron again. The 624 00:44:34,600 --> 00:44:38,680 Speaker 1: excesad agent. There's no doubt in my heart that the 625 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:47,080 Speaker 1: operation was successful. And the fact that in the waves 626 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:53,000 Speaker 1: brought up after the Aischman kidnapped, being war already going down, 627 00:44:53,840 --> 00:44:56,800 Speaker 1: and the what talks in Europe, especially in West Germany, 628 00:44:56,840 --> 00:45:01,600 Speaker 1: at the time of maybe time to to make a line, 629 00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:05,600 Speaker 1: you know, and forget what happened twenty years ago. We 630 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:11,440 Speaker 1: look for the future. Let's let's decide normal Nazi huntings, 631 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:15,480 Speaker 1: no more Natzi trials. What they college stretch line college 632 00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:20,640 Speaker 1: in Germany strich linear, that's right, German world. And this 633 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,560 Speaker 1: was the reason for the operation. And uh once the 634 00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:30,840 Speaker 1: body of suppose found in Motividel and the vote in 635 00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:35,800 Speaker 1: the Bundesta a few days later rejected the proposal of 636 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:41,279 Speaker 1: making Nazi crimes okay finished twenty years So, you know, 637 00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:44,840 Speaker 1: it's something you cannot quantify, but I do believe it 638 00:45:45,400 --> 00:45:49,200 Speaker 1: had the repercussions, and it had the right repercussions desired 639 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:55,960 Speaker 1: by those who decided to go for this proachet. If 640 00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:58,759 Speaker 1: it hadn't been for eight of Ourn't speech and is 641 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:01,719 Speaker 1: mentioning of the thirty thous and victims, I wouldn't be 642 00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:05,840 Speaker 1: so sure. There were big questions being debated guilt for 643 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:10,440 Speaker 1: the death of millions, Germany's future, and Germany's guilt. It's 644 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:13,719 Speaker 1: hard to imagine that one assassination in a distant country 645 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,520 Speaker 1: could have turned the tide against the amnesty in this 646 00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:21,120 Speaker 1: German politician's mind. But Suakers gave a face to the Holocaust. 647 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:25,279 Speaker 1: The stories about his atrocities were so terrible, and the 648 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:28,600 Speaker 1: news of the assassination was so fresh it might have 649 00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:32,720 Speaker 1: lingered in the minds of some legislators. A sketch Smron said, 650 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:35,960 Speaker 1: it's impossible to say for sure, but it's clear that 651 00:46:35,960 --> 00:46:38,279 Speaker 1: the mission made it known that there were still many 652 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:43,239 Speaker 1: more butchers out there. When the votes were counted, it 653 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:47,719 Speaker 1: was votes in favor of the statute, three hundred and 654 00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:54,040 Speaker 1: sixty one against and four abstentions. In the end, the 655 00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:58,640 Speaker 1: time period for prosecuting Nazi criminals was extended for five years. 656 00:46:59,560 --> 00:47:13,040 Speaker 1: The killers would not get an amnesty. In the months 657 00:47:13,040 --> 00:47:16,600 Speaker 1: and years following the Zuker's mission, hundreds of Nazi mass 658 00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:22,239 Speaker 1: killers were discovered and prosecuted, and, perhaps more importantly, the 659 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:24,680 Speaker 1: idea that was only Hitler and a few of his 660 00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:30,839 Speaker 1: lieutenants that caused the Holocaust began to change. The prosecutions 661 00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:33,640 Speaker 1: brought to light the role that thousands of Germans and 662 00:47:33,680 --> 00:47:38,280 Speaker 1: their collaborators played in the genocide. A much fuller picture 663 00:47:38,560 --> 00:47:42,120 Speaker 1: of how the Holocaust worked and who carried it out emerged. 664 00:47:44,960 --> 00:47:48,160 Speaker 1: There were other factors, of course, including the rise of 665 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,239 Speaker 1: a new generation of Germans who hadn't been born when 666 00:47:51,239 --> 00:47:54,040 Speaker 1: the Third Dreich was in power, But the vote on 667 00:47:54,080 --> 00:48:00,360 Speaker 1: the amnesty was a turning point to be a freedman. 668 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:03,720 Speaker 1: The Polish Nazi hunter who had fought so hard against 669 00:48:03,760 --> 00:48:07,520 Speaker 1: the amnesty was overjoyed by the result, as with Simon 670 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:12,200 Speaker 1: of Vicenthal. Five years later, the deadline for prosecutions was 671 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:17,400 Speaker 1: extended again for another five years, and then in the 672 00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,000 Speaker 1: statute came up for a third and final vote. The 673 00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:25,919 Speaker 1: count was much closer, this time two to eliminate any 674 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:32,000 Speaker 1: time limit. Two two against freedman, and the others had one. 675 00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:36,440 Speaker 1: There would be no amnesty for Nazi war criminals. Ever, 676 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:44,960 Speaker 1: Friedman wrote today, these murderers have been silenced until the 677 00:48:45,200 --> 00:48:56,080 Speaker 1: end of their lives. Massad never took responsibility for the 678 00:48:56,120 --> 00:49:00,040 Speaker 1: Zuker's mission. That was just its policy, but many survivors 679 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:03,399 Speaker 1: in Israel knew who had carried it out. People would 680 00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:06,320 Speaker 1: come up to me on the street and thank him. 681 00:49:06,320 --> 00:49:09,720 Speaker 1: He received letters from the families of those murdered in Latvia, 682 00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:14,680 Speaker 1: and every year the five men who carried out the 683 00:49:14,719 --> 00:49:18,840 Speaker 1: mission gathered to remember. They would have a drink or 684 00:49:18,840 --> 00:49:23,600 Speaker 1: two and talk about Montevideo and Cassa, Kubertini and the 685 00:49:23,680 --> 00:49:32,200 Speaker 1: rest of it. After the operation, Joseph your Reeve did 686 00:49:32,239 --> 00:49:35,040 Speaker 1: well at MASSAD, who was promoted to the head of 687 00:49:35,040 --> 00:49:42,319 Speaker 1: the agency in Europe, and he retired. Mio's career was 688 00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:46,600 Speaker 1: less successful. He was frustrated the Suker's mission had been 689 00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:50,680 Speaker 1: a huge success, but there were no promotions for him. 690 00:49:50,719 --> 00:49:53,040 Speaker 1: The fact that he was an introvert and not really 691 00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:56,760 Speaker 1: a commander of men it worked against him, and maybe 692 00:49:56,760 --> 00:49:59,920 Speaker 1: something else. Most of them SAD agents who rose to 693 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:04,160 Speaker 1: the top where sabras men born in Israel. Mia was 694 00:50:04,200 --> 00:50:07,360 Speaker 1: a bit of an outsider. He'd been born in Germany 695 00:50:07,640 --> 00:50:11,160 Speaker 1: and spoke with a strong German accent. It set him apart. 696 00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:18,680 Speaker 1: Mio retired from the Massad and settled in a leafy 697 00:50:18,719 --> 00:50:23,040 Speaker 1: neighborhood in Tel Aviv. Once in a while, when MASSA 698 00:50:23,239 --> 00:50:25,840 Speaker 1: needed a certain kind of operative for a mission, it 699 00:50:25,920 --> 00:50:28,120 Speaker 1: would call him up and he would come out of 700 00:50:28,160 --> 00:50:32,799 Speaker 1: retirement for a week or two, but mostly he spent 701 00:50:32,880 --> 00:50:38,040 Speaker 1: his time spoiling his grandchildren. As the years went by, 702 00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:41,040 Speaker 1: he would often look back on his career and talk 703 00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:44,520 Speaker 1: about the missions that meant the most to him. When 704 00:50:44,560 --> 00:50:46,719 Speaker 1: I spoke with me a son in Tel Aviv, he 705 00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:49,839 Speaker 1: told me it was always the Zuker's operation that Mia 706 00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:53,759 Speaker 1: was proudest of. For him, it was the pinnacle of 707 00:50:53,800 --> 00:51:02,839 Speaker 1: his career and really of his life. Ye Meo had 708 00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:06,759 Speaker 1: led a mission that helped change history, but for me 709 00:51:07,239 --> 00:51:11,279 Speaker 1: serious questions remained. The main one was why Zookers had 710 00:51:11,320 --> 00:51:14,960 Speaker 1: done what he'd done. Even Meo, as good as spy 711 00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:19,600 Speaker 1: as he was, never cracked that mystery. In the next episode, 712 00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:23,200 Speaker 1: I'll tell you about the surprising answers I found and 713 00:51:23,239 --> 00:51:26,800 Speaker 1: the brilliant Jewish woman who went through hell to reveal 714 00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:45,120 Speaker 1: the truth about the Butcher of Latvia. Good Assassins. Hunting 715 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:48,839 Speaker 1: the Butcher is a production of Diversion Podcasts in association 716 00:51:48,880 --> 00:51:52,360 Speaker 1: with I Heart Radio. This season is written and hosted 717 00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:56,000 Speaker 1: by Stephen Talti, produced and directed by Scott Waxman and 718 00:51:56,120 --> 00:52:01,560 Speaker 1: Jacob Bronstein. Executive producers Scott Waxman and Mark Francis. Story 719 00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:05,880 Speaker 1: Editing by Jacob Bronstein, with editorial direction from Scott Waxman 720 00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:09,799 Speaker 1: and Mangesh had Ticketour. Editing, mixing and sound design by 721 00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:14,960 Speaker 1: Mark Francis with the voices of Nick Afka, Thomas Armory, Angele, 722 00:52:15,400 --> 00:52:20,839 Speaker 1: Andrew Polkue, Mindy Escobar, Leants, Steve Rautman and Stefan Rudnitsky. 723 00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:26,320 Speaker 1: Theme music by Tyler Cash. Archival research by Adam Shapiro, 724 00:52:27,560 --> 00:52:57,400 Speaker 1: thanks to Oran Rosenbaum at ut A Diversion Podcasts.