Ratlines (World War II)
System of escape routes for Nazi and fascist war criminals fleeing Europe at the end of World War II / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The ratlines (German: Rattenlinien) were systems of escape routes for German Nazis and other fascists fleeing Europe from 1945 onwards in the aftermath of World War II. These escape routes mainly led toward havens in Latin America, particularly in Argentina, though also in Paraguay, Colombia,[1] Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Bolivia, as well as the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, and Switzerland.
There were two primary routes: the first went from Germany to Spain, then Argentina; the second from Germany to Rome, then Genoa, then South America. The two routes developed independently but eventually came together.[2] The ratlines were supported by clergy of the Catholic Church.[3][4][5] Starting in 1947, U.S. Intelligence utilized existing ratlines to move certain Nazi strategists and scientists.[6]
While reputable scholars unanimously consider Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to have died by suicide in Berlin on 30 April 1945, various conspiracy theories claim that he survived the war and fled to Argentina.