Police files covering the sadist ‘Angel of Death’ doctor Josef Mengele are due to be opened decades earlier than intended after the were sealed on grounds of national security
Secret files on the twisted ‘Angel of Death’ Nazi doctor Josef Mengele are set to be opened.
Mengele was a doctor who served in Nazi Germany’s Waffen SS and was posted to Auschwitz in Poland where he carried out horrific experiments – primarily on Jewish and Romani victims. Over the course of the Nazi occupation of Poland, an estimated 1.1 million people died at the death camp, the overwhelming majority being Jews.
Mengele experimented on identical twins and others and kept preserved heads and organs of numerous afflicted children that were then sent to SS medical sites for further study. Following Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II, Mengele escaped justice by fleeing to Argentina under a false identity.
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Following his death from a stroke in 1976, historians have requested access to his files in Switzerland. There had been speculation the sadist had spent time in Switzerland, despite an international arrest warrant being in place at the time.
Mengele fled Europe for South America in 1949 but he was known to have visited Switzerland for skiing holidays. Mengele’s wife Martha Maria was also known to have rented a flat in Zurich and also applied for permanent residency.
Swiss historian Regula Bochsler told the BBC: “There seems to be evidence Mengele was planning a trip to Europe in 1959. Why did Mrs Mengele rent an apartment in Zurich.”
Bochsler was able to see police files that proved the flat was under police surveillance in 1961. The notes also said she was accompanied by an unknown man.
An arrest attempt on Mengele that year would have required the Swiss federal police to be involved. Bochsler applied to Swiss Federal Archive to see their files as well.
But she was denied and the files were then sealed until 2071 on grounds of national security and to protect Mengele’s extended family. She has not been the only person to have been refused access.
In 2025, historian Gerard Wettstein attempted to see the files and was also denied. He told the BBC: “It seemed ridiculous. As long as they are closed until 2071, it fuels conspiracy, everyone says ‘they must have something to hide’.”
The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service changed its stance when Wettstein challenged the decision to seal the files and raised about £17,000 to take the case to court. It is unclear how much information about Mengele will be revealed when the files are opened.
In a statement, the intelligence service said full transparency will take time and added: “The appellant will be granted access to the file, subject to conditions and requirements yet to be defined.”
