In Pursuit of Justice: A Review of 'The Ratline' by Philippe Sands
Favourite Quote:
The panel was once accompanied by lines from the Bible, a verse from Isaiah but it had been painted over long before Otto arrived. He saw the image but not the words. “Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.”
Book Rating:
4.6 out of 5
My Thoughts;
Following the journey from the previous book ‘East West Street’ in which, we look into the Life of SS Brigadeführer Otto Freiherr von Wächter, who was Governor of Galicia and was responsible for the Jews and Poles on his territory, including the family of the author’s grandfather. This book goes into extraordinary detail about Otto Von Wächter, from his childhood to his marriage to Charlotte, and his rise through the Nazi ranks until his indictment for his role in the Nazi regime to his life as a fugitive to his death in July 1949 and the complicated legacy that his family faces. Taking on the style of historical detective, in which we see the author goes through public and private archives of diaries, family letters, and documents presented by the youngest son of Wächter to answer the question of what happened to his father after the war and the years he spent on the run and how he died.
As stated earlier, this book went through Otto’s childhood, which gave the impression of a man trying to regain some of the family prestige and honour lost in the previous war (WW1) and the results of the Treaty of Versailles. He believed the Nazi party was the best approach to restoring Austria. This refers to the allure of the Nazi party gave him the feeling of being part of something that could restore power and honour again. I can’t help but wonder, when I read some of his letters describing his relationship with Himmler or Governor Hans Frank, he spoke of these relationships as something to be proud of and cherished. Was the quest for power or having that status really that important? What is power if you lose your soul in the process?
Speaking of status, Philippe Sands goes into detail about his wife Charlotte von Wächter nee Bleckmann, an example of a wife and a mother standing by her husband through thick and thin, from hosting parties for other members of the party, cultivating essential relationships with key figures in the party, decorating homes where the family lived (Vienna, Lemberg, Kraków). However, as the author notes, there was always an undercurrent of jealousy and her interest in Nazi policies was sparked by her husband's journey into the Nazi Party. It was interesting to read how ignorance could be bliss in the marriage; the couple never explicitly spoke about the impact of her husband’s “work” If she had any qualms, it was not communicated or expressed in such a way.
Do the crimes of the father affect the son? In some cases, yes. In other cases, no. The point of Horst Wächter was an extremely complicated one. As you read, you can feel the pain of the youngest son wanting to see the best of his father, to try to honour the man who he had barely many memories of, and also trying to keep his mother’s wish to defend and explain her husband to the world. On the other side, you have a son who is choosing to willfully ignore the pains of the people his father was responsible for at their expense. I should note that Horst agreed that what happened to the Jews was horrific, but he was adamant that his father had a limited role to play despite his authority as Governor of Galicia. I guess the question is, how much should the son condemn, and how much should he protect his father?
I did learn an interesting fact I didn’t know before: the Ratline refers to the Reich Migratory Route to South America that former Nazi War Criminals took to escape.
