First published 1980
Dr. Josef Mengele begins his career as a promising young physician in 1930s Germany. Born in 1911, he transforms from an ambitious medical student into one of history's most notorious war criminals. At Auschwitz concentration camp, Mengele conducts horrific medical experiments on prisoners, earning the nickname "Angel of Death." His actions during the Holocaust make him a hunted man. After Germany's defeat, Mengele flees to South America, where he lives as a fugitive for decades. The story follows his paranoid existence in hiding, constantly evading Nazi hunters and intelligence agencies. Mengele struggles with his isolation while attempting to justify his past actions. His family relationships deteriorate as the weight of his crimes haunts his remaining years. The narrative draws from over 5,000 pages of his personal writings and family photographs to reveal the mind of a man who committed unspeakable acts. Mengele dies of natural causes in 1979, never having faced justice for his crimes, leaving behind a legacy of horror and unanswered questions about human evil.
Genres: biography, history, historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime, non-fiction
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: Auschwitz, Germany, South America
Period: 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s
364 pages · Paperback · Futura Publications (London)
Content warnings: abuse, child-death, death, medical-trauma, murder, racism, torture, violence