The Vatican Exposed: Money, Murder, and the Mafia by Paul L. Williams Page A
Authors: Paul L. Williams
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subtle art of falsification, were recruited to lend their
expertise to the venture. One of the most notable of the mafiosi was
Lucio Gelli, who served as an Oberleutnant for the SS in Italy and a
liaison officer to the elite SS Hermann Goring Division. After the war
he became not only a director of the Vatican "ratline" but also a key
member of "Operation Glaudio," a secret operation funded by
NATO and the CIA to establish "stay behind" networks throughout
Europe to thwart the spread of Communism.12
Several prominent Nazi criminals, including Franz Stangl, commandant of Treblinka, were granted living quarters within the confines of Vatican City and at the pope's summer residence at Castel
Gandolfo. 13 Others were lodged with Catholic families, who were
pleased to open their doors to Vatican "guests" for a small stipend.
Still other criminals were sheltered in monasteries under the guise of
friars, monks, and religious brothers. By 1946 these facilities were
filled to capacity and scores of fugitive Nazis were housed in convents
where they were dressed in full habit as nuns. Several observers noted
the sudden increase of strange-looking religious sisters with mascu line demeanors and rough mannerisms, some of whom were badly in
need of a shave. They further observed that from 1945 to 1948 the
nunnish populations in convents throughout Rome increased and
declined at regular intervals.14 A senior British political advisor
reported that it was "becoming increasingly clear that many of the
more important quislings are taking refuge under the wing of the
Roman Catholic Church." The advisor predicted that little could be
done "unless the Vatican can be persuaded into open cooperation."1'
The price demanded for such shelter was high. The fleeing Nazis
were usually obliged to relinquish 40 to 50 percent of their complete
savings, including the goods they had looted from their victims, to
the Vatican. Yet the price was readily paid. Any "refugees" who
aroused suspicion could retreat within the corridors of the Vatican
where they remained safe from arrest and prosecution. The Allied
forces and the U.S. Army's Counter Intelligence Corps, in their
search for war criminals, were unwilling to challenge the sovereignty
of the State of Vatican City. For this reason, the papal coffers continued to be filled to overflowing by newly arrived "guests."
And the guest list was most impressive. In addition to Klaus
Barbie and Franz Stangl, the Church sheltered such luminaries as
Adolph Eichmann, Hitler's top henchman and director of the genocide program; Eduard Roschmann, the "Butcher of Roga"; SS General Walter Rauff, inventor of the mobile gas truck; Gutav Wagner,
commandant of the Soribibor Camp; and Dr. Joseph Mengele, the
"angel of death" at Auschwitz. With their Vatican-produced passports, such "guests" were granted safe passage to South America,
Australia, and the United States. In all, more than 30,000 Nazis
escaped justice, thanks to Holy Mother Church. "All these people
were escaping," Agent Gowan later recalled, "and this at a time when
just getting a meal in Rome was a major accomplishment. 1116
Father Dragonovic, according to documents unclassified by the
U.S. State Department in 1998, may have personally profited from
his illegal activities by charging refugees as much as $1,500 for false
documents and $650 for each refuge in addition to the amount
charged by the Vatican.'7
Reports circulated that Nazi sympathizers, including members of ODESSA (Organization of Former Officers of the SS) and "The
Spider," provided ongoing financial support for the Vatican ratline.
Pavelic, as a favored son of Holy Mother Church, was placed under
the special care and protection of Father Draganovic, who not only provided the Fascist dictator with a counterfeit International Red Cross
passport but also accompanied him and over two hundred senior
Ustashi officers to Buenos Aires. Before returning to Rome,
expertise to the venture. One of the most notable of the mafiosi was
Lucio Gelli, who served as an Oberleutnant for the SS in Italy and a
liaison officer to the elite SS Hermann Goring Division. After the war
he became not only a director of the Vatican "ratline" but also a key
member of "Operation Glaudio," a secret operation funded by
NATO and the CIA to establish "stay behind" networks throughout
Europe to thwart the spread of Communism.12
Several prominent Nazi criminals, including Franz Stangl, commandant of Treblinka, were granted living quarters within the confines of Vatican City and at the pope's summer residence at Castel
Gandolfo. 13 Others were lodged with Catholic families, who were
pleased to open their doors to Vatican "guests" for a small stipend.
Still other criminals were sheltered in monasteries under the guise of
friars, monks, and religious brothers. By 1946 these facilities were
filled to capacity and scores of fugitive Nazis were housed in convents
where they were dressed in full habit as nuns. Several observers noted
the sudden increase of strange-looking religious sisters with mascu line demeanors and rough mannerisms, some of whom were badly in
need of a shave. They further observed that from 1945 to 1948 the
nunnish populations in convents throughout Rome increased and
declined at regular intervals.14 A senior British political advisor
reported that it was "becoming increasingly clear that many of the
more important quislings are taking refuge under the wing of the
Roman Catholic Church." The advisor predicted that little could be
done "unless the Vatican can be persuaded into open cooperation."1'
The price demanded for such shelter was high. The fleeing Nazis
were usually obliged to relinquish 40 to 50 percent of their complete
savings, including the goods they had looted from their victims, to
the Vatican. Yet the price was readily paid. Any "refugees" who
aroused suspicion could retreat within the corridors of the Vatican
where they remained safe from arrest and prosecution. The Allied
forces and the U.S. Army's Counter Intelligence Corps, in their
search for war criminals, were unwilling to challenge the sovereignty
of the State of Vatican City. For this reason, the papal coffers continued to be filled to overflowing by newly arrived "guests."
And the guest list was most impressive. In addition to Klaus
Barbie and Franz Stangl, the Church sheltered such luminaries as
Adolph Eichmann, Hitler's top henchman and director of the genocide program; Eduard Roschmann, the "Butcher of Roga"; SS General Walter Rauff, inventor of the mobile gas truck; Gutav Wagner,
commandant of the Soribibor Camp; and Dr. Joseph Mengele, the
"angel of death" at Auschwitz. With their Vatican-produced passports, such "guests" were granted safe passage to South America,
Australia, and the United States. In all, more than 30,000 Nazis
escaped justice, thanks to Holy Mother Church. "All these people
were escaping," Agent Gowan later recalled, "and this at a time when
just getting a meal in Rome was a major accomplishment. 1116
Father Dragonovic, according to documents unclassified by the
U.S. State Department in 1998, may have personally profited from
his illegal activities by charging refugees as much as $1,500 for false
documents and $650 for each refuge in addition to the amount
charged by the Vatican.'7
Reports circulated that Nazi sympathizers, including members of ODESSA (Organization of Former Officers of the SS) and "The
Spider," provided ongoing financial support for the Vatican ratline.
Pavelic, as a favored son of Holy Mother Church, was placed under
the special care and protection of Father Draganovic, who not only provided the Fascist dictator with a counterfeit International Red Cross
passport but also accompanied him and over two hundred senior
Ustashi officers to Buenos Aires. Before returning to Rome,
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