Almost every night for my whole life I’ve heard stories about what he did and what he saw etc. I’ve heard it millions of times and find it boring and repetitive so I’m curious of what everyone else thinks of it. He spent time in Somalia, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Haiti to name a few. This was during the 80s, 90s and early 2000s. Worked on the Haitian and Somali famines during the 80s and 90s. Not exactly sure of the dates. When he talks about it sometimes he cries, seen a lot of the world at its worst. I’m sorry if this is informal I can confirm dates and specifics with him later today if needed.
I stumbled over several Wikipedia articles, particularly that of Josef Mengele, mentioning that 8,000+ high-ranking officials of NSDAP and Waffen-SS escaped to South America and the Middle East following World War II, and that Red Cross aided in a large number of these escapes.
It seems to be, however, much more disputed whether the Red Cross was duped into aiding the Nazis, or whether some in the ICRC held Nazi sympathies, and knowingly distributed humanitarian passports to Nazis and Nazi collaborators.
I suspect the truth is somewhere in the middle, and very nuanced, but after calling both my national branch of the Red Cross (Danish Red Cross, Dansk Røde Kors) and the ICRC in Geneve, neither had a historian or archivist available to aid my search. I have also reached out to historians and journalists in Denmark who might be knowledgeable on this particular subject, but so far very few have responded, much less felt knowledgeable enough on the subject to let me interview them.
So, r/AskHistorians, you are my saving grace - I hope! And I'm not writing an article, nor quoting anyone for anything. This is just personal interest, so I'm not just here to pick your brains and ride off into the sunset with your knowledge.
So - what evidence is there to suggest that the Red Cross was willingly complicit in aiding the Nazis after the fall of the Third Reich? If there is any at all.
Thank you in advance for taking the time.
