A spokesman for the West German Foreign Ministry said here today that no evidence has so far emerged to confirm suspicions that Martin Bormann, Hitler’s chief deputy, is now living in Paraguay. He added, however, that the German Embassy in Paraguay has been instructed to keep a close watch on the matter.
The Foreign Ministry statement followed the publication of an article in Bild, a German magazine, charging that a grave in Paraguay with a tombstone bearing Bormann’s name, did not contain the remains of Bormann but of another person. Four witnesses have told the Frankfurt prosecutor, Fritz Bauer, that Bormann lives in Paraguay, suffers from cancer and is under treatment by Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious “selection doctor” of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Dr. Bauer has long been urging the West German authorities to try to clear up the mystery of various Nazi war criminals periodically reported in South American countries. He said he had reason to believe that various interested persons were circulating rumors aimed at ending the hunt for Bormann, including reports that Bormann died of cancer in 1959 or 1960.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
