Dr. Joseph Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor of Auschwitz, is living in Paraguay, and the authorities there have refused all demands that he be tried there or extradited to West Germany, according to West Germany’s president, Dr. Gustav Heinemann. In a written reply to a request by Nazi-hunter Tuvia Friedmann, head of the Haifa Documentary Institute, that he use his influence in the case, Dr. Heinemann indicated that Paraguay’s strongman president, Gen. Alfredo Stroessner, has given Dr. Mengele his personal protection. But Dr. Heinemann noted that although Dr. Mengele maintains Paraguayan citizenship and a Paraguayan passport, he is always on the run and stays mainly among the Nazi colonists deep in the Paraguayan bush. Mr. Friedmann said he believes the culprit can be found and that international pressure can force the Paraguayan authorities to release him to a world court. His suggestion that Israel deal with Dr. Mengele the way it dealt with Adolf Eichmann has been rejected by authorities here. They are seeking to avoid an international incident such as the one created when Eichmann was kidnapped in Argentina and brought to Israel for trial. Argentina severed relations with Israel over the kidnapping and other nations regarded the kidnapping as an illegal act.
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