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Klarsfeld Remains Skeptical

June 12, 1985
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Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld is still skeptical of reports that war criminal Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz death camp doctor, died in Brazil six years ago.

He said he might consider that Mengele is dead “only after the Israeli police will have confirmed this possibility” in a few months time. Klarsfeld was commenting on the statement by Mengele’s son, Rolf Mengele, that he had been informed of his father’s death in 1979. (See separate story.) “Actually, I shall never be certain that he is dead. My doubts will persist forever,” Klarsfeld said today.

The French-Jewish lawyer and his German-born wife, Beate Klarsfeld are waiting to hear from Israeli and American investigators before taking anyone’s word that the remains of a man buried near Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1979 after drowning, are those of the wanted war criminal. The remains were exhumed and are undergoing forensic tests to determine identity.

“His (Mengele’s) family obviously wants to convince the world that he is dead, “Klarsfeld said.

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