WANTED! THE SEARCH FOR NAZIS IN AMERICA Howard Blum - published by The New York Times Book - second printing before publication. Canada, 1977. Dedicated and signed copy by the author.
Wanted! A true story - a shocking uncovering of a government scandal and cover-up. It is also a fascinating and moving detective story about four Nazis who came to the United States after World War II. The story of each of these Nazis uncovers documentation of stolen government files, unexplained delays in courts and immigration services, indifference of the State Department and Congressmen. The book reaches the sensational conclusion that agencies of the U. S. government, not only failed to prosecute Nazi war criminals living in the United States, but actually conspired to allow the Nazis to live out their lives unpunished. The journalist Howard Blum focuses on the movements of Immigration Service investigator Anthony DeVito, who becomes the central figure in trying to track down the Nazis and bring them to justice. DeVito, following his successful work in deporting the concentration camp guard Hermine Braunsteiner Ryan, obtains a list of 59 Nazi war criminals living in the United States. He becomes totally obsessive in his search for these Nazis in an attempt to bring them to justice for the crimes they committed during the war, but in fact he finds himself fighting the U.S. government which protects these criminals. Over time, De Vito comes to the chilling conclusion that "the ODESSA organization has infiltrated the inner reaches of our government".
Left with no choice and no government assistance, De Vito's search - which takes on the aspects of a mission and turns into a thriller - leads him personally to the four wanted Nazis! One is a county clerk in New Jersey, the second a bishop of Detroit, the third a California businessman living on the shores of the Pacific Ocean as a respected member of the community, a friend of priests and Congressmen, and the fourth a retired carpenter on Long Island, a man who lives with the knowledge that during the war he helped wipe out a village of 2,000 people. DeVito's investigation also brings him to the people who have managed to find these Nazis and who now demand revenge: a 78-year-old dentist who wrote more than 3,000 letters to federal authorities; a retired policeman who accidentally discovers an SS man living in New Jersey; a New York restaurateur, a concentration camp victim who found the man he saw murdering his mother 35 years earlier. The painful truth is exposed here without any embellishment.
The cover design conveys the sharp message: the flag of the United States with swastikas on it.
[12], 256 p. Hardcover with the original dust jacket, all complete. Very good condition.
