It’s well recorded that in July 1945, just three months after Hitler’s supposed death, Stalin threw doubt on the official story, speculating he had escaped from Berlin and was possibly hiding in Spain or Argentina. The genie was out of the bottle and the conspiracy theory was born.

In 1945, and in subsequent years, we know many high-ranking Germans fled to South America, including infamous Nazis such as Mengele and Eichmann, who make cameo appearances in my story. It’s also an open secret that the Argentine regime at the time welcomed dozens and possibly hundreds of Nazis, looking for sanctuary, into their country in return for significant payments.

Between 1943 and 1945 Bormann, in his elevated role as party secretary found himself in total control of the Nazi government’s purse strings and it’s believed he transferred huge amounts of money to banks and businesses all around the world, including millions to banks based in Switzerland and South America.

For The Counterfeit Candidate, I created a fictional account of Hitler’s escape from Berlin. The early morning drive, heading north from Berlin, through Russian lines to the Baltic port of Kiel and the confrontation with the Red Army soldiers, is an invention. As is the dilapidated cargo boat, Santa Cruz III. It never existed. Neither did its German captain, Hans Küpper, or the plastic surgeon Dr Friedrich Hipke.

However, El Calafate in the province of Santa Cruz, in Patagonia, is a real city, but El Blondi, the Argentinian farmhouse is another invention. I liked the conceit that the name of Hitler’s new home would be a permanent memorial to his beloved dog, who he left behind in the bunker. I tried my best to get inside Bormann’s head and those creations were the end result. I spent a great deal of time researching Bormann and concluded he would never have left his Führer’s side, so I made him part of the three escapees, along with Hitler and Braun.

In reality, most historians believe Bormann died in Berlin, on 2 May 1945, trying to escape the Red Army. As I mention in the story, in 1972 a skeleton was discovered in Berlin and DNA tests appeared to prove a match with Hitler’s notorious deputy.

The idea of Hitler and Bormann creating and building one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world seemed plausible to me. It would provide them with a huge multinational vehicle, perfect for laundering the vast sums of money they had taken out of Germany. It would also give them a platform of power and respectability for Hitler’s son, enabling him to set up a new home in the United States, where he could father an heir, who could go on to become a world leader, achieving the ultimate prize of the presidency.