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Back The Counterfeit Candidate Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

As Hitler’s private secretary, Bormann had spent the previous few years making him an incredibly wealthy man. As well as his salaries as chancellor and president, he received massive royalties from both his book, Mein Kampf, and for the use of his image on postage stamps. Bormann had also set up the Adolf Hitler Fund of German Trade and Industry, which collected a special tax from major industrialists, all of which went straight into the Führer’s personal account. He also supervised the secret warehouses scattered across the country, which were packed full of Nazi treasure, stolen mainly from Jews and wealthy businessmen who didn’t support the Nazi regime.

By the summer of 1943, Bormann realised he and Hitler needed an escape route in case Germany ended up losing the war. He identified Argentine President General Edelmiro Julián Farrell and his vice president, Juan Perón, as passionate Nazi sympathisers; hence perfect bedfellows. So Bormann began to route millions of Reichsmarks into South American banks, as he looked to create an insurance policy against a possible defeat.

In the immediate months after the end of the war, the Argentines personally welcomed a number of senior Nazis to their country but with the prized cargo of Hitler, Bormann and Braun, they hit the jackpot. Bormann had arranged for the boat to be laden with large, unmarked wooden crates containing a potpourri of stolen treasures, including rare artworks, an array of gemstones and two tons of Nazi gold. A Führer’s ransom worth over two hundred and fifty million dollars.

The fugitives arrived in style at their new home in El Calafate. Perón had arranged for one of the limos from his personal fleet to be on hand for the last leg of the journey. The long-wheelbase Fleetwood Sixty Special was Cadillac’s most luxurious vehicle. It was parked up on the makeshift airstrip which had been hastily constructed in a field on the east side of the lake. They landed in a twenty-seater DC-3 aircraft and immediately switched to the chauffeur-driven limousine.