“He was the sometime commander of a labor camp near the ghetto at Lvov. A place called Lemberg-Janowska.”

“It sounds more like a type of cheese.”

“It’s in southeastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border.”

“Miserable country,” said Korsch. “I lost my eye there.”

“How does one go about it, Friedrich? How do you set about trying to find such a man?”

“What’s your angle?”

“My client is the wife. She wants to get married again.”

“Can’t she just obtain a declaration from the Wehrmacht Information Office? They’re quite obliging, really. Even for ex-SS.”

“He was seen alive in March 1946.”

“So you want to know if there’s been some kind of investigation.”

“That’s right.”

“All war crimes committed by our old friends and superiors are currently investigated by the Allies. Although there is some talk that in the future they will be investigated by the state attorneys general offices. However, right now, the best place to start is with the Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, set up by SHAEF. The so-called CROWCASS registers. There are about forty of them. But those are not open to the public. Actual investigative responsibility lies with the Directorate of Army Legal Services, which deals with offenses committed in all military theaters during the war. Then there’s the CIA. They have some sort of central registry. But neither Army Legal Services nor the CIA are readily available to a private individual like yourself, I’m afraid. There is the American Documents Center, in West Berlin, of course. I believe it is possible for a private person to get access to documents there. But only by permission of General Clay.”

“No, thanks,” I said. “The blockade may be over, but I’d rather keep away from Berlin if possible. Because of the Russians. I had to leave Vienna to get away from a Russian intelligence colonel who had his eye on recruiting me to the MVD, or whatever it is they call the Soviet Secret Police these days.”

“It’s called the MVD,” said Korsch. “Of course, if you don’t want to go to Berlin there’s always the Red Cross. They run an international tracing service. But that’s for displaced persons. They might know something. Then there are the Jewish organizations. The Brichah, for example. It started out as a refugee-smuggling organization but, since the establishment of the State of Israel, they’ve become much more active in the hunt for old comrades. It seems they don’t trust the Germans or the Allies to do the job. Can’t say I blame them. Oh yes, and there’s some chap in Linz who runs his own Nazi-hunting operation with private American money. Name of Wiesenthal.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think I’ll be troubling any Jewish organizations,” I said. “Not with my background.”