Philippe Sands

Philippe Sands’ ‘The Ratline is a story of life and love, murder, denial and a curious death. Otto von Wächter was a senior Austrian Nazi indicted for mass murder who escaped justice after the war. Sands uncovers remarkable new evidence about what exactly happened to Otto von Wächter leading up to his unexpected death in 1949. Accompanied by Wächter’s son Horst, Sands embarks on a journey that goes right to the heart of ‘the ratlines’, the post-war Nazi escape route out of Europe, and tries to discover the circumstances of Otto’s death in Rome.

70 years on, through painstaking research, Philippe Sands has recreated a rich, fascinating universe full of extraordinary secrets and stories. All the hallmarks of a wartime thriller are brought vividly to life: part love story, part noir, and part history.