Farewell to The Angel Of Death

THE CORONERS IN BRAZIL WHO EXAMINED THE EXhumed body of a drowning victim in 1985 were almost certain that they were looking at Josef Mengele, the “Angel of Death” who is said to have whistled opera while selecting which Jews would perish in the gas chambers of Auschwitz–and who performed horrifying medical experiments on many of the concentration camp’s inmates. But almost was not good enough for the Israeli government, or for survivors of the camps who were still haunted by the man who escaped Allied custody and fled to South America in 1949.

Though German authorities matched the remains to Mengele’s medical and dental records in 1985, they were not 100% convinced until last week. British scientist Alec Jeffreys compared DNA from the exhumed bones with DNA from Mengele’s living son Rolf Jenckel and pronounced them a match. The Israelis said they were satisfied. The genetic testing might have happened sooner, but Jenckel refused to cooperate until a German prosecutor threatened to dig up other deceased Mengeles for tissue samples.