Israeli Agent Posed as Student to Extract Mengele Location from Nephew

Newly revealed Swiss government documents detail a previously unknown Israeli attempt in May 1964 to locate Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele by approaching his stepson and nephew, Karl-Heinz Mengele. An individual, identified only as "Soker" and described as a fit, dark-haired man in his early thirties, traveled from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem to the prestigious Montreux College in Switzerland, where Karl-Heinz was a student. Soker initially posed as a representative of the World Jewish Congress and later claimed to be acting on behalf of Josef Linton, then Israel's ambassador to Switzerland. He eventually revealed his true objective: to ascertain if Karl-Heinz could be persuaded to provide information leading to his stepfather's whereabouts.

Soker, who spoke excellent German and presented himself as a history student from the Hebrew University, was described in a Swiss report as a "terrible liar" after failing to answer questions about his background and his alleged travels to South America, where Mengele was in hiding. He hinted that Karl-Heinz's mother, Marta Mengele, Josef's ex-wife, might know her former husband's location but was unwilling to reveal it. Soker suggested that the nephew might also possess crucial details. The Swiss authorities initiated their own investigation following Soker's visit, though the report noted there was no official Israeli confirmation of Soker's identity or mission, leaving it uncertain if he was an official Mossad agent.

Karl-Heinz Mengele, born in 1944, was the son of Josef Mengele's brother, making Josef both his uncle and stepfather after Josef married Karl-Heinz's mother, Marta, in 1958. Karl-Heinz attended the Swiss boarding school from 1960 to 1964, with his tuition paid by the Mengele family in Germany. Swiss police investigated reports that Karl-Heinz might have met his stepfather in late 1962 or later, but found no evidence of such meetings in Switzerland. Karl-Heinz, described as a diligent student suffering psychologically from his stepfather's past, left Switzerland just two weeks after Soker's visit. While Israel's pursuit of Mengele is well-documented, this specific operation to extract information via his nephew remains largely unknown, suggesting continued Israeli efforts to find the "Angel of Death" even after primary operations ceased.