Ratlines
2020
string and wax on wood, 76” x 52”
Ratlines
The Ratlines were a series of secret escape routes across Italy and Spain that were established at the end of WW2. Their sole purpose was to help high ranking Nazi war criminals escape justice. The International Red Cross and the Vatican were complicit in this program. The Red Cross provided 10,000 blank travel documents to the Vatican, which then actively provided sanctuary and transport, thus aiding in the escape of 10,000 Nazi war criminals (and other fascists) to South America. Some of the most notorious Nazis left Europe via the Ratlines, including Eichmann, Mengele, Barbie, Stangl, Rauff, Priebke, and others.
There are entire towns in Argentina and Brazil that reflect the influence of the large influx of Germans after the war. One can see it in the language, architecture, school curriculum, and culture.
for further reading https://www.dw.com/en/the-ratlines-what-did-the-vatican-know-about-nazi-escape-routes/a-52555068
detail, Ratlines