His ability to convince and manipulate others led him to be put in charge of the Party’s propaganda. Resentment at the loss of the war and the severity of the peace terms imposed upon the German people brought widespread anger to the country, especially Bavaria which had a disdain for Berlin’s government.
Under Hitler’s leadership, the party was renamed to the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, which became commonly referred to as the Nazi Party. Hitler and his ardent supporters envisioned a Third Reich of a thousand years in which all German peoples, including Austria, would be led by the Nazi Party.
Hitler rode this wave of enthusiasm for the Nazi cause to lead Germany into a period of expansion across Europe and into Northern Africa. He was a brutal leader who murdered millions of innocent people, Germans included, in the quest for ethnic purity.
Even during the Second World War, Hitler’s name became synonymous with pure evil. To this day, his name, the term Nazi, and the symbol of the swastika adopted by the Nazi Party evokes feelings of anger and hostility.
World War II ended in 1945 and Germany eventually became a respected member of the European Community and a world leader. Many former Nazis were captured, killed, or went into hiding. The European continent moved on vowing to never allow the rise of a charismatic leader like Hitler to gain power again.
History has shown that many high-ranking officials in the Nazi Party escaped Germany in the waning days of the war as well as afterwards. Their means of transportation were as varied as their destinations. Organizations and governments around the world have devoted eight decades tracking down every last Nazi soldier, party leader, and conspirator in the Holocaust until even those in their late nineties were brought to justice.
This story, however, is about a different group. It’s a story of legends and a tale of conspiracy. But as is always the case with my novels, it is based in historical fact.
The ODESSA, or Organisation der Ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen, translated as Organization for Former SS Members, was created to assist in the escape of the Nazi Party officials and German business leaders who feared they’d be captured and imprisoned by the Allied forces. They sought destinations around the world, escaping through European portals including Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Norway. They arrived in strange, faraway lands including the Middle East, Africa, and South America.
And they never gave up their dreams for a Fourth Reich. With their vast amounts of ill-gotten gains in the form of money, gold, and historic artifacts, the Nazis abroad were well-funded, hidden from Allied intelligence and above all, committed to continuing their quest for a future Nazi Germany.
Many of the gatherings in the formation of Odessa were discovered by the intelligence community after the war. The destination and the ratlines used by the escaping Nazis were based upon countless hours of research and interviews with history experts from Hamburg to Buenos Aries.
Some of the most feared Nazis on the planet during the rise and fall of the Third Reich—Adolph Eichmann, Josef Mengele, Walter Rauff, and Franz Stangl, among many others, managed to escape to these destinations.
Then, there were the wives, mistresses, children, and future grandchildren of the Nazis who carried the torch of the Nazi Party ideology. They still believed in the viability of the Reich. As a result, every single historian I contacted agreed on one thing:
The Third Reich may have ended but the possibility of a Fourth Reich is held in the hearts of many ancestors of the Nazis.
Hatred doesn’t die with its leader.
Thank you for reading the Odessa trilogy.
Bobby
Author’s Note about Gunner Fox and the Gray Fox Team
June 13, 2019
Major Gunner Fox, United States Air Force special operator and experimental aircraft test pilot had paid his dues. He’d performed beyond the call of duty when his country needed him. He’d suffered emotionally when his wife, Heather, a NASA astronaut, died during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. He found himself in a dark place after her death, without a reason to live.
Until America needed a hero. A previously undiscovered asteroid was on a collision course with Earth. It was deemed to be a planet-killer, a near-Earth object equal in size and destructive capability as the one that brought the dinosaurs to extinction.
In a time of desperation, America turned to Gunner and his fellow operatives, Major Cameron “Cam” Mills and Lieutenant Barrett “Bear” King. Major Mills, a childhood friend and the person who introduced Gunner to Heather, has always been by his side. She attended special forces training with Bear and the duo offered the perfect complement to Gunner’s advanced training, special skills, and vast knowledge obtained during his college years when he received his degree in the earth sciences.
During the asteroid mission, Gunner, Cam and Bear become reacquainted with Colonel Gregory Smith, Gunner’s mentor while he went through SERE – Air Force Special Warfare training at the AFSOC facility in the Florida panhandle. Col. Smith left the Air Force to join DARPA, the secretive government agency falling under the Department of Defense budget. He was always referred to by his DOD codename: Ghost.
After the success of the asteroid mission, Ghost was instructed to build a team around Gunner Fox. He brought on FBI Special Agent Theodora “Teddy” Cuccinelli because of her expert computer skills. Her abilities to access virtually any server or computer system earned her the moniker—Jackal. She acts as the eyes and ears for Gunner, Cam, and Bear when they are on a mission.
Ghost was tasked with naming this new team and he chose Gray Fox. In the early eighties, a new special operations force was created under the purview of the Joint Special Operations Command of the U.S. Army. Known as Intelligence Support Activity, or simply, The Activity, their role was to gather intelligence prior to special operations and to deploy assets to handle covert, off-the-books missions.
Over many decades, The
