Dr. Death dead or alive?
Photo: Reuters
Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff
Photo: AP
Report: 'Dr. Death' dead since 1992
Nazi hunters continue search for Aribert Heim until German TV report declaring him dead is confirmed
One of the most wanted Nazi war criminals, Aribert Heim or "Doctor Death", thought by Nazi-hunters to be in his 90s and in South America, in fact died in 1992, German TV reported on Wednesday.
Heim was wanted for killing hundreds of concentration camp victims with horrific medical experiments, including performing operations without anesthesia and injecting petrol directly into their hearts.
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Leading Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre had said last July that he believed Heim was still alive and hiding out in either southern Argentina or Chile.
However, public TV channel ZDF said in a statement that he died of cancer in 1992, citing Heim's son and acquaintances in Egypt, where he had been living under a false identity after converting to Islam.
On Wednesday, Zuroff said that the German TV report sounded authoritative but that he would rather wait for confirmation before passing further comment.
"I don't want to comment just yet. The reports seem to be serious but I'm still waiting for confirmation from my own sources and there are various questions that need to be answered," he said.
"Some interest has accredited this death, and we will check documents available on this subject. I must note that the Arab world is unfortunately the only place where such offenders can be treated as heroes," he added.
Zuroff, who has been leading the search for Heim, said he would be "very disappointed if Heim was able to complete his life without being judged," but that he did not regret efforts made to try to catch him because "the world knows who he was."
Heim was number two on the most wanted Nazi list, after Alois Brunner, Adolf Eichmann's main assistant, who is thought to be dead.
Born in Austria in 1914, Heim was thought to have carried out grotesque medical experiments on his victims at the infamous Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria during World War II.
Survivors of Mauthausen allege the father of three cut prisoners open, removing their livers, among other things. Zuroff said last July he had to be brought to justice, whatever his age.
"He castrated people, he used parts of their body to decorate his office. I'm not giving out these details to emotionalize the issue, but for people to understand how important it is to catch this criminal," Zuroff said.
Heim was arrested by US troops in 1945 but was released two and a half years later. He subsequently set himself up as a gynecologist in Germany but fled in 1962 when authorities were poised to arrest him.
