In the heart of Santiago, the infamous 38 Londres Street becomes the haunting backdrop for a riveting tale that intertwines the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in London, the post-war life of senior SS officer Walther Rauff in Chilean Patagonia and the sinister connections between the two men. Walther Rauff, a key figure responsible for the wartime horrors of mobile gas vans, fled justice and found an unlikely refuge in Chile. Settling in Punta Arenas, he managed a king crab cannery, seemingly far removed from his dark past. But as rumours swirl about Rauff's involvement with Pinochet's secret intelligence services and the disappearances that plagued Chile, a chilling narrative unfolds.
In 1998, as Pinochet faces arrest in London, Philippe Sands, approached to advise the dictator, instead chooses to act as a barrister for Human Rights Watch. This decision leads to an eight-year exploration into Rauff's second life, his ties to Pinochet and his role in the atrocities at the heart of the London proceedings. A unique blend of memoir, detective story, courtroom drama and travelogue, drawing on interviews with key players and extensive research in archives worldwide, Sands unveils a hidden double story of mass murder and a disturbing link between the atrocities of the 1940s and those of our own times.
As the narrative unfolds, we are transported into a world where the echoes of historical crimes reverberate through the corridors of power, exposing the chilling truth behind the lives of two men and their intertwined destinies on 38 Londres Street.
Philippe Sands is Professor of Public Understanding of Law at UCL, visiting professor at Harvard Law School and a practising barrister at 11 KBW. He has been involved in many significant international cases in recent years, including Pinochet, Congo, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Iraq, Guantanamo, Chagos and the Rohingya. He has served as President of English PEN and as a member of the board of the Hay Festival.
