Main content

The blind Holocaust survivor who caught a fugitive Nazi

After losing his sight and most of his family in the Holocaust, Lothar Hermann, a pensioner living in Argentina, helped bring one of the most notorious Nazi criminals to justice.

Lothar Hermann found out his neighbour was 鈥榓rchitect of the Holocaust鈥� Adolf Eichmann.

Lothar Hermann鈥檚 German-Jewish family perished in the Holocaust, but when he escaped to Argentina, little did he know that within a few years a Nazi fugitive would wind up living at the end of his street.

Lilianna Hermann spent two decades uncovering the story of a hidden family hero - her great uncle Lothar - only to find a shocking truth: it was Lothar who had played a vital role in capturing the notorious SS officer and Nazi fugitive, Adolf Eichmann, the man responsible with carrying out Hitler鈥檚 Final Solution. But Lothar was not celebrated in Eichmann鈥檚 capture and eventual trial and back home Lothar faced threats and indifference from Nazi sympathisers.

This is the unbelievable true story of how a blind survivor, living off his pension, brought down one of the architects of the Holocaust.

Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Producer: Edgar Maddicott and Zoe Gelber

Get in touch: liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784

Available now

39 minutes

More episodes

See all episodes from Lives Less Ordinary

Featured

  • .

Podcast

  • Lives Less Ordinary

    Step into someone else鈥檚 life and expect the unexpected. Extraordinary personal stories