Writer and researcher specialized in the Second World War, Mutti combines in the book “Hitler’s Last Lair” his rigor as a historian with a high-paced narrative that seeks to clarify the last days of Nazism and the real destiny of its leader. For years, his name has been associated with a meticulous and uncompromising line of work, that of someone who examines archives, testimonies and escape routes that link post-war Europe with Argentine history.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1978 and author of titles such as “Nazis in the shadows” and “Argentine Nazis who fought in the Second World War”, Mutti has built a solid work that dialogues between essay and historical chronicle. In this exclusive conversation with NOTICIAS, he details the keys to his new book, the challenge of studying Nazism without sensationalism and the persistence of the myths that still surround the figure of Hitler.
-How was “Hitler’s Last Lair” born?
-This book started more than 15 years ago and it changed a lot. It arose from reading about Hitler and finding spectacular versions, but without evidence. I always thought of a demanding reader, who wants reliable sources. The famous phrase goes that ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence’, and many conspiracy theories are houses of cards. So, I decided to write the book that I would have liked to read: solid, documentary and with verifiable testimonies.
The narrative that Mutti proposes focuses on the final stretch of the Nazi regime, the German military collapse after Stalingrad, the Allied landing in Normandy, the Soviet advance towards Berlin, the entry into the bunker of the Reich Chancellery and the ideological testament of the Führer. In this context, the “last lair” is not only a physical space, the bunker; but a symbol of the collapse of totalitarianism. The ordinal final of a chapter that began in the crisis of post-war Germany, in the rise of Nazism and in the use of the State as a machinery of repression and extermination.
-The book has a very clear cut. How did you define what was inside and what was not?
-The first manuscript was gigantic, more than 500 pages and almost a million characters. There were deep parts that contributed, but hindered the rhythm. When I returned to it years later, I understood that it had to be an informative book, accessible to any reader, not a thesis for specialists. The objective was not to lose historical rigor, but not to bore either. So I went straight to the essence of Hitler’s end, a powerful story that does not need eternal digressions.
-Because of the very precise investigation, it seems that he was inside the bunker in Berlin. How did that process work?
-It was a matter of spending years studying all the existing sources. The testimonies of those who fell into the hands of the Western Allies as soon as the war ended, those who were freed by the Soviets only after Stalin’s death, and the contributions of great biographers and historians of Nazism. It is available information, but no one gathered it to also refute the conspiracy theories with firm arguments. I wanted to demonstrate why the official story is, in this case, the true one.
Nazism was not only a German phenomenon, since it had ramifications that reached Latin America in the postwar period. Argentina, with its Peronism on the rise, gained notoriety as a destination for escape networks of Nazi leaders. The idea that Hitler, or at least part of the Nazi elite, could flee to places like Patagonia or Antarctica fuels popular legends that Mutti intends to confront with archives and routes.
-Some theories indicate that Hitler escaped to Argentina.
-It doesn’t make me angry or surprised to hear those theories. Conspiracies have always existed and sell a lot. The problem is that serious historians never face them, they say it would be ‘abandoning’. But ordinary people do not have to be specialists and deserve a clear explanation. We all like mystery and even more so at the end of Nazism, which in itself is spectacular. If you tell reality well, there is no need to decorate it with science fiction.
-What causes you to delve so deeply into the figure of a leader like Hitler?
-It is impossible to approach Hitler without bearing all the horror of Nazism. It is not a question of empathizing, but of trying to understand why he became a mass leader and how he installed a system that functioned as an absolutist and fanatical court. The structure of Nazism is as fascinating as it is sinister: cult of the leader, giant state, internal corruption. What it generates in me is impression and intellectual intrigue. How could a movement of collective fanaticism dominate an entire civilized society?
-Was it never emotionally affecting you to delve into the mind of a man like Adolf Hitler?
-I always stayed balanced because I don’t live trapped in that issue. It’s just part of my job. Within my specialty, which is World War II and the interwar period, I research very diverse stories. For example, my previous book is about Argentines who fought for the Third Reich. Changing my focus allows me not to stay trapped in the figure of Hitler, who, if he consumed you exclusively, could turn you into a hermit.
-Your blogspot U-Boat Argentina is very followed. What can be found in that space?
-It is my personal blog, where I write without editorial limits about what I am passionate about. Unknown stories of the world wars, Nazism in Argentina, recovered objects, ongoing investigations. Some stories had international repercussions, such as a painting stolen by a Nazi that appeared in Argentina. And others are small curiosities. The important thing is that it is a living space, where there is always something to discover.
