Following the collapse of Nazi Germany in 1945, many senior Nazi officials managed to evade capture and punishment. Some, like Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust, fled to South America with the help of the ODESSA network, a secret organization dedicated to assisting Nazi war criminals. Others, such as Martin Bormann, Hitler's personal secretary, disappeared without a trace, their fates remaining unknown. A combination of factors contributed to their escapes, including the chaos and confusion of the war's aftermath, the lack of international coordination in tracking down war criminals, and the complicity of individuals and organizations who provided them with hiding places and financial support.
