Clara Stauffer

Clara Stauffer (1904–1984) was a Spanish Falangist and Nazi ratline operator. She was a member of the Sección Femenina, a women's Falangist group, during the Spanish Civil War. She served as its chief propagandist, and she was involved with the group's efforts to strengthen ties between Francoist Spain and Nazi Germany in World War II. After the war, she was one of the most influential smugglers of Nazi fugitives, giving them shelter in Spain and arranging their travel to Argentina.

Clara Stauffer in 1931

Early life and Spanish Civil War

Clara Stauffer was born in Madrid in 1904.[1] Her parents were Konrad Stauffer,[1] a German brewer that had immigrated to Spain in 1889,[2]: 133  and Clara Sofía Lowe.[1] She was raised in Germany, moving back to Spain in 1936. Stauffer was heavily involved in athletics, including swimming and skiing.[2]: 133  She won a swimming competition in 1931 by crossing the Peñalara lagoon in under two minutes,[1] and in 1938 she was the first woman to attempt the Flying Kilometer of St. Moritz. She failed to complete the latter event, but she at one point achieved a speed of 65.59 miles per hour (105.56 km/h).[2]: 133 

Stauffer was a member of the Sección Femenina and a close ally of its leader Pilar Primo de Rivera.[3]: 182  During the Spanish Civil War, Stauffer worked as Sección Femenina's chief propagandist and was responsible for its press.[1][2]: 133 [3]: 46  She suggested "Auxilio Invierno" as the original name of the Nationalist charity organization during the Spanish Civil War, naming it after the Winterhilfe, both translating to "Winter Aid".[3]: 30  Stauffer supported far-right politics and political leaders, keeping large portraits of Francisco Franco, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini on the wall in her office.[3]: 46  She published a book about the Sección Femenina in 1940.[2]: 133 

World War II and Nazi collaboration

In 1943, Stauffer accompanied Pilar Primo de Rivera to Germany on a mission to strengthen relations between Germany and Spain.[2]: 134 [3]: 182  On this trip, she met Nazi diplomat Wilhelm Faupel, among other high ranking Nazis. Stauffer and Faupel are believed to have collaborated regularly after this, particularly in their work protecting Nazis.[2]: 134 

After the end of World War II in Europe, Stauffer became a major figure in the Spanish–German relief organization Hilfsverein, which she helped form alongside José Boos.[4][5]: 491  The Spanish government tacitly endorsed the operation but advised them not to heavily publicize or formalize their work.[5]: 491  Over the following years, she worked to hide and find employment for Nazis escaping to Spain, and she became involved with the ratlines that smuggled Nazis to Argentina.[4] She was effectively operating a charity drive, collecting food and clothes for Nazi fugitives.[5]: 493  Her work was primarily funded by Johannes Bernhardt, a German–Spanish businessman.[2]: 137 

Much of her work involved securing the release of Nazis that were imprisoned in Spain, such as those at the Sobron internment camp, by taking charge of them in the capacity of a charitable organization.[2]: 137 [5]: 493  Stauffer's apartment became a hub for the smuggling effort, and she kept numerous outfits to serve as disguises for Nazis.[1] Her supply was considerable; her nephew described each room as "filled with dozens of pairs of boots, shirts, jackets, trousers, socks and gloves".[2]: 136 

Stauffer is estimated to have aided 800 Nazis in their escape to Spain.[6] Such was her influence in this program that her name was included on the Allied Control Council repatriation list of 104 individuals in Spain wanted for their involvement in Nazi crimes in 1947; she was the only woman on the list.[1] She maintained a working relationship with the Spanish government, which permitted her activities and prevented her extradition.[2]: 134  In 1948, Stauffer was afflicted with pleurisy, which was attributed to the constant working and traveling she engaged in as part of the ratline.[2]: 133 

Death and legacy

Stauffer died in Madrid on 15 October 1984.[1] She was a main character in the historical fiction novel Los pacientes del doctor García by Almudena Grandes,[1][6] and she is to be portrayed by Eva Llorach in its television adaptation of the same name.[7]

References
  1. García, Javier Martín (2020-07-02). "Clarita Stauffer, la dama que escondía nazis en España" [Clarita Stauffer, the lady who hid Nazis in Spain]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  2. Walters, Guy (2010). Hunting Evil: The Nazi War Criminals Who Escaped and the Quest to Bring Them to Justice. Crown. pp. 133–137. ISBN 978-0-307-59248-4.
  3. Bowen, Wayne H. (2000). Spaniards and Nazi Germany: Collaboration in the New Order. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 978-0-8262-6282-0.
  4. Messenger, David A. (2011). "Beyond War Crimes: Denazification, 'Obnoxious' Germans and US Policy in Franco's Spain after the Second World War". Contemporary European History. 20 (4): 473. ISSN 0960-7773. JSTOR 41238374.
  5. Brenneis, Sara J.; Herrmann, Gina (2020). Spain, the Second World War, and the Holocaust: History and Representation. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4875-3251-2.
  6. Constenla, Tereixa (2017-08-27). "Clarita y sus 800 nazis" [Clarita and her 800 Nazis]. El Pais (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-08-26. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  7. "'Los pacientes del doctor García': comienza el rodaje de la primera serie que adapta a Almudena Grandes" ['The patients of doctor García', by Almudena Grandes, becomes a series on La 1]. Diez Minutos (in European Spanish). 2022-01-18. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
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