08 June 2020

Philippe Sands - See the talk on YouTube here

Philippe Sands gave a terrific talk by Zoom on the 5th June. His talk in 2017 on East West Street was one of the highlights of that year and this one was just as rivetting.

You can see the full 90min  talk on YouTube by clicking HERE

There is also a BBC Podcast which you can access on BBC sounds or using this link : https://player.fm/series/intrigue/episode-1-secrets-in-the-castle

You can buy books from Daunts Book on line and they will open on Monday 15th.

Daunts delivery was pretty fast when we bought a Library copy.

Philippe's latest book, the Ratline  - Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive - which was published in April 2020.

A synopsis is below and you can see a review of this book by clicking HERE 

Philippe has been a strong supporter of KCL and kindly offered to come and talk again on the 5th June.

Mark White, Professor of History at the University of London  introduced and moderated the evening.

Synopsis of The Ratline

As Governor of Galicia, SS Brigadeführer Otto Freiherr von Wächter presided over an authority on whose territory hundreds of thousands of Jews and Poles were killed, including the family of the author's grandfather. By the time the war ended in May 1945, he was indicted for 'mass murder'. Hunted by the Soviets, the Americans, the Poles and the British, as well as groups of Jews, Wächter went on the run. He spent three years hiding in the Austrian Alps, assisted by his wife Charlotte, before making his way to Rome where he was helped by a Vatican bishop. He remained there for three months. While preparing to travel to Argentina on the 'ratline' he died unexpectedly, in July 1949, a few days after spending a weekend with an 'old comrade'.

In The Ratline Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of a senior Nazi and fugitive, and of his wife. Drawing on a remarkable archive of family letters and diaries, he unveils a fascinating insight into life before and during the war, on the run, in Rome, and into the Cold War. Eventually the door is unlocked to a mystery that haunts Wächter's youngest son, who continues to believe his father was a good man - what happened to Otto Wächter, and how did he die?

Philippe Sands, QC (born 17 October 1960) is a British and French lawyer at Matrix Chambers, and Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College London. A specialist in international law, he appears as counsel and advocate before many international courts and tribunals, including the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the European Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court.

Sands serves on the panel of arbitrators at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

He is the author of seventeen books on international law, including Lawless World (2005) and Torture Team (2008). His book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity (2016) has been awarded numerous prizes, including the 2016 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. His latest book is The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive (2020) about Otto_Wächter.

Since 5 February 2018 Sands has served as President of English PEN.

The Evening was kindly supported by U3A in London and Osbornes Law, solicitors