[Donna Kelley, Cnn Anchor:] The Central Intelligence Agency has released some long-classified files on Nazi war criminals. So-called "Name Files" are a who's-who of the infamous, topped by Adolf Hitler himself. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor is joining us from Washington with more David.
[David Ensor, Cnn National Correspondent:] Donna, about 20 of the files have been released today. That's about 18,000 documents. And they make fascinating reading, but I am still in the thick of it. I have just started. Some initial reactions, though, we talked to some historians who have read all of them. For one thing, the documents suggest that the Nazi former intelligence officers, like Klaus Barbie or Emil Augsburg or Wilhelm Heitel that were hired by the U.S. intelligence and other Western intelligence agencies after the war to help against the Soviet KGB were not of much use and were not very reliable. So, the argument is being made by historians and by at least one Justice Department official that it was a mistake to have hired them in the first place.
[Eli Rosenbaum, Justice Department:] These files demonstrate, as a body, that the real winners of the Cold War were Nazi criminals, many of whom were able to escape justice because East and West became so rapidly focused after the war on challenging each other that they lost their will to pursue Nazi perpetrators, and they even deemed some of the criminals to be useful allies in conducting Cold War intelligence operations.
[Ensor:] The documents also shed some light on an enduring mystery of the World War II, which is the disappearance of Heinrich Mueller who was the head of the Gestapo. He had not been seen since Berlin 1945. There have been enduring stories that might have become come to the West, come to Latin America, been an agent for the CIA or for the KGB. This set of files suggests that none of that is true. It shows that the CIA did an extensive investigation to try to figure out if he had gone to Russia, pretty much satisfied itself that he had not, and he had certainly have never come to the West. The assumption is that he probably committed suicide, as did Hitler. Another matter of interest, some of the there is a new light shed on the role of Allen Dullis, who was a key U.S. intelligence officer in Switzerland during the war and became later the head of the CIA, in saving the necks of a couple of key Germans who had helped to negotiate some early surrenders. And finally, some interesting insights into Adolf Hitler himself. A file quoting a German doctor, back in 1937, who knew Hitler well, and who said in his opinion, the Nazi leader was a border case between genius and insanity, and in his opinion, the decision would take place in near future whether Hitler's mind would swing toward the latter. Professor Sauerbruch then said that if so, Hitler would become, quote: "The craziest criminal the world ever saw." And this German doctor also predicted that Hitler's end would come either in an insane asylum or by suicide Donna.
[Kelley:] David Ensor in Washington, thanks very much. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com