FACTS Q&A:

  Q. Former nazi soldiers?

What happened to them? Were ALL tried for war crimes? Were they able to go back to civilian life?

  A.There were thousands of Nazi war criminals who escaped justice running off to friendly countries and and settling in under assumed identities. The U.S./Soviet gov'ts., participated in several conspiracies to help war criminals escape justice. Some of these criminals were scientists and engineers, and the U.S./Soviet gov'ts., had a policy that it was in the interests of their nations to exploit that talent rather than see that justice was done. The U.S./USSR rocket programs in the 1950s and 1960s were influenced by German rocket scientists who had participated in war crimes.
Only approx. 20% of the 150,000 Nazi war criminals were ever brought to trail. Millions of others escaped punishment. The Waffen SS was declared a criminal organization, but only the top leaders were ever tried. Most went back to civilian life. Many high profile figures escaped the hang mans' noose, most notably Dr. Mengele and others.