The dream to clone Hitler being destroyed
It is already 46 years ago that The boys from Brazil (Ira Levin) was published. In this book, the main
characters are obsessed with their own purposes. Mengele is a former German SS officer who wants
to clone Hitler. Liebermann is a Jewish Nazi-hunter, who wants to counter Mengele’s plan. A few
years before the book was published the technology about cloning began, and this fear is still alive.
People are fearful about a repeat of the Holocaust, they are afraid that this book will give Nazis ideas.
This paper has been divided into three parts. The first part deals with the purpose of Mengele. The
second part deals with the purpose of Liebermann, and the last part is the conclusion of this paper.
Mengele wants to replicate Hitler. Namely, he carries out his plan by using 94 genetically the same
adopted boys from one single German Nazi woman. Mengele wants to mimic the life that Hitler lived.
As a fourteen-year-old boy, Hitler lost his father. His father was already in his fifties when Hitler was
born, his mother on the other hand was in her twenties. That is exactly the same environment that
Mengele wanted to create for the boys. All of the 94 boys had an adoptive father with an age
between sixty-four and sixty-six, and a relatively young adoptive mother. Mengele’s goal was to kill
all the fathers because the boys are meant to experience the same life-changing events that Hitler
experienced. He ordered six men to kill all the adoptive fathers of the 94 boys. Mengele did not share
the entire plan since he was afraid his master plan would be revealed. The only thing they got to hear
was: “It's the most important operation the Organization has ever undertaken, and "important" is a
thousand times too weak a word to describe it.” (Ira Levin, 12). More and more adoptive fathers
were being murdered, but Mengele was still not satisfied. “Very nice. Seven red checks. But hardly
any pleasure at all. Damn Rudel! Damn Seibert! Damn Liebermann! Damn everybody!” (Ira Levin, 76).
Mengele did not do it all for pleasure, he was a big Nazi supporter. His dedication was Hitler, also
known as the Führer.
He looked about the dormitory, and up through its broken roof at treetops, and stars that
came and went among them. And - maybe, maybe not - at his Führer watching him. I won't
fail you, he promised. He looked about at the place where so much, so gloriously much, had
already been accomplished - and glaring, said aloud, 'I won't.’ (Ira Levin, 115)
Furthermore, Liebermann, a Jewish Nazi-hunter, wants to derail Mengele’s plan. He heard part of
Mengele’s plan on a phone call, from that moment on he wants to get to the bottom of it.
Liebermann is not being heard by the Government nor by the majority of his peers.
One of your wanted Nazis, isn't he?' 'One of everybody's,' Liebermann said, 'not only mine. The
German government still offers sixty thousand marks for him. He was the chief doctor at
Auschwitz. "The Angel of Death", he was called. … A man with two degrees! He killed them:
thousands of twins from all over Europe, Jewish and non-Jewish. It's all in my book. (Ira
Levin,43)
Over time Liebermann learns more about Mengele’s plan. In the beginning, he only knew about the
adoptive fathers who were foreseen to be killed. With time being he discovers that it is all about the
adoptive father’s sons. With that knowledge he is even more determined to stop Mengele, he has to
take the matter into his own hands. Mengele is angry that Liebermann knows all about his plan,
therefore he believes that if he kills Liebermann his plan can continue.
