Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer

Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer
Born	Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer (1953-04-20)20 April 1953 Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina
Died	13 July 2023(2023-07-13) (aged 70) Tanoa
Other names	Teufel der Fische ("Devil of the Fish")
Era	Vriend Era
Political party	NSTAP
Parents	Alfredo Eugen Schweitzer (father) Adelaida Albina Blanco Gonzales (mother)
Relatives	Antonio (brother)
Commander of the SS Fischjägergruppen
In office 2019 – 13 July 2023
Preceded by	Office established
Head of the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen
In office 2012–2019
Commander of the Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap
In office 2005–2012
Commander of the Begeleitkommando des Eef Paap
In office 2002–2005
Military career
Allegiance	Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
Branch	Allgemeine SS
Service years	1971–2023
Rank	SS-Oberstgruppenführer
Unit	1st Allgemeine SS Division "Siege Chiche"
Conflicts	Fish Conflict

Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer (20 April 1953 – 13 July 2023) was an Argentine Allgemeine SS officer who commanded the SS Fischjägergruppen from its formation in 2019 until his death in 2023. He held the rank of SS-Oberstgruppenführer during the later period of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. He began his service in the 1st Allgemeine SS Division "Siege Chiche" before transferring to the Geheime Staatspolizei in 1973. From 1981 he worked in the personal protection of Eef Paap, later commanding the Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap. He transferred to the Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen in 2012.

Chiche Alem called Schweitzer Teufel der Fische ("Devil of the Fish") because of Schweitzer's personal hatred of Mark Hugerinus Paap and the Fish Collective. He was one of the founding heads of the SS Fischjägergruppen and personally joined the search for Mark. Schweitzer ordered killings of native Tanoans accused of helping Mark and personally carried out some of those killings.

Early life

Carlos Gustavo Schweitzer was born on 20 April 1953 in Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina. His father, Alfredo Eugen Schweitzer, came from a small village in the Salta region and later served as an officer in the Allgemeine SS. His mother, Adelaida Albina Blanco Gonzales, was a housewife from Comodoro Rivadavia. Alfredo chose the names Carlos and Gustavo because he considered both to be strong names.

Schweitzer was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended evening prayers every week. The family had little money until 1964, when Jan Paap gave Alfredo a position in the Allgemeine SS that improved the household's finances. Alfredo had taken part in war crimes during his own service and supported Paap's nationalist cause. He imposed those views on Carlos and his younger brother Antonio.

The household was strict. Carlos was initially described as shy and respectful, while Alfredo forced him to train physically because he wanted him prepared for service in the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. Carlos and Antonio attended the Paapjugend school in Comodoro Rivadavia each day. His years in the Paapjugend changed the shy behaviour described in his childhood. He advanced through its officer ranks and chose the Allgemeine SS because his father served there.

Schweitzer completed his Paapjugend training in 1971 and entered the 1st Allgemeine SS Division "Siege Chiche". He also joined the NSTAP after graduation. Most Paapjugend members joined the party before completing their training, making Schweitzer's entry comparatively late.

Career

Schweitzer entered the 1st Allgemeine SS Division in 1971 as an SS-Untersturmführer. He commanded a small patrol unit on Ravi-Ta. In 1973 he transferred to the Geheime Staatspolizei and was posted to Fiji. The Gestapo used surveillance before arrests and recruited informants during political investigations. Schweitzer followed suspected resistance contacts and searched their correspondence. He also recruited people around suspects as informants before the Gestapo moved to arrest them.

One of his early cases exposed a Gestapo informant who had been warning suspects before officers arrived. Schweitzer personally executed the informant. He was regarded as ruthless inside the Fiji command afterward, and commanders began assigning him suspects considered difficult or dangerous to arrest. Schweitzer also entered buildings alone when he believed a wanted person was inside, even when he knew the entry carried a substantial risk.

In 1977, Schweitzer was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer and transferred to Buenos Aires. The city became his base for Gestapo investigations across Argentina. Argentina had been formally annexed by the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen in 1965, ending constitutional government and independent electoral politics.

During 1978, Schweitzer investigated the Frente Nacional Argentino (FNA), a nationalist-liberal organization preparing an uprising intended to restore Argentine rule. The organization was believed to have at least 3,000 members spread across Argentina. Its senior leadership operated from an isolated rural property near Chancaní in western Córdoba.

Schweitzer captured one of the FNA's regional organizers and forced him to cooperate with the Gestapo. The organizer remained inside the FNA and supplied information that eventually exposed the Chancaní leadership site. Alejandro Rivanzi headed the organization, with Mateo Ferraro handling its political organization. Esteban Quiroga had been an Argentine politician before the 1965 annexation and remained a fugitive afterward before becoming responsible for the FNA's armed cells.

When the Gestapo moved against the Chancaní property, Schweitzer entered with the first group rather than remaining with the larger force. He personally killed Rivanzi by cutting his throat. Ferraro and Quiroga were also killed during the operation. Gestapo and Allgemeine SS forces then killed about 600 other FNA members while dismantling the organization.

The operation brought Schweitzer to the attention of the Gestapo directorate in Georgetown. He remained formally in the agency but was reassigned to investigations involving threats against senior Tanoan leaders. Schweitzer investigated possible assassination plots and screened suspects whose access brought them near members of the high command.

When the Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap was formed in 1981, Schweitzer transferred into the Begeleitkommando des Eef Paap. He accompanied Eef during travel and public appearances. When officers raised concerns about a venue before Eef arrived, Schweitzer sometimes entered the building himself while the rest of the protection detail continued its checks.

During the 1997 Georgetown motorcade plot, Schweitzer accompanied Eef to a leadership appearance in Georgetown. A government service vehicle was found inside an area that had already been cleared for Eef's motorcade. Schweitzer noticed the vehicle and stopped the convoy before it entered the route. A search found an explosive intended for the motorcade.

Investigators linked the plot to the Tanoa Resistance. Schweitzer responded by ordering a punitive operation against a native settlement near the suspected resistance route. The residents had not been shown to have participated in the plot. Allgemeine SS forces killed part of the population and arrested others, while Tanoan propaganda described the settlement as a resistance position.

After the motorcade plot, Eef began requesting Schweitzer personally for journeys considered at higher risk of attack. In 1999, Schweitzer held the rank of SS-Sturmbannführer and was placed in command of Eef's travelling escort. He continued accompanying Eef rather than directing the escort only from headquarters.

Eef placed Schweitzer in command of the entire Begeleitkommando in 2002 and promoted him to SS-Obersturmbannführer. Schweitzer reached SS-Standartenführer the following year. In 2005, Eef offered him command of the entire Leibstandarte SS Eef Paap. Schweitzer accepted and was promoted directly to SS-Gruppenführer.

Schweitzer continued travelling with Eef on most journeys after taking command of the Leibstandarte. Eef regularly kept him nearby during movements outside secure compounds. Schweitzer also travelled without Eef when a threat concerned another high-command location and personally inspected sites where security officers believed an attack might occur.

In 2012, Schweitzer left the Leibstandarte and transferred to the Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. He became head of the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen, an office listed under the Oberkommando's operations and command section. The appointment brought his promotion to SS-Obergruppenführer.

Schweitzer continued to join field work after taking the office. When regional forces lost an armed fugitive, he travelled to the search area and joined the hunt himself. Threats against senior commanders also brought him to their headquarters or residences. In cases involving suspected resistance infiltration, Schweitzer sometimes accompanied the officers who made the arrest.

In 2016, an anti-Tanoa organizer escaped regional officers in Argentina. Schweitzer travelled from Georgetown and joined the search. Officers later located the organizer at a rural property in the Valle del Conlara, where Schweitzer accompanied the attempted arrest. The organizer tried to escape and Schweitzer personally shot him.

In 2019, Mark Hugerinus Paap attempted to enter Tanoa while investigating the destruction of Air Fiji Flight 27 near Vagalala. Tanoan patrols intercepted him and forced him to withdraw through Rereki toward New Caledonia. After the failed entry, Eef personally selected Schweitzer to lead the newly formed SS Fischjägergruppen. Schweitzer left the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen and was promoted to SS-Oberstgruppenführer.

The Fischjägergruppen used intelligence to trace Mark and prepared ambushes when officers believed his location had been identified. The unit also guarded roads and buildings connected to the search. Schweitzer personally joined tracking parties and looked for Mark's tracks instead of leaving the searches entirely to subordinate officers.

In spring 2020, Mark attacked an isolated security checkpoint near Vagalala. Schweitzer personally went to the damaged checkpoint after the attack despite the possibility that Mark remained nearby. He then ordered the Fischjägergruppen into a nearby native settlement. Residents accused of speaking to Mark were taken away and killed.

Reports circulated during the hunt that Schweitzer personally carried out some of the killings of native Tanoans accused of helping Mark. During the Vagalala raid, he personally killed at least one resident.

On 20 June 2020, Schweitzer was shopping with his wife in Georgetown when Mark attempted to assassinate him. Mark shot Schweitzer in the back from a long distance. Schweitzer survived but spent about a year recovering from the wound.

After returning to command in 2021, Schweitzer addressed more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians about Mark. He declared that anyone seen helping Mark would be shot on sight. His pursuit became less cautious after his recovery. Reports of a possible Mark sighting could bring Schweitzer to the location before the Fischjägergruppen had confirmed that Mark was actually there.

During one such search in 2021, an unconfirmed report brought Schweitzer to a native village. Mark was not present. Schweitzer killed a group of five residents. Tanoan authorities later described the five as resistance members and presented the killings as an operation against the resistance.

Personal life

Schweitzer met his wife after his 1977 transfer to Argentina and married during his years based in Buenos Aires. She later moved with him to Tanoa and remained with him into his later career. She was accompanying him in Georgetown when Mark shot him in 2020.

During his Gestapo service in the 1980s, Schweitzer became a Glöbberist through contacts in the security services.

Photography

Schweitzer was fond of photography and maintained a strictly private photographic collection throughout his time in Fiji and on Tanoa. He took the photographs for personal use. They were not intended for publication or official circulation. The collection contained spontaneous and unstructured photographs, with Schweitzer sometimes photographing the same subject repeatedly without an apparent order.

Photographs often showed roads and rural areas that Schweitzer passed during his work. Others depicted compounds or building interiors. Some were taken during ongoing operations.

Dinosaurs appeared repeatedly throughout the collection and were a strong personal fascination for Schweitzer. He photographed displays and figures, then returned to the subject through illustrations or staged dinosaur scenes. He continued photographing dinosaur material over several years.

The collection was found inside Schweitzer's residence after the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. It consisted of personal material connected to his private interests and habits, not official propaganda.

Death

On 13 July 2023, Schweitzer travelled through the Tanoan countryside after receiving another report that Mark Hugerinus Paap had been seen nearby. He was travelling toward the reported sighting in a Kübelwagen when Mark ambushed the vehicle.

Mark shot Schweitzer's driver in the head, causing the Kübelwagen to crash into a tree. Schweitzer survived the crash but was badly injured. He left the vehicle and attempted to crawl away. Mark approached him and shot him in the head, killing him.

After Schweitzer's death, the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen falsely linked Mark to the native villages surrounding the place where Schweitzer had been killed. Women and children were executed. Men from the villages were deported to concentration camps.

See also

• SS Fischjägergruppen
• 1997 Georgetown motorcade plot
• Frente Nacional Argentino
• Fish Collective