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. Before 2019, he served in the Geheime Staatspolizei and later worked in the personal protection of Eef Paap. In 2012, he became head of the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen in the Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen.

Chiche Alem called Schweitzer Teufel der Fische ("Devil of the Fish") because of his hatred of Mark Hugerinus Paap and the Fish Collective. Schweitzer personally joined searches for Mark and ordered killings of native Tanoans accused of helping him. He personally carried out some of those killings.

Early life

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 names strong.

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. Alfredo supported Paap's nationalist cause and pushed Carlos and his younger brother Antonio toward service in the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen.

The household was strict. As a child, Carlos was shy and respectful. Alfredo required him to train physically because he wanted him prepared for later service. Carlos and Antonio attended the Paapjugend school in Comodoro Rivadavia each day. During his years there, Carlos became less shy and advanced through the Paapjugend officer ranks.

Schweitzer completed his Paapjugend training in 1971. He chose the Allgemeine SS because his father served there and joined the NSTAP after graduation.

Career

Schweitzer entered the 1st Allgemeine SS Division "Siege Chiche" 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. Schweitzer followed suspected resistance contacts and searched their correspondence. He also recruited people around suspects as informants before arrests.

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 cases involving 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 was dangerous.

In 1977, Schweitzer was promoted to SS-Obersturmführer and transferred to Buenos Aires. The city became his base for Gestapo investigations across Argentina.

In 1978, Schweitzer investigated the Frente Nacional Argentino (FNA), a nationalist-liberal organization preparing an uprising against Tanoan rule. He captured one of its regional organizers and forced him to cooperate with the Gestapo. The organizer remained inside the FNA and supplied information that led Schweitzer to its leadership base near Chancaní in western Córdoba.

Schweitzer entered the Chancaní property with the first Gestapo group. He personally killed the FNA's leader, Alejandro Rivanzi, by cutting his throat. Mateo Ferraro and Esteban Quiroga were also killed during the operation. Gestapo and Allgemeine SS forces then killed about 600 other FNA members.

The operation brought Schweitzer to the attention of the Gestapo directorate in Georgetown. He remained in the agency but was moved to investigations concerning threats against senior Tanoan leaders. Schweitzer investigated possible assassination plots and screened people whose positions gave them access to 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 a warning about a building Eef was due to enter, Schweitzer sometimes entered it himself before Eef arrived.

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

Investigators linked the attempt to the Tanoan resistance. Schweitzer then ordered a punitive operation against a native settlement near the suspected resistance route. The investigation had not established that its residents had participated in the plot. Allgemeine SS forces killed part of the population and arrested other residents.

After the motorcade plot, Eef began requesting Schweitzer 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 personally.

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. Schweitzer accepted and was promoted directly to SS-Gruppenführer.

Even as Leibstandarte commander, Schweitzer usually accompanied Eef on journeys. He also travelled alone to other high-command sites when officers reported a security threat and inspected the location himself.

In 2012, Schweitzer left the Leibstandarte and became head of the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen in the Oberkommando der Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. He was promoted to SS-Obergruppenführer with the appointment.

Schweitzer continued personally joining searches while heading the Amt. He travelled to areas where regional officers had lost fugitives and also went to high-command sites after reported threats. When resistance infiltration cases ended in arrests, Schweitzer sometimes accompanied the arresting officers.

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. Schweitzer accompanied the attempted arrest and personally shot the organizer when he tried to escape.

In 2019, Mark Hugerinus Paap attempted to enter Tanoa while investigating the destruction of Air Fiji Flight 27. Tanoan patrols intercepted him and forced him to withdraw. After the failed entry, Eef personally selected Schweitzer to lead the newly formed SS Fischjägergruppen because of Schweitzer's record of personally joining fugitive searches. Schweitzer left the Amt für Sicherheitsoperationen and was promoted to SS-Oberstgruppenführer.

Under Schweitzer, Fischjägergruppen officers used intelligence reports to prepare ambushes during the search for Mark. Schweitzer also ordered roads or buildings guarded when they were connected to a search. He personally joined tracking parties and looked for Mark's tracks.

In spring 2020, Mark attacked an isolated security checkpoint near Vagalala. Schweitzer went to the damaged checkpoint after the attack and ordered the Fischjägergruppen into a nearby native settlement. Residents accused of speaking to Mark were taken away and killed. Schweitzer accompanied the raid and personally killed at least one resident.

On 20 June 2020, Schweitzer was shopping with his wife in Georgetown when Mark shot him 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. After his recovery, Schweitzer became more reckless in the search. Reports of a possible sighting could bring him to the location before the Fischjägergruppen had confirmed that Mark was there.

During one such search in 2021, an unconfirmed report brought Schweitzer to a native village. Mark was not present. Schweitzer killed five residents. Tanoan authorities later described the five as resistance members and presented their deaths 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. 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 private photographic collection during his time in Fiji and on Tanoa. He took photographs spontaneously and without a set order, sometimes photographing the same subject repeatedly.

Many photographs showed roads or rural places that Schweitzer passed during his work. Others showed compounds or building interiors. Some were taken during operations.

Dinosaurs were a recurring personal interest. Schweitzer photographed displays and figures and also kept images of dinosaur illustrations or staged scenes. He returned to dinosaur subjects over several years.

The collection was found inside Schweitzer's residence after the collapse of the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen.

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.

See also

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