Episodes
Episode 12. Arto Koskinen and John Bernstein try to find new material on Felix Kersten and the movements of the white buses in Sweden’s national archives. But time is running out, and Koskinen wants answers. We also hear from Jan Wellmann, John Bernstein, Boris Salomon and Jos Verlaan. Who was Felix Kersten?
Published 02/26/19
Episode 11. Was Walter Schellenberg, the intelligent, pedantic, and creative chief of the SS’s counter-espionage division, behind Kersten’s act? Arto Koskinen delves into Felix Kersten’s relationship with Elisabeth Lüben, his former landlady’s daughter, who Kersten often called his sister. We hear from Boris Salomon and investigate Walter Schellenberg’s relationship with royal families of Sweden and England.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 10. What happened in Gut Harzwald? And who did the Swedish Red Cross’s white bus save there in 1945? Dutch journalist Jos Verlaan talks about Kersten’s connection to Holland’s nationalist socialist aristocrats and the Oxford group. Arto Koskinen and John Bernstein make findings in the book “Zodiac and Swastica”, written by Wilhem Wulff, Himmler’s astrologist. They find out a potential explanation for Kersten’s quick rise as a massage therapist.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 9. What surprises are found near Gut Harzwald? Arto Koskinen, John Bernstein, Toby Bernstein and Pauline Taubach visit the farm Felix Kersten used to own in Gut Harzwald. Koskinen shares the news with Dutch reporter Jos Verlaan.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 8. Did Kersten save Finland’s Jews? Arto Koskinen and John Bernstein meet historian Hannu Rautkallio who tells them his point of view on Felix Kersten’s wartime relationship with the Finnish government. Investigative reporter Boris Salomon reveals to Bernstein and Koskinen the kinds of deals Felix’s friend, businessman Ernst Ukkonen, made with the SS with Kersten’s help.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 7. Felix Kersten, who was recommended for a Nobel Peace Prize, refuted his political association to the SS in his memoirs. But what about the proof and assertions that insisted otherwise? Arto Koskinen tries to find out about Kersten’s SS membership with the help of historians Lars Westerlund and Hannu Rautkallio. He also researches Operation Reinhardt with John Bernstein, and they uncover a familiar name in the process.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 6. Who was the mysterious Master Ko who taught Felix Kersten to be a massage therapist? Arto Koskinen interviews non-fiction writer Tapio Tamminen and tries once again to get in touch with Felix Kersten’s son, Arno Kersten. Koskinen eventually meets Andrea Kersten, the daughter of Kersten’s other son, as well as her mother, Kerstin. They reveal Felix Kersten’s last words.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 5. What if Felix Kersten wasn’t Felix Kersten? Arto Koskinen and John Bernstein go back to researching documents about this new angle. Lars Westerlund, a judicial and government history researcher, and military history researcher Sune Sahlstedt review Werner Neuss’s theory that Felix Kersten had stolen his identity.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 4. Arto Koskinen travels with his friend John Bernstein, John’s son Toby Bernstein, and Toby’s girlfriend Pauline Taubach to meet Werner Neuss who has some shocking theories on Felix Kersten’s identity. The group ends up on a bridge on the Saale river in Halle, Germany. This is the place where Felix Kersten’s story may have begun. We will also hear opera singer Leon Lishner in this episode.
Published 02/26/19
Episode 3. Did the director of Sweden’s Red Cross write a letter to Himmler that opposed the transfer of Jews to Sweden? Or was the letter that was known as the Bernadotte letter, which was signed by Count Folke Benadotte, a forgery - and whose typewriter was it written on? Arto Koskinen gets so deep into his research that he’s sometimes not sure if the events are all a dream. Koskinen meets historian Gerald Fleming and producer Jan Wellmann. We also hear from historians Yehuda Bauer and Sir...
Published 02/26/19
Episode 2. How is it possible to leave behind such a conflicting life story? Arto Koskinen examines information and documents on Felix Kersten, but finds more questions than answers. We hear quotes from the film ‘Who was Felix Kersten?’, from Felix Kersten’s middle son, Arno Kersten; Felix’s wife, Irmgard Kersten; Friedrich Klingenberg who was a concentration camp prisoner who worked on Kersten’s farm; and historians Sir Hugh Trevor-Roper, Yehuda Bauer and Louis De Jong. We will also hear...
Published 02/26/19
Episode 1. When Arto Koskinen made the documentary film about Heinrich Himmler’s physical therapist and healer in the late 1990s, a warning light went off right away for the filmmakers. Or were the bad omens just due to an overactive imagination? Historian Antti Matikkala reveals the reasons for the honorary titles bestowed on Felix Kersten, and the film’s producer Jan Wellmann reminisces how it all started.
Published 02/26/19