History Main / NaziHunter

* Eyal from ''Film/WalkOnWater'' is initially reluctant to become one and prefers to let the old Nazi die, but Menachem insists on "punishing him before God does".

[[folder: Fan Works]]

Expect the former Nazi to be living [[ArgentinaIsNaziland somewhere in South America]] in his well-guarded [[BigFancyHouse mansion]] financed by NaziGold, from which he [[ApocalypseHitler plots the return of the Third Reich]]. Hardly TruthInTelevision, as genuine war criminals go to some trouble to avoid drawing attention to themselves. And this usually involves living modestly and often working in low-end jobs such as manual labor. And as far as all that NaziGold, there are some other more plausible theories about where it ended up.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Zenna Persik is a Roma woman whose family was murdered in Nazi concentration camps. She spends the rest of her life hunting down and killing Nazis, targeting those that escaped any form of punishment after the war.

* Erik spends the first twenty minutes or so of his screentime in ''Film/XMenFirstClass'' tracking down and killing Nazis [[KickTheSonOfABitch in often brutal fashions.]] In fact, his reason for joining the X-Men is so that he can find and kill Klaus Schmidt/Sebastian Shaw, the mutant Nazi scientist who killed his mother.

* Dolores from ''Film/OSS117LostInRio''.

* After his stint in the SOE during World War II, Creator/ChristopherLee -- [[Film/HammerHorror yes]], [[Film/TheWickerMan1973 that]] [[Franchise/TheLordOfTheRings one]] -- hunted down Nazi war criminals because of his fluency in both French and German.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/SchindlersList Schindler's]] Hitlist]]

* ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' features a squad of Jewish-American soldiers killing Nazi officials and soldiers during [=WW2=] as opposed to after it. One of their members also happens to be a former German soldier that developed a taste for killing Nazis himself after he was subject to torture by Gestapo agents.

* ''Film/DerStaatGegenFritzBauer'': The title character is a German prosecutor in the 1950s who spends most of his time investigating the networks of escaped Nazis so he can bring charges against them in Germany or elsewhere, as he wants to rehabilitate his country's image after the war. He even discovers vital clues that helps Israel with finding Eichmann.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' solved the age problem with [[TheAgeless ageless]] Nazi necromancers. Unfortunately the Nazi hunter in this case--who inherited the role after his grandfather was murdered--is a Jewish college kid who used the instruction manual for his {{golem}} as [[TheStoner rolling paper for his marijuana]], so he has no idea how to command it (the golem isn't happy about him either).

* The TropeCodifier is BJ Blazkowicz from ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'', he dedicated his entire life to hunting down Nazis over and over again, he first took down Hitler himself in ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', and later on dealt with ''[[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural Nazis]]''. BJ is rather picky on his foes, he only hunts Nazis.

Something of a DiscreditedTrope these days, as anyone who served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII gets too long in the tooth to be anything other than a NaziGrandpa. And the generation that would have been old enough to be movers and shakers in the Nazi party would now be super-centenarians.[[note]]As of the third decade of the 21st century, even a raw recruit or Hitler Youth member would be no less than a nonagenarian.[[/note]] Finally, the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the start of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror dramatically expanded TheUsualAdversaries. Occasionally, much more recent works depict the Nazis of the [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic revivalist]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-Nazi]] variety.

* The New California Republic from the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series becomes this towards the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Enclave]] after the latter's defeat at the hands of the Chosen One. The two eventually go to war with each other and despite numerous casualties on both sides, the [=NCR=] prevailed and the Enclave was forced to relocate to the East Coast to lick their wounds and bide their time; those who stayed behind were executed on the spot, ostracized, or successfully integrated into the [=NCR=] to avoid further persecution. In one particular character's ending in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', [[spoiler: after the conclusion of the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, his connections and history with the Enclave soon were revealed by both the NCR and the Brotherhood of Steel, and the two factions team up together to hunt him down and attempt to try him for his affiliations with the organization, who had a rack sheet of crimes against humanity and non-humanity alike.]]

* ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'', ''VideoGame/SniperEliteIII'', and ''VideoGame/SniperElite4'' feature Lt. Karl Fairburne, whose missions mainly involve sabotaging [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi wonder-weapons projects]] before they can be completed. Often, as part of his missions, he's also tasked with hunting the Nazi scientists and officers behind the projects in order to achieve NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' solved the age problem with [[TheAgeless ageless]] Nazi necromancers. Unfortunately the Nazi hunter in this case--who inherited the role after his grandfather was murdered--is a Jewish college kid who used the instruction manual for his {{golem}} as rolling paper for his marijuana, so he has no idea how to command it (the golem isn't happy about him either).

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' solved the age problem with [[TheAgeless ageless]] Nazi necromancers. Unfortunately the Nazi hunter in this case--who inherited the role after his grandfather was murdered--is a Jewish college ex-stoner who used the instruction manual for his {{golem}} as rolling paper for his marijuana, so he has no idea how to command it (the golem isn't happy about him either).

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}} solved the age problem with [[TheAgeless ageless]] Nazi necromancers. Unfortunately the Nazi hunter in this case--who inherited the role after his grandfather was murdered--is a Jewish college ex-stoner who used the instruction manual for his {{golem}} as rolling paper for his marijuana, so he has no idea how to command it (the golem isn't happy about him either).

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1645124111005355600
%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bjblazkowicz.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Look at that. It's raining Nazis.]]

** Also from the X-Men side of things is James Bradley a.k.a. Doctor Nemesis, who spent decades hunting literal super-Nazis in South America, and now considers it a kind of leisure activity.

Something of a DiscreditedTrope these days, as anyone who served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII gets too long in the tooth to be anything other than a NaziGrandpa. And the generation that would have been old enough to be movers and shakers in the Nazi party would now be super-centenarians. [[note]]As of the third decade of the 21st century, even a raw recruit or Hitler Youth member would be no less than a nonagenarian.[[/note]] Finally, the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the start of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror dramatically expanded TheUsualAdversaries. Occasionally, much more recent works depict the Nazis of the [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic revivalist]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-Nazi]] variety.

[[folder:Comicbooks]]
* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, ComicBook/SilverSable's father did this, with the Wild Pack originally being established as a Nazi-hunting group.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal]], TheProtagonist of ''ComicBook/SimonSaysNaziHunter'' dedicated his post-Holocaust life to hunting down Nazis.

* There is an indie comic called ''Manimal'' (no, not [[Series/{{Manimal}} that one]]) about a SuperHero who tracks down and slays the Nazis responsible for turning him into a freak. This comic was reviewed by WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob and [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]].
* ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} occasionally tracked down Nazis after the war. Some of these Nazis are still around and he expresses his disgust of Nazis every time he sees them.
* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica himself continues to do this to this day, thanks to the ComicBook/RedSkull being [[JokerImmunity very hard to kill]].
* Much like Cap, ComicBook/AtomicRobo also continues to fight Nazi super-science, by virtue of Helsingard having god knows how many hidden labs throughout the world. Robo also found Otto Skorzeny living in Madrid in 1974, [[spoiler: but Skorzeny had actually brought him there so that he could goad Robo into killing him, to free him from the pain of his terminal cancer. Robo declined.]]

* In the '80s, ComicBook/{{Magneto}} joined the ranks of several Marvel villains in the ''Acts of Vengeance'' CrossOver simply so that he could get close to the ComicBook/RedSkull and bury him alive. Magneto was a Holocaust survivor so there was no love lost between him and the Skull.
** Also from the X-Men side of things is James Bradley a.k.a. Doctor Nemesis, who spent decades hunting literal super-Nazis in South America, and now considers it a kind of leisure activity.
* The ''ComicBook/SinCity'' short story ''Rats'' features an elderly Nazi war criminal, apparently living in secret in America. A mysterious Nazi Hunter soon kicks in the door and kills him by [[KarmicDeath shoving him in the oven]]. It is speculated that the Nazi Hunter in this story is a young [[TheDon Mob Boss Wallenquist]], a German mafia leader.

* ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}'': Laszlo Herzl in ''Red Soul'' is a Holocaust survivor who's part of an organization tracking and keeping tabs on former Nazis. [[spoiler:He's targeting Otto Lieber due to both his Nazi past and his selling H-bomb secrets to the Russians. He doesn't care overmuch when his hired killer accidentally offs a similar-looking owl.]]

* ''Series/NightGallery'' pilot film, episode "Escape Route". A Nazi war criminal living in South America is pursued by Israeli agents, including a man he tortured at Auschwitz.
* ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' features a squad of Jewish-American soldiers killing Nazi officials and soldiers during [=WW2=] as opposed to after it. One of their members also happens to be a former German soldier that developed a taste for killing Nazis himself after he was subject to torture by Gestapo agents.
* ''Film/SLCPunk'' has a modern take on this; the main characters find Neo-Nazi punks and beat them up. This is mostly due to the Neo-Nazis calling themselves punks rather than any moral reasons.
* ''Film/TheDebt'' follows three young Mossad agents attempting to kidnap a CaptainErsatz version of Dr. Mengele from East Berlin in the '60s.
* In the French movie (and remake) ''Film/MarieOctobre'', the target is not the former Nazi himself, who was simply an enemy soldier: the problem is that said German revealed the presence of a traitor in the former [[LaResistance resistance]] movement.
* Dolores from ''Film/OSS117LostInRio''.

* The protagonist of the second ''Film/{{Outpost}}'' movie is a young woman [[FollowInMyFootsteps carrying on a family vendetta]] of hunting down those who killed their relatives in the holocaust. [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Turns out one of the perpetrators isn't a]] NaziGrandpa.
* ''Film/TheStranger'' has a United Nations War Crimes Commission detective trying to track down a notorious high-ranking Nazi (essentially a fictionalized version of Adolf Eichmann) who has successfully escaped and hidden himself in a suburb in Connecticut.
* The Australian short film ''Film/{{Ubermensch}}'' (based on a story by Creator/KimNewman) has an aging Nazi hunter visiting his last target in his cell in an American prison... who's still as young as the day they first met. Turns out this is an alternate ComicBook/{{Superman}} who landed in Nazi Germany instead of the United States. So how do you kill a man with superpowers who's effectively immortal?
* ''Film/OperationFinale'' has an entire Mossad squad of them, as it is a dramatization of the kidnapping and extraction of Adolf Eichmann.
* ''Film/DerStaatGegenFritzBauer'': The title character is a German prosecutor in the 1950s who spends most of his time investigating the networks of escaped Nazis so he can bring charges against them in Germany or elsewhere, as he wants to rehabilitate his country's image after the war. He even discovers vital clues that helps Israel with finding Eichmann.

* ''Literature/TheOdessaFile'' by Creator/FrederickForsyth has Simon Wiesenthal as a cameo character. The protagonist is an IntrepidReporter tracking down a German war criminal. [[spoiler:However his motives are revealed to be [[YouKilledMyFather entirely personal]].]]

* ''Series/{{Hunters}}'' centers around a team of Nazi hunters who track down and kill a secret Nazi cabal in TheSeventies. [[spoiler:The big twist of the show's first season involves a ''huge'' subversion, in that the group's leader is revealed to be a notorious former Nazi trying to turn [[TheAtoner Atoner]].]]
* ''Kessler'', the sequel to ''Series/SecretArmy'', in which the title character is pursued by a German police officer, and a young Israeli woman seeking revenge for her roommate being killed by neo-Nazi thugs.

* The 2007 TV adaptation of the Literature/MissMarple story ''At Bertram's Hotel'' turns Malinowski (a racecar driver in the novel!) into a Nazi hunter.
* Sue Sylvester's mother Doris on ''Series/{{Glee}}'' was absent for most of Sue and Jean's lives as she was hunting down Nazis. Based on some of Doris' comments, and the show being set in the 2010s, it seems the "Nazis" she was tracking down were actually the [[SinsOfTheFather descendants of Nazis]] who were quietly living their lives with no ties to their ancestors' beliefs or crimes
* The man Sister Jude goes to for information on her co-worker, [[spoiler: Nazi scientist Dr. Arden, also known as Hans Gruper]] in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum''. This takes place in the 1960s, so there are likely a good many Nazis still running around.
* ''Series/InSearchOf'' covered the international hunt for [[MadDoctor Josef Mengele]], basing their "facts" on the allegations of Simon Wiesenthal (see Real Life). Unfortunately [[DatedHistory now that Mengele's identity while living in South America is known]], the dramatic tales of his narrow escapes from nazi hunters have turned out to be bogus.

* The TropeCodifier is BJ Blazkowicz from ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'', he dedicated his entire life to hunting down Nazis over and over again, he first took down Hitler himself in ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', and later on dealt with ''[[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural Nazis]]''. BJ is rather picky on his foes, he only hunts Nazis.
* The Soldier from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''... sort of. He traveled to Poland during the war to kill Nazis and didn't stop until four years after the war was over, because he ''didn't realize the war was over''. What form this Nazi-killing spree took, exactly, is not made clear, but it's heavily implied that they weren't actually Nazis.

Something of a DiscreditedTrope these days, as anyone who served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII gets too long in the tooth to be anything other than a NaziGrandpa. And the generation that would have been old enough to be movers and shakers in the Nazi party would now be super-centenarians. [[note]]As of the third decade of the 21st century, even a raw recruit or Hitler Youth member would be no less than a nonagenarian.[[/note]] Finally, the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the start of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror dramatically expanded the choice of stock villains. Occasionally, much more recent works depict the Nazis of the [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic revivalist]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-Nazi]] variety.

* ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'', ''VideoGame/SniperEliteIII'', and ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' feature Lt. Karl Fairburne, whose missions mainly involve sabotaging [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi wonder-weapons projects]] before they can be completed. Often, as part of his missions, he's also tasked with hunting the Nazi scientists and officers behind the projects in order to achieve NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup.

Expect the former Nazi to be living [[ArgentinaIsNaziland somewhere in South America]] in his well-guarded [[BigFancyHouse mansion]] financed by NaziGold, from which he [[ApocalypseHitler plots the return of the Third Reich]]. Hardly TruthInTelevision, as genuine war criminals go to some trouble to avoid drawing attention to themselves. And this usually involves living modestly and often working in low end jobs such as manual labor. And as far as all that NaziGold, there are some other more plausible theories about where it ended up.

On the flip side, a Nazi Hunter must be wary of himself and not to develop a KnightTemplar tendency. If he [[HeWhoFightsMonsters hunted Nazis for too long]], he himself would [[YouAreWhatYouHate become what he hated]]: ANaziByAnyOtherName.

Something of a DiscreditedTrope these days, as anyone who served in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII gets too long in the tooth to be anything other than a NaziGrandpa. And the generation that would have been old enough to be movers and shakers in the Nazi party would now be super-centenarians. [[note]]As of the third decade of the 21st century, even a raw recruit or Hitler Youth member would be no less than a nonagenerian.[[/note]] Finally, the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar and the start of UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror dramatically expanded the choice of stock villains. Occasionally, much more recent works depict the Nazis of the [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic revivalist]] [[ANaziByAnyOtherName neo-Nazi]] variety.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, ComicBook/SilverSable's father did this, with the Wild Pack originally being established as a Nazi hunting group.

* ''Film/MarathonMan'': A rare villianous example is [[spoiler:Janeway is a member of a government organization that performs this function, who has decided to allow Szell to be free (and looks the other way with his other monstrous acts) as long as Szell provides information on any other fugitive associates of the Nazi regime that he knows about]].

* ''Film/TheDebt'' follows three young Mossad agents attempting to kidnap a CaptainErsatz version of Dr. Mengele from East Berlin in the 60's.

* ''Film/DerStaatGegenFritzBauer'': The title character is a German prosecutor in the 1950s who spends most of his time investigating the networks of escaped Nazis so he can bring charges against them in Germany or elsewhere, as he wants to rehabiliate his country's image after the war. He even discovers vital clues that helps Israel with finding Eichmann.

* Subverted in ''Cobra'' by Creator/AndrewVachss. Burke motivates The Mole (who's Jewish) by saying the people he's chasing are Nazis, when the only Nazis he knows are pathetic wannabes to whom he sells copies of Hitler's final speech (actually Simon Wiesenthal addressing a crowd of Holocaust victims).

* ''{{Series/Heartbeat}}'' ("Going Home"). A German-American called Victor Kellerman tries to kill a local resident, after spending years trying to track down this 'friend' who confiscated his wealth and sent him to a concentration camp. He's finally able to track him down when the man's son sells a valuable stamp which used to belong to Kellerman.

* Any ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'' Agent in an operation against the [[{{Ghostapo}} Karotechia]] will be this. One particular example in the backstory is Operation SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY, where Delta Green went to South America track down and assassinate former Karotechia members, UsefulNotes/{{Mossad}} style.

* The TropeCodifier is BJ Blazkowicz from ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'', he dedicated his entire life to hunt down Nazis over and over again, he first took down Hitler himself in ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'', and later on dealt with ''[[{{Ghostapo}} supernatural Nazis]]''. BJ is rather picky on his foes, he only hunts Nazis.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Rimland Ingrid Rimland]] once cooperated with Simon Wiesenthal to hunt Josef Mengele, even writing a book, ''Demon Doctor'', about that hunt. [[FaceHeelTurn Later, she'd meet Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel, marry him and is today a Holocaust denier herself.]]