Editing Karl Wolff (section)

==Post WWII==
Immediate Post-War Period (1945–1949)
	•	Operation Sunrise and Initial Leniency: In early 1945, Wolff, as the Higher SS and Police Leader in Italy, played a key role in Operation Sunrise, secretly negotiating the early surrender of Axis forces in northern Italy to the Allies. This move, conducted with the help of Swiss intermediaries and American OSS officer [[Allen Dulles]], ended fighting in Italy before Germany’s overall capitulation. His cooperation earned him favor with the Allies, particularly the Americans, who saw him as a pragmatic figure willing to defy Hitler’s orders. As a result, Wolff was not prosecuted at the Nuremberg Trials (1945–1946), despite his senior role in the SS and knowledge of the Holocaust.

	•	Internment and Testimony: Wolff was interned by the Allies after the war and provided testimony at Nuremberg, particularly about the SS’s operations and Himmler’s activities. He downplayed his own involvement in war crimes, presenting himself as a bureaucrat unaware of the full extent of the Holocaust. This narrative, combined with his Operation Sunrise role, shielded him from immediate prosecution. He was released in 1949, allowing him to return to civilian life in West Germany.

Civilian Life and Public Relations Work (1949–1962)
	•	Professional Life: After his release, Wolff settled in West Germany and worked in various capacities, leveraging his pre-war experience in advertising. He took a job as a public relations manager for a publishing house in Munich and later worked in advertising and marketing roles. He lived a relatively comfortable middle-class life, maintaining a low profile but not entirely hiding his past. 
	•	Denial of War Crimes: During this period, Wolff consistently denied direct involvement in the Holocaust, claiming he was unaware of the “Final Solution” and portraying himself as a loyal but apolitical officer. He maintained contact with former SS colleagues and was part of informal networks of ex-Nazis who supported each other in post-war Germany. These networks were common in the early Federal Republic, where denazification was unevenly enforced.