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Hitler is alive and in hiding in final season of ‘Hunters,’ Amazon’s series about Jews killing Nazis
Spoilers for the first and second seasons of “Hunters” follow.
(JTA) – When Amazon Prime released the first season of “Hunters” in 2020, it advertised its Nazi-hunting TV show as “Inspired By True Events.”
That was true only in the loosest possible sense of the term. Starring Al Pacino and Logan Lerman and produced by Jordan Peele, “Hunters” told a bloody, souped-up, almost entirely embellished story of a Jewish-led team of multiracial Nazi hunters in the 1970s trying to stop a “Fourth Reich” from rising in the United States.
The show was immediately controversial: Series creator David Weil, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, had to defend his show from the Auschwitz Memorial, which harshly criticized “Hunters” for — among other scenes — depicting a human chess game at Auschwitz that never took place.
Despite all that, “Hunters” still had some basis in reality. There were, in fact, a handful of Jewish Nazi hunters active across the Americas at that time, most famously Simon Wiesenthal (played in the series by Judd Hirsch), who did succeed in bringing several prominent Nazis to justice.
Three years later, “Hunters” has, similarly, used the historical record as a mere suggestion for its second and final season, which debuts Friday and tells an outrageous story about hunting Hitler himself. Here’s how viewers can separate fact from fiction in season 2.
Hitler in Argentina
The end of the first season hinted that things were about to go seriously off the rails, as the “real” Hitler and Eva Braun were revealed to be happily alive and hiding out in Argentina — seemingly validating decades’ worth of baseless conspiracy theories about the Nazi leader’s supposed escape from his Berlin bunker in 1945. (Also throwing things for a loop: the reveal that Pacino’s character, who had presented himself as the hero’s Holocaust-survivor grandfather, was secretly the Nazi “butcher” they had been hunting in disguise, and the man they killed after a season-long hunt was the real survivor.)
In the second season, the disbanded Hunters reunite in 1979 to follow Hitler’s trail to Argentina, where many real-life Nazis did hide out. Meanwhile, in flashbacks to 1975, Pacino’s Nazi “butcher” works furiously to cover his tracks as he poses as a successful Jewish businessman and philanthropist in the United States.
Hitler-survival conspiracy theories seem to, well, keep surviving. In the decades since the war’s end, many conspiracy theories regarding Hitler’s fate have proliferated, and a good number of them coalesce around the unsupported claim that he, like other top Nazi commanders, was ferreted out of Germany and into South America via a secret underground network. “Hunting Hitler,” a recent top-rated History Channel docuseries, milked three seasons out of the idea.
But of course there were Nazis who successfully escaped persecution at Nuremberg by fleeing to South America, and “Hunters” crafts its Hitler narrative on the scaffolding of their real-life stories. The most infamous case involved death camp commander Adolf Eichmann, who hid in Argentina until Mossad agents uncovered his location and kidnapped him in 1960’s Operation Finale to stand trial in Jerusalem.
The Kreisky-Peter-Wiesenthal Affair
In the universe of the show, the fake Meyer played by Pacino is friends with Wiesenthal, a seasoned Nazi hunter. When the two meet in 1975 in an early episode of the second season, Meyer congratulates Wiesenthal on his recent success in Austria.
This is a reference to a real-life 1975 political scandal, in which Wiesenthal and a team of researchers revealed the past Nazi activities of Austrian politico Friedrich Peter as the country’s Jewish chancellor, Bruno Kriesky, prepared to offer Peter’s right-wing party a role in his ruling coalition.
Wiesenthal’s actions led to a falling-out between him and Kriesky, who variously called him a “Jewish fascist” and a member of the Gestapo. But the Nazi hunters declared victory over having rooted out the S.S. past of a prominent postwar politician. (Peter’s party never joined the coalition.)
‘Reclaiming’ Jewish-owned businesses in Europe
In an early scene of the second season, one of the disguised hunters walks into an Austrian candy shop in 1979 and innocently inquires how long the shopkeeper has owned it. The store has been in his family for generations, comes the reply.
But, the hunter muses, there is a strange indentation on the doorpost — almost like a mezuzah. Could the shop have, in fact, been Jewish-owned before the Nazis came to power?
It turns out the hunter is right, and the shopkeeper will pay dearly for his denials. Again, the general arc of this narrative starts with real history, as there are countless examples of Nazis having seized Jewish-owned properties and businesses and destroyed the records of Jewish ownership, making it nearly impossible for surviving Jews after the war to reclaim their properties.
Author Menachem Kaiser recently explored how Nazi property seizures altered his own family history in the nonfiction book “Plunder,” which won the Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature.
Frank Sinatra’s Jewish activism
As part of Al Pacino’s character’s disguise as a Holocaust survivor in postwar America, he becomes an active philanthropist to Jewish causes. At one point, he can’t help but brag that he convinced Frank Sinatra to make a hefty donation.
In fact, the famous crooner, despite not being Jewish himself, was a vocal and documented supporter of Jewish causes. He was presented with awards from Hebrew schools; visited Israel many times and helped build a youth center in Nazareth; owned a $10,000 yarmulke; and even gave his son, Frank Sinatra Jr., the Jewish middle name of Emmanuel. After Sinatra’s death, to avoid paparazzi, his body was hidden in a Los Angeles Jewish funeral home for decades.
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Netanyahu: ‘Our Forces Are Striking the Heart of Tehran With Increasing Strength’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in the state memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Iron Swords War on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, Oct. 16, 2025. Photo: Alex Kolomoisky/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces had “eliminated the dictator Ali Khamenei” along with dozens of senior officials of Iran’s regime during a statement delivered from the roof of the Kirya, Israel’s defense headquarters.
“Yesterday, we eliminated the dictator Khamenei. Along with him, dozens of senior officials from the oppressive regime were eliminated,” Netanyahu said after a meeting with the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff, and the Director of Mossad. He added that he had issued instructions to continue the offensive.
According to Netanyahu, Israeli forces are “now striking at the heart of Tehran with increasing intensity,” a campaign he said will “increase further in the days to come.”
The Prime Minister also acknowledged the toll of the conflict on Israel, calling recent days “painful” and offering condolences to the families of victims in Tel Aviv and Beit Shemesh, while wishing a speedy recovery to those injured.
Netanyahu emphasized that the operation mobilizes “the full power of the Israel Defense Forces, like never before,” in order to “guarantee our existence and our future.” He also highlighted US support, noting “the assistance of my friend, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and of the American military.”
“This combination of forces allows us to do what I have hoped to accomplish for 40 years: strike the terrorist regime right in the face,” Netanyahu concluded. “I promised it — and we will keep our word.”
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Trump Says Iran Military Operations Are ‘Ahead of Schedule,’ CNBC Reports
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during military operations in Iran, at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. February 28, 2026. The White House/Social Media/Handout via REUTERS
US President Donald Trump told CNBC on Sunday that US military operations against Iran are “ahead of schedule.”
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Iranian Missile Strike on Beit Shemesh in Israel Kills 9
Emergency personnel work at the site of an Iranian strike, after Iran launched missile barrages following attacks by the US and Israel on Saturday, in Beit Shemesh, Israel, March 1, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
An Iranian missile strike hit the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding dozens, in what authorities described as a direct impact on a public bomb shelter.
A ballistic missile leveled the bomb shelter, leaving a large crater in its wake. Most, if not all, of those killed had been taking cover inside the shelter when it hit, Jerusalem Police Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled said at the impact scene.
Those in critical condition were airlifted to Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
At least 20 people were still missing late on Sunday afternoon local time.
As you read this, an Iranian missile has just struck a residential neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, Israel, only 30 kilometers/about 18 miles from Jerusalem.
Nine people are dead.
More than 20 are wounded, including children. A
public shelter collapsed from the direct hit. An… pic.twitter.com/mEVDlPEqgf
— Ella Kenan (@EllaTravelsLove) March 1, 2026
Several buildings surrounding the shelter in Beit Shemesh, which is west of Jerusalem, were also damaged in the attack, with two collapsing entirely. A synagogue was also destroyed.
Emergency crews from Magen David Adom, ZAKA, and United Hatzalah joined fire and rescue units at the site, combing damaged buildings and debris for possible survivors. Many people were trapped under rubble or inside apartments, first responders said.
The Iranian Regime directly fired missiles toward the civilian neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, killing innocent civilians.
The Iranian regime purposely targets civilian targets while we precisely target terror targets. This is who we’re operating against—a regime who uses… pic.twitter.com/9W8Fp4T2tH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 1, 2026
Chaim Wingarten, deputy director of operations at rescue organization ZAKA, described the scenes as “very difficult.”
“When I arrived, it was a huge chaos, with wounded people everywhere,” he said.
The strike was part of a larger volley that triggered air-raid sirens across the country. A man in his fifties was wounded by shrapnel elsewhere in central Israel.
IDF foreign media spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani charged Iran with deliberately firing at civilians. “We know this is their strategy,” he said, adding that Israel would do “everything in our power to remove these capabilities from this bloodthirsty terrorist regime.”
The Beit Shemesh hit marked the highest single-incident death toll inside Israel since the confrontation with Iran began a day earlier. The previous peak came during the 12-day war in June 2025, when a missile slammed into an apartment block in Bat Yam and killed nine people.
The Beit Shemesh strike came a day after US and Israeli forces struck a compound in Tehran killing senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose death was later announced on Iranian state television.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Trump said 48 Iranian leaders were killed in the strikes. “Nobody can believe the success we’re having; 48 leaders are gone in one shot. And it’s moving along rapidly,” he said.
Separately, the American president told CNBC that the US operation was “ahead of schedule.”
Thousands of Iranians braved the strikes and took to the streets to celebrate Khamenei’s death on Saturday evening. Many people stood on balconies and at windows chanting “freedom, freedom,” The New York Times reported. People in the Iranian city of Shiraz were “abandoning their cars for an impromptu dance party, whistling, cheering, clapping, and screaming with joy. In many videos, celebrants joined together in a cheer that is typically reserved for weddings, symbolizing pure joy,” the report said.
GeoConfirmed Iran.
People chanting – Celebrations through the Foolad Shahr area in Isfahan with joy and jubilation over the killing of Khamenei.
Rough location – 32.48169, 51.39167
F9JR+MMF Fuladshahr, Isfahan Province, IranGeoLocated by @Mitch_Ulrich
Geolocation:… https://t.co/iv9TlSPPfS
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) February 28, 2026
Can you hear the joy in his voice?
“I am dreaming, hello world!” pic.twitter.com/ICq77zBerv— William Mehrvarz (@WilliamMehrvarz) March 1, 2026
Iran retaliated by firing repeated waves of missiles and drones, with launches aimed not only at Israel but also at US bases in the Middle East, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. Iran on Sunday morning also launched two missiles at Cyprus, where thousands of British military personnel are stationed, which fell short.
Later in the afternoon, the US acknowledged its first losses with US Central Command, saying three American service members were killed and five were seriously wounded during the operations in Iran.