Who thought it was a good idea to put a cement factory in southern Gran Canaria? Someone who knew that German capital needed materials for the tourism industry after the Franco regime opened the island to tourism in 1958. And that's precisely what Adolf Hitler entrusted to do: rescue Mussolini from his confinement in the Alps . Jaime Rubio, an expert in World War II studies, is certain that the construction of a cement factory in southern Gran Canaria was the result of mediation by Otto Skorzeny, who was an SS-Obersturmbannführer, leader of the SS commando unit that rescued Mussolini on Hitler's orders in Operation Oak, and who worked for Mossad in Egypt in the 60s. On May 14th, the Canary Coalition announced the demolition of the cement plant to create jobs in the service sector.
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La Journalist Marta Tomé points out that from 1954 to 1958, Skorzeny, who after World War II took refuge in Spain with Franco's permission, managed two million euros in contracts and a million more through subcontractors.. But the big deal came with a group of American contractors, a kind of temporary union of companies, which was in charge of building the North American bases of Torrejón de Ardoz, Zaragoza, Rota and Morón in Spain. "Here in Spain I finally feel free, I can take off my mask. I no longer have any reason to live in secret," Scarface Skorzeny said in an interview published by the Daily Press. The Nazi lived with Ilse Lüthje, his third wife, related to Hitler's former banker, Hjalmar Schacht. Spain became, at least until the end of the 90s, a safe "domicile" for many of them. Also for Otto Skorzeny, who probably fled his country through Italy and settled in Madrid in 1950 under the pseudonym Rolf Steinbauer. In the capital He served as a representative of German and Austrian industrial companies and as an arms dealer. He traveled a lot and kept in touch with old colleagues..
"The Nazi leaders Skorzeny and Naumann carried out the cement and reinforced concrete projects in the Canary Islands," says Rubio, who points out that "admirals Hermann Boehm and Erich Raeder" were previously informed of the potential of the southern coast of Gran Canaria for operations. in the Mid-Atlantic. Ten days after Hitler's suicide in May 1945, Skorzeny surrendered to an American squad.
He was in the dock at the Dachau trials in 1947 for war crimes, especially for the offensive in the Ardennes, but he was not found responsible for those events. However, he had to answer for other crimes due to demands from other countries and was kept as a prisoner of war, but He managed to escape with the help of former SS comrades. Cementos de las Islas was established in 1967 and Cementos Especiales SA was established in 1954. Its registered office and fiscal address was in Las Palmas since at that time the south of the island was a wasteland.
