Michael Kast

Michael Kast Schindele was born in Thalkirchdorf, a small village in Germany, on the 2 April 1924.[2][3] His father was from Ulm and in 1893, created a powdered milk factory in Wiedemannsdorf, Oberstaufen that was one of three in Germany to produce the recently discovered product.[4]

When he was 18 years old, Kast and eight other brothers joined the German army, with Kast serving as part of his obligatory military service.[5][6] German Federal Archives show that Kast joined the Nazi Party on 1 September 1942, as shown in his NSDAP karteikarte.[1] Of his eight brothers who fought in World War II, Kast and two others were the only three to survive.[6]

During World War II, he was first deployed to fight in France in 1942, then he fought the Soviet Union in 1943 through 1944 during the Battle of Korsun–Cherkassy.[6] Kast rose in the ranks to become a lieutenant in an effort to seek more leadership as an officer on the battlefield.[6][7][8] In 1944 and into 1945, he was deployed to Italy to defend the Gothic Line in the Apennine Mountains and was caught by an American unit in Trento where he surrendered.[6] In April 1945, Michael Kast escaped from custody during a guard change and fled back to Bavaria on foot using ratlines.[6][7]

In Bavaria, Kast met his future wife, María Kreszencia Olga Rist Hagspiel (1924–2015), whom he married in 1946.[7] He began to assume a false identity in 1947 during the denazification period, though when applying for his denazification certificate German officials initially did not approve of Kast, though a prosecutor friendly to him burned his Nazi Germany files.[8] Following this, he fled to Argentina and, later, Chile,[7] with help from the Vatican.[9]

He arrived to Chile in December 1950 and settled in Buin,[7] a commune within the Santiago Metropolitan Region.[10] His wife, Olga Rist Hagspiel, along with two of his children Michael and Barbara, arrived in Chile soon after.[10] He founded the sausage factory Cecinas Bavaria in 1962,[7] which is currently owned by his son Christian Kast Rist.[11]

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he was publicly awarded by the Municipality of Buin (1985), the Chamber of Commerce of Buin (1989), and the Carabineros of Buin (1992).[2] He also helped in the construction of six churches in Buin.[2] Due to this, a branch of firefighters in Buin bears his name, calling itself the "Brigada Juvenil Miguel Kast" (Michael Kast Youth Brigade). In 1995, he was granted Chilean citizenship.[2]

He died on the 10th of May of 2014, at the age of 90.[12] His wake was at the Santos Ángeles Custodios Church, in Buin, the following day.[12]

Kast's exact involvement in World War II and under Augusto Pinochet's military government has been a subject of controversy.

Involvement in Nazi Germany

Kast's Nazi Party membership card from 1942

Journalists Javier Rebolledo and Nancy Guzmán distinctly called Michael Kast a Nazi in their 2015 book, titled A la sombra de los cuervos. One of Michael Kast's sons, José Antonio Kast, refuted this in an article written for The Clinic, where he alleged that his father could have not committed any war crimes during his time in the Germany army, since he often visited Germany in his later years without any sort of police persecution.[13] José Antonio Kast has also publicly denied that his father was a Nazi, due to how his father's military service was obligatory.[14]

Despite this, in 2021, Gabriel Boric, political opponent to José Antonio Kast in the 2021 Chilean general elections, accused José Antonio Kast of being a hypocrite, as "Migrating is a right and sometimes it is also a tragedy. Your father himself was a migrant after having fought in the Nazi army".[1] After this, investigate journalist Mauricio Weibel revealed how Michael Kast was in the National Socialist German Workers' Party archives, confirming his membership in the party.[1]

Michael Kast had 10 children (2 of whom were born in Germany and 8 in Chile),[7] about 50 grandchildren, and about 20 great-grandchildren.[16] Two of his children died in their youth; one in a river and the other in a car crash.[7] Many of his children and grandchildren have had important roles in Chilean politics, serving as deputies and senators.[17]

• Michael Kast Rist (1948-1983), economist, member of the Chicago Boys, and Minister of State and President of the Central Bank under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet; married to Cecilia Sommerhoff Hyde (born 1951); 5 children
  • Bárbara Kast Sommerhoff (born 1968), sociologist[16]
  • Michael Kast Sommerhoff (born 1968), priest[16]
  • Pablo Kast Sommerhoff (born 1973), architect and Deputy (2018-2022); married to Juana Edwards Urrejola; 4 children
  • Felipe Kast Sommerhoff (born 1977), architect, economist, Deputy (2014-2018), Senator (2018-2026); married to Emelia Puga Bermúdez (born 1980); 3 children
  • Tomás Kast Sommerhoff (born 1979), engineer and Councilman of Vitacura (2021-2025)
• Hans Kast Rist (born 1951), priest[11]
• Erika Kast Rist (born 1954), married to businessman Alfonso Maira Carlini (born 1948); 8 children
  • Cristóbal Maira Kast (born 1974), owner of Agricola Rayenco[16]
  • Consuelo Maira Kast (born 1978), businesswoman[16]
  • Catalina Maira Kast (born 1984), investor[16]
  • Esteban Maira Kast (born 1986), lawyer[16]
• Christian Kast Rist (born 1957), businessman and owner of Cecinas Bavaria;[11] married to Pamela Prett Weber (born 1960); 4 children[18]
  • Mónica Kast Prett (born 1980), historian[16]
  • Andrea Kast Prett (born 1984), businesswoman, executive of Cecinas Bavaria[16]
  • Cristian Kast Prett (born 1986), businessman[16]
• Verónica Kast Rist (born 1960), married to Andrés Tocornal Vial (born 1955); 3 children
• Rita Kast Rist (born 1962), businesswoman;[11] married to Gonzalo Urcelay Montecinos (born 1959); 7 children[19]
  • Gonzalo Urcelay Kast (born 1986), lawyer[16]
  • María Fernanda Urcelay Kast, laywer[16]
• José Antonio Kast Rist (born 1966), lawyer, politician, deputy (2014-2018), presidential candidate in 2017 and 2021, and founder of the Republican Party of Chile; married to María Pía Adriasola Barroilhet (born 1966); 9 children.