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The biography of the Nazi doctor-turned-vigilante Wilhelm Zuchs from Hunters.
World War II, Ruth and Meyer[]
Wilhelm Zuchs was a skilled surgeon in Nazi Germany, and was recruited by the Nazis as the head surgeon at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/extermination camp, though according to him he accepted not to assist in the Nazi cause, but rather simply because of the power it gave him. He would fix wounded soldiers injuries, but would also torture and kill prisoners in Auschwitz concentration camp. He became obsessed with one of the prisoners, Ruth Heidelbaum, after witnessing her exceptional act of saving a young girl from being shot, and began stalking her, unbeknownst to Ruth. He approached her one day, offering her a job as his personal secretary, where she would be treated far better than in the camps. She refused, unwilling to live in comfort while everyone else, especially her love Meyer, suffered in the camps. Wilhelm turned his attention to Meyer, and learned everything about him, and sought to break him; to kill his light.
Wilhelm woke Meyer from his sleep one night and took him to the doctor's chambers, where he tortured him for nine hours, and scarred his chest, earning him the name "The Wolf". Meyer had an opportunity to kill The Wolf that night but hesitated, which would allow for The Wolf to continue his crimes. Another night, he dragged Meyer into the woods, and made him choose between Ruth's life and killing an innocent man. Meyer, refusing to let Ruth be killed, shot eleven men, which was what succeeded in killing his light. Meyer then has the same nightmare of killing The Wolf in the same woods. After Auschwitz is liberated by the Soviets, The Wolf is captured by the Red Army, who intend to hang him for war crimes. He escaped however, and killed Meyer in the displaced persons camp where he slept, and buried him in the woods. He left Ruth Meyer's Chai necklace, and wrote her a note as Meyer saying he could no longer be with her for killing the eleven men in the woods, and he took on Meyer's identity.
A New Life as Meyer Offerman[]
Wilhelm scars himself in the same way he had scarred Meyer the night he tortured him and tattooed his identification number on his arm, so as to not arouse any suspicion, and escapes to Berlin. Taking on Meyer's name proves to not be enough, as a survivor recognizes him on the streets, though Wilhelm escapes. He goes to an SS plastic surgeon, Friedrich Mann, who alters his appearance so that he will not be recognizable as Wilhelm Zuchs. Wilhelm goes through an extensive process to become Meyer, committing to Judaism and learning Hebrew. It was living life as a Jew that opened Wilhelm's eyes to the evil he had done, and he felt truly remorseful for what he did in the camps. At some point, Wilhelm emigrated to America with the help of a former comrade named Viktor Frondheim, and an American Jewish organization got him a job as a factory worker. Later in life, Wilhelm amassed a large fortune, and eventually became the most influential Jewish philanthropist in New York.
During a dinner with his wealthy friends, Wilhelm notices a mysterious man watching him. He later receives a blackmail letter from the same man, who he realises is a former SS comrade named Fritz. Fritz admits that he had been sent by Frondheim to blackmail Wilhelm with evidence of his crimes. Wilhelm pretends to forgive Fritz before stabbing him to death, leaving his body in a dumpster. He then recruits his employee Joe Mizushima to help steal files on Viktor Frondheim from Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. Wilhelm breaks into Frondheim's home, forces him to surrender the evidence of his former identity and kills him, discovering that Frondheim had files on thousands of other war criminals he had helped to escape. On the way back, Wilhelm is almost arrested by a state trooper for traffic violations and considers killing him, but manages to talk his way out of it. He then destroys Frondheim's file on him by setting it on fire.
Starting The Hunt[]
Ruth Heidelbaum, not realising that "Meyer" is her former tormentor Wilhelm Zuchs, comes to him after recognizing former Nazi chemist Hans Fischer in a market in Gristedes. At first, "Meyer" goes to Danny Rohr, a Jewish New York Times journalist, to expose Hans Fischer. While looking into Fischer, Rohr also finds out about his sister, Gretel Fischer, and eventually discovers thousands of escaped Nazis. Unfortunately, Rohr is targeted, likely by the FBI, in a massive discrediting campaign so as not to let their secret about Operation Paperclip be exposed. Rohr begs for Meyer to help him, but Meyer refuses, pretending like he and Rohr never met, and Rohr loses all his credibility. Meyer and Ruth then go to the Attorney-General of New York and ask him to prosecute Fischer; however Meyer secretly persuades the AG to do nothing, wishing to atone for his past sins by punishing Fischer and others like him. Meyer persuades Ruth that they should deal with the Nazis themselves, showing her the files he stole from Viktor Frondheim. He goes to Jewish matchmaker Hilda Hoffman to put together a team to hunt down the Nazis living in America and "deliver justice". The team consisted of Joe Mizishima (who had previously helped him track down Frondheim), Sister Harriet, Lonny Flash, Roxy Jones, Mindy and Murray Markowitz, and Meyer and Ruth themselves. He also travels to Germany in the hope of recruiting an old friend named Tomasz Arndt to the Hunters. He visits a shop owned by his sister, who appears to recognise him, and then visits his late mother's grave. Tomasz meets up with him there and reveals that he knows Meyer is Zuchs, at which point Meyer kills him.
Taking Jonah In[]
The Hunters karmically kill their first target, Hans Fischer, by pulling all his teeth out and staging his death as a car accident. However, during her investigations into other targets, Ruth discovers that Meyer is actually her old enemy Zuchs and confronts him. To avoid being exposed, Meyer reluctantly contacts one of the group's other targets, Heinz Richter, and tells him Ruth's address, resulting in her being murdered. He later speaks with her nephew Jonah and tells him to come to him if he's ever in need, explaining that it's what he owes to Ruth. The Hunters soon after also kill Hans' sister Gretel in yet another karmic way by gassing her in her apartment in Florida. Meyer posts Jonah's bond after he's arrested, and at Meyer's mansion, he tells Jonah the story of Markus Roth, a great chess-player, who was forced by Heinz Richter to play human chess at Auschwitz with Jewish prisoners, until the former attempted to kill Richter in vain, only slashing an "X" shape across his neck.
Jonah discovers a hidden room in Meyer's house, in which he finds a photograph of the man who killed Ruth. Jonah, furious with Meyer, runs off with the photo, and eventually finds out that he's Gene Martin, a toy shop owner. He confronts Gene, who is revealed to be Heinz Richter when Jonah notices the "X" scar across his throat. Richter restrains and tortures Jonah for information on Ruth, and after a struggle between the two, Richter is killed by Meyer, who tells Jonah that he and Ruth were tailing Richter. On the drive back to Meyer's house, Meyer explains The Hunt to him, and introduces him to the Hunters.
The First Mission[]
Though the Hunters are reluctant to let him in, Jonah becomes a member in place of his grandmother, and he and the Hunters track down Karl Holstedder (now Erik Folsom), a Nazi who played a sadistic "game show" with Jews at Buchenwald, making them sing for their lives. Meyer and Joe interrogate Holstedder at his home, torturing him with the loud feedback from his speakers, who gives in and tells him that the Nazis give him tapes to play over the radio. Holstedder manipulates Jonah into getting him water, and the latter inadvertently frees him when he shatters the glass and cuts his restraints, forcing the Hunters to kill Holstedder. Later that night, Meyer speaks with a literally sickened Jonah, and tells him that what happened to Holstedder was righteous, a notion Jonah rejects. That night during Maariv, as Jonah, Meyer and others say Mourner's Kaddish for Ruth, Jonah runs off back to his house, unable to stomach being a part of The Hunt, and with a persistent ringing in hears which Holstedder told him he would hear if he continued on his current path.
Uncovering the Greater Conspiracy[]
Meyer and the Hunters continue to try and decode the message in the lullaby Holstedder was broadcasting to the other Nazis. Meyer goes to the comic book shop where Jonah is working, and inquires why Jonah was sympathetic to Holstedder but not Richter. Jonah says it's because he had nothing to do with Ruth, and Meyer counters by saying that the camp victims "all knew a Holstedder", and are trying to ensure they never do again. Meyer also says he failed to protect Ruth, so he owes it to her to protect Jonah. Jonah tells him to let him go if he really wants to do that.
Jonah's Reentry and the Bank Job[]
After Jonah's friend Arthur is murdered by the neo-Nazi Travis Leich, he demands Meyer to let him back into the Hunters, otherwise he'll find Travis himself. The Hunters begrudgingly agree, and later while he is with Harriet surveying Zurich International World Bank, she tells him the story about how The Wolf became fixated on Ruth and Meyer while in the camps, being the reason that Ruth made The Wolf the number one target on The Hunters' list.
Meyer and the Hunters plan a heist on the bank to find safe deposit box 630, discovering it's likely in a secret room in the bank after finding the main boxes only go up to 600. As they're discussing the plans, Meyer's butler notifies Meyer that an FBI agent, Millie Morris, has shown up to the mansion, wanting to speak with Jonah. As Millie is surveying Meyer's library, she discovers framed newspaper articles on his shelves, written by Danny Rohr. Millie questions Jonah, and increasingly puts pressure on him, and eventually asks where he was three nights ago, during Heinz Richter's murder. Meyer steps in, saying he was with him then, and tells him to direct any more of her questions to him. Meyer warns Jonah that Millie is not on their side.
The Hunters perform their heist on the bank, covering up their plans to find the safe deposit box with a staged robbery. They are successful, but find box 630 empty, but eventually discover that the wall of safe deposit boxes is actually hiding another room with an entrance to a basement in it, housing thousands of valuables procured from Jews by the Nazis during the war, which the owner of the bank, Frederic Hauser, collaborated with the Nazis and hid, getting rich off the back of it and building the bank. The Hunters photograph the room and Jonah takes a ring formerly owned by Jakob Schneider.
Meyer later meets with Hauser, and eventually confronts him with the photographs and the ring. Meyer threatens to expose Hauser's crimes, unless he tells him who owns box 630. Hauser capitulates and tells Meyer the owner is Oskar Hauptman (a.k.a The Ghost), a former Nazi doctor who worked with the Wolf believed to be deceased. Hauser later kills himself to avoid punishment from the Nazis.
An Unexpected Shot[]
Meyer tells Jonah of how The Wolf would test his stamina everyday by assaulting him while he worked, and about how he was tortured by him for nine hours one night. Jonah notes that Meyer's scar is akin to that of a wolf's claw. Meyer also tells Jonah that he had a chance to kill the Wolf that night, but hesitated, and so he has Jonah swear to him that when the time comes he will not hesitate to do what is difficult. The Hunters begin their search for The Ghost, first tracking down Dieter Zweigelt (now Victor Dillman), The Ghost's top lieutenant, who is a doctor living in Huntsville, Alabama. While Jonah, Joe and Harriet head to Huntsville, Meyer, Lonny and Roxy head to interrogate Tilda Sauer (now Karen Ballinger), a former propagandist filmmaker and The Ghost's lover, favored by Joseph Goebbels, now a political consultant living in Westchester.
Meyer, Lonny and Roxy restrain Tilda in her home, and confront her about her past, and attempt to interrogate her by shoveling manure into her mouth, lest she tells them the truth. Meyer quotes the hateful words of her films, while demanding she tell them where her The Ghost is. Even hours into the evening however, Tilda does not break, and refuses to admit her identity. She calls out the three on their insecurities, especially Meyer, having deduced his true identity, however Meyer shoots and kills her before she can divulge the information. Lonny and Roxy question this extreme reaction, noting that they hadn't verified her, and that she hadn't even told them anything. Meyer assures them that she knew nothing but how to put poison into their ears. As the trio leaves, Meyer continues to reassure them that it was indeed Tilda Sauer. Meyer's driver starts Meyer's car, which subsequently explodes, injuring Roxy as Travis Leich watches from a distance, enraged that the blast didn't kill Meyer. He engages in a shootout with Meyer and Lonny, but the cops arrive and all four escape.
Foiling the Nazis' Plot[]
The Wedding[]
While sewing Jonah's wound he sustained in Alabama from Zweigelt, he once again reassures Lonny that though his killing of Tilda may have been rash, he was not wrong in killing her, and that "instinct is everything." Lonny wants Jonah to come with him to help decode a book he found at Tilda's, which is the same as the one he found at Holstedder's. Meyer instead says that Jonah will stay for Mindy and Murray's daughter's wedding, upsetting Jonah, who says that The Hunt is more important, especially considering the attempt on Meyer's life. Meyer counters by saying that The Hunt is not only about death, but life as well, reminding him that the Jews faced centuries of persecution for their beliefs, and that abandoning those beliefs is admitting defeat, which Meyer is unwilling to do.
Later, at the wedding, Jonah notices that Meyer is the only man present not wearing a Chai necklace, which Meyer says he gave to the woman he loved, and hadn't worn once since. Jonah remembers in his youth that he found a Chai necklace among Ruth's belongings, and how she told him it belonged to his grandfather. Jonah has the epiphany that Meyer must be his grandfather, but just before he can ask Meyer, both are pulled into a hora circle. Later in the evening, Joe comes to Meyer with one of The Ghost's aliases, Tim Randall, and Lonny comes and says the book is an instruction manual of sorts, for a Fourth Reich.
Harriet also arrives, and an enraged Joe attacks her for leaving him and Jonah behind in Alabama, though he calms down, and Harriet takes the four outside to the car, where she's keeping Moritz Ehrlich, the Nazi who killed Mindy and Murray's son, in the trunk. Jonah again tries to question Meyer about being his grandfather, but Meyer sends him away. Meyer scolds Harriet for going rogue and killing without verification, which violates the Hunters' code. Harriet suggests that they only tell themselves they have a "code" so that they believe they're not like who they're hunting. Meyer says maybe they are, but unlike them they have an excuse.
As Meyer returns home that evening, he discovers the shattered glass from Travis and Tobias' break-in, and that the documents the Hunters have collected on the Nazis have been set ablaze, infuriating Meyer.
Arrest by the FBI[]
As Meyer and Harriet salvage all the files that they can, Harriet suggests telling the rest of the Hunters what happened, but Meyer states they will know when they need to know, visibly upset. Joe, Lonny and Jonah track down The Ghost to Maryland from his alias Tim Randall, whose appearance has been altered by a plastic surgeon so as not to be recognized. They return to Meyer with this information, as well as a music box playing the same tune as the lullaby Holstedder was broadcasting, which turns out to be a polymeter, and leads Jonah to cracking the code from the lullaby, discovering coordinates in Buchanan and Grand Central Station, and suspect a biological attack.
Jonah finally confronts Meyer about him being his grandfather, which Meyer reluctantly confirms. Jonah accuses him and Ruth of lying to him, which Meyer refutes, saying she instead lied for him. Before they can finish their conversation, Millie Morris shows up after having procured a warrant to search the premises. After looking in his attic, Millie places Meyer under arrest for the murder of Heinz Richter, which Jonah protests.
At FBI headquarters, Millie interrogates Meyer on the deaths of Hans and Gretel Fischer, and Heinz Richter, while insinuating Jonah's involvement with Richter's murder. Meyer continues to refute the evidence, and says that even if he is guilty, his enemies are the real criminals, and would want Millie to have the documents incriminating Meyer to deal with him without exposing themselves. He suggests that what Millie is doing is not the right thing, though she counters saying that he's the one facing criminal charges. As the interrogation continues, Meyer tries to discredit Millie, saying that she only brought him to the FBI so her boss, Harry Grimsby, would take her seriously. Millie stops the recording, and finally reveals her true intentions, questioning Meyer on what he knows about Operation Paperclip, and requests his help on her case against the Nazis in America. Meyer tells her what he knows, including the attack meant to happen that night, though she doesn't believe he's telling the truth about the attack and leaves him in the interrogation room. Meyer warns her that any blood spilled that night would be on her hands.
As bombs explode all around New York, everywhere, including the FBI headquarters goes dark, and Meyer is enraged, restating that any blood spilled is on Millie's hands. He says he will tell Millie whatever she needs to know about the Fourth Reich, but that she must free him, appealing to her faith in God. Millie begrudgingly agrees, and she and Meyer head back to the mansion. Jonah soon returns as well, informing the Hunters that Murray unfortunately died in the attack, deeply saddening Mindy. At shiva, Meyer pleads for Roxy to rejoin the Hunters, and that she cannot protect her daughter if she doesn't do the same for the world. Later, while consoling a distraught Jonah, Meyer tells him of the night The Wolf dragged Meyer into the woods, and made him choose between killing an innocent man or letting The Wolf kill Ruth. Meyer stops short of telling Jonah how many men he killed that night, saying it deserves time; that "today is for Murray".
Dr. Wernher von Braun[]
Jonah deduces that the blackout was a distraction so that the Nazis could move the pathogen to a factory in Midtown Manhattan, and discover it is owned by Schidler Corp, a food conglomerate based in Argentina, which also funded the work of Wernher von Braun, a former Nazi rocket scientist who was employed by NASA after the war ended, beloved by all of America. Jonah is confused how he could be, and Meyer reminds him that the world couldn't care less for the deaths of Jews. Meyer, Jonah and Joe go to Simon Wiesenthal to find von Braun. While there, Wiesenthal reminds Meyer that he stole files from him, hence his security detail. He also criticizes Meyer and the Hunters for killing the Nazis rather than bringing them before a legal tribunal, saying his methods are not Jewish. Meyer argues that it's necessary to prevent the Nazis from eradicating Jews altogether, though Wiesenthal counters saying Meyer's path ensures they will eradicate themselves. Wiesenthal says he will give the Hunters the information he has on von Braun, on the condition he never comes to him again. Wiesenthal tries once more in vain to convince Meyer of the errors of his ways.
The three arrive in the woods of Northern California, and Jonah asks Meyer what he found in the files he stole from Wiesenthal on The Wolf. He tells him Ruth took the files, wanting to learn more about The Wolf. Jonah then asks how many people Meyer killed the night The Wolf took him into the woods, and Meyer tells him he killed eleven men, making a choice to protect the woman he loved, but became a "different creature" in doing so, effectively killing his light. Meyer says though his actions cost him his world, it set him on his destined path. He tells Jonah the mark of a hero is someone who does what is necessary rather than what is right.
The trio break into von Braun's home, and confront him when he returns. They sit him down, and Meyer asks him if the moon landing was worth the lives of millions. He argues that his sciences led to many great innovations that improved human lives, and even contributed to world peace. Jonah, enraged, refutes his claims, reminding him of the horrid things he had done in his past. He demands von Braun tell the three what he knows about the Fourth Reich. Though he denies any knowledge, Meyer threatens to have him electrocuted, lest he tell them everything he knows. Meyer also has Jonah hold the jumper cables, and Jonah effectively coerces von Braun into confessing. He claims he only joined because The Colonel promised him he'd be financially well off, and that the Fourth Reich would fund projects NASA would not. He says he helped them create "The Solution", which is a pathogen the Fourth Reich will be spreading all across America via corn syrup, targeting the inner cities. Jonah, unconvinced he's told them everything, shocks him with the cables. Joe has Meyer make him stop, mercifully executing von Braun.
Destruction of Schidler Corp.[]
The next day, as Jonah sleeps in the car, Meyer tells Joe Jonah was born to be a Hunter, who worries over his actions the previous day. Millie questions Jonah what happened in California. Jonah lies and tells her they left him alive. She asks if that's the truth, to which Meyer steps in and replies, asking her if that's what she needs it to be. Meyer and Jonah go to Mindy's house, where she's just killed Moritz Ehrlich. Meyer convinces her to assist the Hunters in taking down Schidler Corp. Mindy tells him that she and Murray were meant to kill Ehrlich together. Meyer consoles the distraught Mindy, while Jonah comes upon Ehrlich's corpse in the basement, lamenting that he was killed with a single shot to the head, and tells Meyer that they won't be as merciful to Wilhelm Zuchs when they find him. Meyer replies with gratitude, but that it's his fight. Jonah, mirroring what Meyer told him when they first met, says it's not charity, but rather a debt he owes.
The Hunters prepare to take down Schidler Corp from the inside out. Lonny disguises himself and infiltrates the building as Jason Schmidt, the plant manager for Schidler Corp. As Roxy departs to put the trucks carrying the pathogen out of commission, she tells Meyer she's glad she came back, not knowing what the fate of her or her daughter might've been otherwise. After the Hunters successfully carry out their plan, Meyer leaves to kidnap The Colonel, posing as her driver. Unfortunately, The Colonel attempts to shoot Meyer, and he veers off a bridge into a river.
Exposure and Downfall[]
Harriet drags an injured Meyer from the river, while the Colonel is presumed dead. As Meyer recovers in his home, Jonah visits him, and Meyer criticizes Meyer for not doing what was "necessary" and killing Travis. He says he will one day escape confinement, just like The Wolf. Meyer expresses his disappointment with Jonah, telling him he's just a boy, not fit to lead The Hunt, sending Jonah off. Wanting to prove himself to Meyer, Jonah remembers that Meyer told him Ruth took the files he had on The Wolf. Jonah looks through Ruth's belongings, discovering her writings on The Wolf, about how he effectively killed Meyer's light, and for this she swore she would find The Wolf and deliver justice accordingly. Jonah eventually tracks down who he believes to be The Wolf from an SS roll, a plastic surgeon named Friedrich Mann. Jonah kidnaps Mann and ties him up in Meyer's home, and presents him to Meyer, who rants to him as Mann pleads for his life, exclaiming "It's you!" to Meyer, who kills him regardless.
Jonah questions why Meyer did not say the Kaddish prayer for Mann, as he read in Ruth's letters that he would do. Jonah finally puts together that Meyer is Wilhelm Zuchs, and Meyer, now exposed as The Wolf, confirms this. Wilhelm explains how he escaped Soviet captivity, and killed Meyer to take on his identity, undergoing plastic surgery from an SS surgeon who happened to be Friedrich Mann. Jonah, enraged, calls Wilhelm out for being a Nazi, which Wilhelm refutes, claiming that he cared not for the Nazi ideology, and had let his power as a surgeon for the Reich take him over. Wilhelm tells Jonah of how Ruth inspired The Hunt, and became his savior for giving him the opportunity to do something righteous. Jonah angrily tells Wilhelm that despite The Hunt, he'll never get redemption, to which Wilhelm counters that The Hunt is not his redemption, but his penance, giving him purpose. Jonah tells him The Hunt isn't Wilhelm's right, and that it instead belongs to the victims of the Holocaust, to Ruth and Meyer, and to him. Wilhelm refutes this, claiming Jonah cannot do what is necessary.
Finally, Jonah snaps, cites the Mourner's Kaddish, and shoots Wilhelm in the chest, and shivs him. As Wilhelm falls to the ground, he now admits that Jonah is fit to lead The Hunt. Wilhelm finally dies, the real Meyer Offerman's death finally avenged. Jonah calls all the Hunters to the house, who are in disbelief that he killed Meyer. Jonah explains to them that the real Meyer was killed by Wilhelm Zuchs, and marks a picture of him, having finally killed the number one target on their list.