Argentine President recently declassified and released over 1,850 documents containing thousands of pages related to the tracking of Nazis who fled Europe after World War II. These files detail the efforts made by the South American nation to locate and identify these individuals.
The release was prompted by the Senate Judiciary Committee and its Chairman, Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has been recognized for his role in persuading Milei to make the documents public.
The documents primarily cover investigations from the late 1950s to the 1980s. They have been digitized and are available on the nation’s General Archive website, along with previously secret presidential decrees from 1957 to 2005.
The released documents are organized into seven main files, each focusing on key Nazi figures. A significant portion pertains to Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the “Final Solution.” He lived near Buenos Aires under the alias Ricardo Klement until his capture by Mossad agents on Argentine soil, who secretly transported him to Jerusalem for trial in 1960.
Eichmann’s case is prominently featured in the files, with conflicting evidence suggesting that Juan Perón’s government was aware of his presence and may have protected him.
The documents also detail the lives of Josef Mengele, the “angel of death” from Auschwitz-Birkenau, who resided in Argentina before escaping to Paraguay and Brazil, where he died in 1979.
The files also provide information on the search for Martin Bormann, Hitler’s right-hand man, as well as Croatian leader Ante Pavelic, deputy führer Rudolf Hoess, and Klaus Barbie, the “butcher of Lyon.”
Harley Lippman, a member of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad and a board member of the European Jewish Association, emphasized the importance of releasing these Argentinian documents.
“These documents could shed light on why a developed nation like Argentina agreed to conceal Nazi criminals and their secrets for so long. What became of the U-boats carrying Nazi gold that were brought to the country and handed over to the authorities?” he questioned.
“While Argentina’s long-held secrecy is regrettable, it’s important to acknowledge the current government’s significant efforts to make these documents public. This is crucial for Argentinians to confront their societal issues, even more so than for Jews,” Lippman stated.
In May, a collection of 83 boxes of Nazi documents was discovered in the basement of the Supreme Court of Argentina during renovations. These documents, intercepted by Argentine customs in 1941, were sent from the German Third Reich Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, to Buenos Aires via the Japanese steamer Nan-a-Maru.
The documents, disguised as personal effects, were intercepted to maintain Argentina’s neutrality in the war. A commission investigating “anti-Argentine activities” seized the crates, which remained in the court’s possession for nearly 84 years.
The boxes contained materials aimed at promoting the Third Reich’s and Hitler’s ideologies, potentially to influence neutral countries.
After opening the boxes with members of the Jewish community, the court announced a thorough survey of the material, citing its “historical relevance” and “potential crucial information” related to the Holocaust.
The contents are yet to be released, but Milei’s office has stated that they will be declassified and made available once digitized.
Argentina’s chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, Guillermo Francos, stated that Milei ordered the release because “there is no reason to continue withholding that information, and it is no longer in the interest of the Republic of Argentina to keep such secrets.”
“Jews experienced a relatively peaceful and productive period for about 80 years after World War II, but this has ended — partly due to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks , with world opinion falsely accusing Israelis and Jews of genocide in Gaza, and also by reviving old antisemitic views,” Lippman said.
“Many people under 30 are unaware of the Holocaust . The Holocaust was the largest systematic industrial killing of humans in history, occurring only 80 years ago. These documents can help restore the memory of what the Holocaust truly was,” he said, comparing the current propaganda war against and Jews to historical antisemitism.
Lippman noted that the documents might also provide information on the roles of Swiss and Argentine banks, beyond the escape routes of senior Nazis to South America.
“Many Swiss banks [holding Jewish money] required death certificates to release funds to Holocaust survivors, but Auschwitz only issued ashes.”
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