In the Oscar-nominated movie The Holdovers, one of the characters says in a moment of frustration: ‘I thought all the Nazis ran away to Argentina.’ This line got a big laugh in cinemas in Buenos Aires. But while the events this joke alludes to now lie far enough in the past for today’s Argentines to chuckle at, the flight of Nazis to its shores remains an extremely uncomfortable period in the history of the South American country.
Many former Nazi officers and party members fled Europe for South America in the years after the war and Argentina became a popular destination. Estimates for how many Nazis settled in the country range from between about 5,000 to as many as 12,000, and their ranks included Adolf Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust, and the notorious Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele.
But Argentina has not always been so good at reckoning with its past as a haven for war criminals. While Argentina boosted exports of beef to the US and the UK during the 1940s, it refused to sever ties with Nazi Germany, much to the reported frustration of Washington and the allies. An explosive book published in 2003 by Argentine journalist Uki Goni claimed that the government of Juan Perón – who was president between 1946 and 1955 – authorised the arrival of Nazis into the country. In all, the book claims, the government arranged for around 300 war criminals to enter. After the book’s publication, the Simon Wiesenthal Center wrote to several Argentine government organisations and the country’s Catholic church to request documents relating to the arrival of the Nazis. These requests were not approved.
Current president Javier Milei, however, appears to have changed tack. Milei met with representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center last week and the Times of Israel reports that the meeting was a success. The Center’s researchers will be given access to files relating to financing of the so-called ‘ratlines’ – systems by which Nazis were able to flee Europe. Rabbi Abraham Cooper told the newspaper that while other Argentine leaders had promised help in the past, Milei was the ‘first to act with lightning speed.’
If these documents are released, they could help reveal much about how the ratlines operated. Key figures in Hitler’s administration were able to flee with the apparent collaboration of members of the Catholic church and foreign governments. Eichmann, for example, managed to get to Argentina in 1950, arriving in Buenos Aires on 14 July on a ferry from Genoa. After the war, he had been living in Austria under a false name but was able to travel using fake papers after getting to Italy. He is believed to have been assisted in his escape by Alois Hudal, an Austrian bishop based in Rome. An Italian researcher uncovered a letter Hudal wrote personally to Perón in 1948 requesting 5,000 visas for German and Austrian ‘soldiers’.
Milei has made no secret of his hatred of Peronism
Milei’s decision could be motivated by a number of factors. Milei has been called a ‘great friend’ of Israel and has taken steps to deepen diplomatic ties with the country. Last week he announced two days of national mourning after the bodies of two Israeli-Argentine hostages were returned by Hamas. He has also spoken of his deep respect for the Jewish people, some 200,000 of whom live in Argentina.
He may also have one eye on domestic politics. He has made no secret of his hatred of Peronism and might hope that research of these documents could lead to further scrutiny on the role of the movement’s founder in the flight of Nazi war criminals to Argentina.
It is unclear what, if anything, will be achieved in terms of accountability. After all, most, if not all, of those involved will surely now be dead. The contribution to the historical record on the other hand could be considerable.
As for Eichmann? Simon Wiesenthal, who set up the eponymous centre, received a tip off in 1953 of a sighting in Buenos Aires and tracked him for years, even photographing members of his family at the funeral of his father. Eichmann was eventually captured by Mossad in Buenos Aires in 1960. The Israeli’s opted not to file an extradition request to the Argentine government, but instead abducted him while he got the bus home. After going on trial in Jerusalem, he was executed in 1962. However, justice was not served on all of the Nazi escapees. After a period living in Argentina, Mengele lived in Paraguay, before dying in Brazil in 1979.
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