By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Argentina has released over 1,850 declassified documents detailing the post-WWII activities of Nazi fugitives within the country. These files, including intelligence reports and presidential decrees, reveal details about prominent figures like Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann, exposing their Argentinian residences and the government’s responses, or lack thereof. The release, spurred by a request from US Senator Steve Daines and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, is part of a broader governmental push for transparency. The documents, now available online, offer valuable insight into Argentina’s Cold War policies and its handling of Nazi war criminals.
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Argentina has made a significant move toward transparency by releasing a vast collection of previously classified documents detailing the activities of Nazi fugitives who sought refuge in the country following World War II. This unprecedented release, ordered by President Javier Milei, comprises 1,850 documents from various sources, including the Federal Police’s Foreign Affairs Directorate, Argentina’s intelligence services (SIDE), the National Gendarmerie, and even confidential presidential decrees. The documents, now accessible online through the General Archive of the Nation (AGN) website, offer a trove of information regarding banking operations, intelligence files, and Defense Ministry reports spanning several decades.
The impetus for this declassification, while framed as a broader commitment to transparency, undoubtedly gained momentum from a formal request made by United States Senator Steve Daines and representatives from the Simon Wiesenthal Center during meetings with President Milei in February. This collaboration underscores the international interest in uncovering the truth about Argentina’s role in harboring notorious war criminals. The released material spans investigations conducted between the 1950s and 1980s, promising to shed light on a broad spectrum of historical events, ranging from arms deals and budgetary changes to the inner workings of Argentina’s intelligence services and its Cold War-era anti-communist efforts. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, already investigating Credit Suisse’s potential links to Nazism, has received copies of these files, further emphasizing the global significance of this release.
Some of the most compelling revelations concern Josef Mengele, the infamous “Angel of Death” from Auschwitz-Birkenau. The documents trace Mengele’s movements in Argentina after his arrival in 1949, revealing that he initially lived openly under his real name before assuming the alias “Gregor Helmut” and claiming Italian origins. His addresses in Argentina are detailed, along with his remarriage to Marta María Will, his deceased brother’s former wife, and the family’s subsequent attempt to obtain travel documents for Chile in 1956. Despite an extradition request from Germany, Argentine authorities, citing procedural issues, declined to act. Mengele’s subsequent escape to Paraguay and Brazil, where he died in 1979, is also documented, painting a stark picture of the impunity enjoyed by some Nazi fugitives in Argentina.
The files also confirm the presence of other prominent Nazi figures in Argentina, including Adolf Eichmann, architect of the Holocaust’s logistical operations. Eichmann lived under the alias “Ricardo Klement” in Lanús until his capture by Mossad agents in 1960. Similarly, Erich Priebke, responsible for the Ardeatine Caves massacre in Italy, found refuge in Bariloche, living there for decades before eventual extradition to Italy in the 1990s. The release includes a 1995 decree from President Carlos Menem authorizing Priebke’s extradition, highlighting the government’s eventual acknowledgment of its responsibility. Other declassified decrees from Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983) reveal the release of prisoners with imposed restrictions, offering further insight into the complex political climate of the era.
The background to this declassification is itself noteworthy. The documents, originally transferred to the AGN in 1992, were previously only accessible in a special room at AGN headquarters. The current digitization and online posting represent a significant step toward broader public access. Government sources emphasize that this release is part of an ongoing effort to address historical human rights abuses and expose the networks that facilitated the escape and concealment of Nazi fugitives throughout Latin America. Even a 1963 document detailing a “General Military Plan for the Defence of the American Continent” against communist aggression highlights the entanglement of Cold War tensions with the shadow of Nazi presence within Argentina. The scope and significance of this archive’s release cannot be overstated; it promises to reshape our understanding of a dark chapter in both Argentina’s history and the global pursuit of justice for victims of Nazi atrocities.