A high-ranking official stated that there is “no reason” to keep secret the support Argentina provided to fleeing Nazis after World War II.
Argentina intends to declassify official documents related to Nazi fugitives who sought refuge in the country after Germany’s defeat in World War II.
President Javier Milei’s Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, announced the commitment to transparency on Monday during a TV interview. He said the president decided to release the files after a recent meeting with U.S. Senator Steve Daines, who strongly urged the files’ release.
Francos said the president believes “there is no reason to withhold information” regarding the protection given to Nazis in Argentina, adding that most of the documents are held by the Defense Ministry. Some files concern financial transactions involving Swiss banks, he noted.
Estimates suggest that around 10,000 war criminals used ‘ratlines’ to escape Europe and resettle as the Axis powers collapsed. Approximately half are believed to have chosen Argentina – a nation known for being unwilling to grant extradition requests – as their haven.
Among them were Adolf Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust, and Josef Mengele, the infamous death camp doctor. Israeli intelligence captured Eichmann and took him to Israel for trial, while Mengele drowned in 1979 after a heart attack.
The influx primarily occurred during the first presidency of Juan Peron, whose government from 1946 to 1955 openly supported Nazi exiles. Peron implemented a policy that blended authoritarian and populist elements, which critics viewed as influenced by fascism.
Milei’s promise to release the Nazi files follows a previous decree to expedite the release of records concerning the Argentine armed forces’ actions during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. This period, known as “the last junta,” began with a coup against Isabel Peron, the president’s widow and successor, after his second term was cut short by his death in 1974.
The junta violently suppressed political opposition, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and disappearances. Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni stated that the government aims to prevent political manipulation of this tragic era through full disclosure.
“`