Mick Hartley

An interesting development. As Sam Meadows reports in the Spectator, Javier Milei is releasing Argentina’s secret Nazi files:

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….

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.

Unfortunately the whole Eichmann issue has been clouded by Hannah Arendt's famous conclusion that he was just a dull bureaucrat following orders – "the banality of evil". As we know now, Eichmann was far from being a mere cog in the machine, but was an enthusiastic and highly intelligent Nazi and, as the article here states, one of the main architects of the Holocaust. His defence in the Jerusalem trial – just following orders – fooled Arendt, but didn't fool the Israelis.