Discovering the past: data on Nazis declassified in Argentina

On April 28, the Argentine authorities declassified documents concerning the Nazis who fled to the country after World War II. The data was published on a government website. Among the documents are seven dossiers, including those on the head of the office of Martin Bormann and the doctor Josef Mengele, who conducted experiments on prisoners and received the nickname "The Angel of Death from Auschwitz" for this. For more information about the declassified data and the fate of the Nazis, see the Izvestia article.

The Nazi dossier: which documents were declassified in Argentina

On Monday, April 28, the Argentine government released previously classified documents about the Nazis. The country's president Javier Miley announced his intention to do this back in March 2025.

In total, more than 1,850 documents were published, which are represented by newspaper clippings, certificates, telegrams and various official documents. All this is collected in seven dossiers. Among the names:

— Adolf Eichmann is also known as the "architect of the Holocaust." He was responsible for the persecution, expulsion, and deportation of Jews, resulting in the deaths of up to 6 million people. As a result of an Israeli intelligence operation, he was taken out of Argentina and executed.;

— Erich Priebke. A Gestapo officer who lived in Argentina for about 50 years. He was eventually extradited to Italy and convicted of his crimes, in particular for his involvement in mass killings.;

— Martin Bormann was the head of the chancellery of the National Socialist German Workers' Party, as well as Adolf Hitler's personal secretary. There were many questions surrounding his death — for a long time it was believed that he had fled from Germany to South America, however, in 1972 his remains were discovered in Germany and an examination in 1998 finally established that it was Bormann. Despite this, the version of his escape is still popular.;

— Klaus Barbie, also known as the Butcher of Lyon or the Executioner of Lyon. In 1983, he was extradited to the French authorities, where he stood trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crimes.;

— Edward Roschman was the commandant of the Riga ghetto, and after the film in which he was played by Maximilian Schell, he received the nickname "The Butcher of Riga." He hid in Argentina for a long time, but after learning that Germany had sent a request for his extradition, he went to Paraguay and lived there until his death.;

— Walter Kuchman is a Gestapo officer responsible for the extermination of 1,500 Polish Jews in Lviv. He lived all his life in Buenos Aires, and never appeared in court.;

— Ante Pavelic, leader of the Ustasha (Fascist rebels) and a loyal legionnaire of Hitler. For many years he hid in Austria, Italy, Argentina and Spain. In exile, he continued his political activities, including founding the Croatian Liberation Movement party, whose goal was to restore Croatia's independence. He died in 1959 in Spain.

It is important to note that the documents in question were declassified earlier by Decree of President Carlos Menem No. 232/1992. However, these documents could only be viewed in a specially designated room of the National Archives. Now, anyone can access the documents online on the website of the government of the country.

This decision was made by the current leader of Argentina, Javier Miley, after a February meeting with representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. According to the Center, up to 10,000 Nazis and war criminals escaped justice by hiding in Argentina and other countries.

What is known about the "Angel of Death from Auschwitz" by Josef Mengele

One of the most notable dossiers are documents dedicated to the journey and life of Josef Mengele. Declassified documents show that Josef Mengele hid in the town of Vicente Lopez, a suburb of Buenos Aires, after the fall of the Third Reich.

While leading international organizations were looking for him to be tried for the atrocities committed during the Second World War, the Nazi doctor lived in the suburbs of the capital of Argentina, and used his own name, among other things. Among the declassified archives were police files, newspaper clippings about him, and intelligence reports.

The investigation revealed that he entered Argentina on June 20, 1949, using a passport issued by the International Red Cross in the name of Italian Gregor Helmut from the Italian region of Trento. He lived with this ID for seven years.

But on November 26, 1956, his real name surfaced: at that moment, Mengele submitted a request to correct his name in the identity card. At the same time, he presented a birth certificate certified by the German Embassy. It is known that after being widowed, Mengele remarried his brother's widow, German Marta Maria Will. At the same time, he adopted his nephew Karl-Heinz.

In the same year, 1956, all three asked for a certificate of good behavior (a certificate of non-criminal record) in order to be able to travel to Chile. Two years later, he "requested a travel certificate to West Germany."

Among the documents was an article by The Jerusalem Post from 1959. Its headline read: "Auschwitz monster discovered in Argentine lair." At the same time, Germany requested the extradition of Mengele from Argentina, but was refused. The Argentine government, according to the documents, "has not taken any action in this regard, citing shortcomings in the form and procedure."