Argentinian president orders the opening of classified files on Nazi war criminals who fled to his country
Argentinian President Javier Milei officially gave the order to declassify documents pertaining to the 5,000 Nazi war criminals who escaped to Argentina, the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, announced on Tuesday.
"The president directed all state agencies to release official files connected to Nazis who found asylum in Argentina following the Holocaust," stated Francos, according to YNet News.
Last month President Milei told officials from the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) that he would give them access to the classified government documents, even though at this point the criminals in question – and those who aided them – are already dead.
“While some previous leaders promised full cooperation to get to the hard truths that involved Argentina’s past, Milei is the first to act, with lightning speed, to enable the SWC to uncover important pieces of the historic puzzle, especially as it related to involvement with Nazis before, during and after the Holocaust,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the SWC said at the time.
Some ten thousand Nazi war criminals are estimated to have avoided conviction in Europe via escape routes known as the so-called “ratlines,” half of whom are thought to have ended up in Argentina.
With the release of the documents, details about how so many Nazis evaded justice after the Holocaust will be revealed. Information about their financial activities, their time in Argentina, and about activities of other Nazi fugitives is also expected to be made known as a result.
The decision to unseal the classified documents came after a meeting between President Milei and U.S. Senator Steve Daines, who asked for information about the time period when Argentina offered shelter to the Nazis.
After World War II, Argentina became a haven for high ranking Nazis including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele who was known for his barbaric and inhumane “experiments” on Holocaust victims at Auschwitz.
Another notorious name was Eichmann, who was one of the key architects of the Holocaust. He was found in Argentina by Israeli Mossad agents in 1960, and brought to Israel where he was tried and ultimately executed in 1962.
“There are still unpublished documents about the Nazis' banking and financial operations,” said Francos. “Milei has ordered the release of all available information across all state agencies. The most significant files are likely in the Defense Ministry. There is no reason to keep these details hidden.”
President Javier Milei has been one of the most pro-Israel heads of state in the world, moving the Argentinian embassy to Jerusalem and consistently supporting the Jewish state. He revealed that he had a Jewish grandparent, and plans to convert to Judaism after leaving office, according to the Times of Israel. He was the first non-Jew and also first head of state to have been awarded the Genesis Prize known as the “Jewish Nobel”, which is worth $1 million.
Jo Elizabeth has a great interest in politics and cultural developments, studying Social Policy for her first degree and gaining a Masters in Jewish Philosophy from Haifa University, but she loves to write about the Bible and its primary subject, the God of Israel. As a writer, Jo spends her time between the UK and Jerusalem, Israel.
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