Crates of Nazi documents discovered in basement of Argentinian court

The Argentine Supreme Court has discovered a trove of Nazi-era documentation within its own archives, a judicial authority has revealed.

The discovery, which includes propaganda designed to disseminate Adolf Hitler's ideology in Argentina, was made during preparations for a museum showcasing the court's historical documents.

The court official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the find as comprising postcards, photographs, and other propaganda materials from the Nazi regime.

Some of these materials, the official explained, were "intended to consolidate and propagate Adolf Hitler’s ideology in Argentina, in the midst of World War II."

The unearthed boxes are suspected to be linked to a shipment of 83 packages that arrived in Buenos Aires on June 20, 1941, aboard the Japanese steamship Nan-a-Maru.

The packages were sent from the German Embassy in Tokyo.

open image in gallery

At the time, the German diplomatic mission in Argentina claimed the boxes contained personal belongings and requested their release. However, Argentine customs officials retained the shipment.

Supreme Court President Horacio Rosatti has now ordered the preservation and thorough analysis of the discovered Nazi materials.

The crates have been moved to a secure office in the building.

Court officials have alerted the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum of the find.

Photos show experts, wearing masks and gloves, sifting through the documents, which include membership booklets with swastikas on the covers and a raft of black-and-white photos.

Following the end of World War II, Argentina, under Juan Perón's leadership, became a haven for numerous high-ranking Nazis.

Among those who moved there were Adolf Eichmann, who managed the mass deportation of Jewish people to ghettos and extermination camps, and Josef Mengele, who performed deadly experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz.

Eichmann was arrested by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in 1960 and put on trial for war crimes. He was executed in 1962.

Mengele was never captured, despite the West German government requesting his extradition from Argentina. He drowned in 1979 off the coast of Bertioga.

In 2000, Argentinian President Fernando de la Rúa issued a formal apology for the country's role in sheltering Nazi war criminals.