More than 80 boxes of material sent from Tokyo in 1941 were rediscovered after 84 years –shedding light on the South American nation’s role helping war criminals escape justice
May 13, 2025 15:58
Argentine Supreme Court officials have uncovered a trove of Nazi propaganda and documents long forgotten in the basement of the court’s historic building – material originally confiscated more than 80 years ago during the Second World War.
The cache of 83 wooden boxes, filled with postcards, photographs, Nazi propaganda and thousands of notebooks, was found by chance as court staff prepared archival materials for a planned museum.
The rediscovery has raised new questions about Argentina’s postwar role as a haven for fleeing Nazi officials, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.
Per to a statement from the court, the boxes were shipped from the German embassy in Tokyo to Buenos Aires aboard the Japanese steamship Nan-a-Maru on June 20, 1941.
German diplomats had claimed the contents were personal effects and requested an exemption from inspection. However, concerns about Argentina's neutrality prompted officials to investigate.
When customs officers, foreign ministry officials and anti-subversion investigators opened five boxes at random, they discovered materials designed to promote Nazi ideology abroad. Among the contents were items from the Nazi Party’s foreign organisation and the German Trade Union Confederation, including notebooks branded with swastikas and data cards bearing Argentine addresses.
Fearing the propaganda’s potential impact, authorities seized the shipment. In September 1941, a federal judge ordered the materials be confiscated and transferred the case to the Supreme Court. There, it appears the boxes were shelved and forgotten – until now.
“This material was intended to consolidate and spread Adolf Hitler’s ideology in Argentina during the war,” the court said in its release. The rediscovery has prompted a new preservation effort led by the court in partnership with the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum and Jewish community leaders, including representatives from the Argentina-Israel Mutual Association (AMIA).
The boxes have been moved to a secure location within the court for inventory and analysis. Experts hope the collection may reveal further details about Nazi activities in Argentina, including international financial networks used by the regime.
Justice Horacio Rosatti, who oversaw the transfer, emphasised the importance of determining whether the documents could fill remaining gaps in Holocaust research.
“The goal is to carry out a detailed analysis to determine if the material contains crucial information about the Holocaust,” the court said.
Argentina maintained official neutrality during much of the Second World War, only severing ties with the Axis powers in 1944 and declaring war in 1945.
However, after the war, Argentina became a known endpoint of the so-called Rat Line – a clandestine escape route used by high-ranking Nazi and SS officers fleeing postwar justice. Among those who found refuge in Argentina was Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief architects of the Holocaust.
In March, Argentine President Javier Milei announced the declassification of government archives related to Nazi activity in the country, aiming to reveal details about how fugitive war criminals fled to Argentina after World War II.
The rediscovered boxes serve as a stark reminder of the country’s complex wartime and postwar legacy – and may provide new insights into the global operations of the Nazi regime.