- Argentina’s government plans to declassify files on Nazi war criminals who sought refuge in the country after World War II. The documents include information on banking transactions and military records of figures like Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele.
- The decision follows a request from U.S. Sen. Steve Daines during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei in February.
- The announcement has revived conspiracy theories, particularly the claim that Adolf Hitler escaped to Argentina, though historians and forensic evidence have debunked this theory.
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Argentina’s government announced plans to declassify files related to Nazi war criminals who sought refuge in the country after World War II.
The Buenos Aires Times reported that a cabinet member confirmed President Javier Milei’s order after a request from U.S. Republican Sen. Steve Daines, Mont., during a meeting in February.
What will the documents include?
The declassified documents may include information on banking transactions and military records related to Nazi fugitives, including Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust, and Josef Mengele, also known by his moniker, the “angel of death.”
While some Nazis fled to countries like the U.S. after World War II, Argentina became a prominent destination for high-ranking officials of the Nazi regime, offering them protection for decades.
Did Hitler escape to Argentina?
Since the declassification announcement, a commonly known conspiracy theory has been making the rounds on social media about Adolf Hitler living out the rest of his life in Argentina.
According to the theory, Hitler did not end his own life in his Berlin bunker in April 1945 but instead fled to South America, where he lived in secret for many years.
France 24 has reported that there’s no indication that the documents shed any light on the Hitler conspiracy.
Historians like Richard J. Evans dismissed the Hitler escape theory for years, pointing to forensic evidence. That includes Hitler’s dental remains, which reportedly match his known records and were confirmed in 2018 by a team of scientists who were allowed to examine the remains, held in Russia.