User:KHalas15/sandbox

Nazism in Argentina during the War

By the time World War Two started, Argentina had a relatively strong influence of European Nazis; most of which being German immigrants that had been coming over in waves since the 1800's. The country started the war under the leadership of Roberto Ortiz who would soon be removed from office after the coup d'état, also know as the Revolution of 1943. However, Ramon Castillo the vice president of the country, would have most of the say until 1943 because Ortiz was ill with diabetes. After the removal of Ortiz and Castillo, decisions for the country would lie in the hands of the heads of state until Juan Peron would become the next president in 1946. The war lasted from 1939-1945 and during this period Nazi influence would only grow in the country. Many Germans chose to migrate to Argentina in hopes of sympathy since Argentina was a long time rival to Great Britain just as Germany was. Argentina was also viewed as a nice destination for migration due to their lenient immigration policies and the abundance of low-populated land. A large portion of the Argentine military was of German descent by WW2 and for this reason Argentina had a lot of respect for German culture and history. The close relations of Argentina and Germany kept Argentina neutral throughout the war despite constant pressure coming from the United States to join the Allied powers, especially after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There is also speculations that Argentina stayed neutral due to Castillo's nationalist beliefs or that he just didn't have the power to go against the military without causing a revolt. They eventually would convert only a couple months before the war’s end seeing that Allied powers would likely dominate international politics for years to come. This conversion followed many threats and accusations: the biggest being the US to support Brazil's attack on the country due to accusations of supporting Germany with weaponry.

Nazism in Argentina after the War

Post World War Two, many Nazis wanted to escape Europe in hopes of subsequently escaping the Nuremberg Trials. Thousands of Nazis fled to South America and scattered amongst different countries, however, no country took in nearly as many as Argentina which took in nearly 5,000 Nazis. Under Juan Domingo Perón,Argentina remained officially neutral during World War Two due to its immense German population even before the war. After the war Perón sent diplomats to Europe to create escape routes, known as ratlines, and looked to bring Nazis with specific military and technical expertise. While having a high German and Nazi population, Argentina also had an incredibly dense population of Jewish people which led to an continual conflict for Perón whose regime had been characterized by many racist and fascist-Nazi ideals. In order to gain the support of the Jewish population, Perón worked against Anti-Semitic attacks in Argentina and provided asylum for many Jewish refugees. This, however, led to internal conflicts through Perón actively seeking fleeing Nazis while trying to gain the support of the Argentinian Jewish population.

For most of the mid-twentieth century and especially after Adolf Eichmann's capture, most Nazis lived under alias and lived as quietly as possible. However, many of the Nazis eventually reverted back to living under their own names by the 1990s. The reversal to their original names resulted in many finally being tracked down and tried. Those who did not revert to their original names were assimilated into Argentina’s German population. Many former Nazis worked at the same factory owned by a German-Argentine businessman. Pockets of German, and mostly Nazi, populations began to become more and more common throughout Argentina and they formed their own communities within Argentina.

Famous Nazis in Argentina

A handful of the most powerful Nazis escaped via the Ratlines to South America including many to Argentina. Of those who went to Argentina, two of the most famous are Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele. Eichmann escaped US custody in 1946 when he fled to Argentina. Until 1960, Eichmann lived in Argentina until he was abducted by agents of the Israeli Security Service and brought to Israel. Adolf Eichmann permitted multiple interviews while he was in hiding and considered returning to Germany to explain his actions as he did not like living in exile and wanted to use his birth name to be known for what he had done during the Holocaust. He met weekly with other former SS members and Nazis and admitted to having no regrets other than not killing all of the Jewish people. Throughout his brief life in exile, Eichmann moved throughout Argentina before returning to Buenos Aires under the name Ricardo Klement. Finding and capturing Eichmann proved to be a difficult task for the Mossad because of his constant relocating and connections in the Argentinian government. Eventually he was found and his identity confirmed and a group of over 30 Israelis put together to capture Eichmann to bring him to Israel to be tried for his war crimes. On May 11, 1960, Eichmann was finally captured and brought to Israel to be tried. Late 1961, Adolf Eichmann was found guilty of crimes against the Jewish people and hanged at midnight on June 1, 1962.

Josef Mengele, the notorious Auschwitz doctor, also fled Germany to Argentina. Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death," and doctors like him conducted heinous experiments however, Nazi medicine became the "professional genotype" for modern medicine. Mangle's work didn't end when he left Germany and while posing as a vet, he continued his twin experiments in Latin America. This continuation of experiments is likely the reason for the fact that in the Brazilian farming community of Candido Godoi, one in five pregnancies are twins. The Argentine government provided Mengele with a new identity, Helmut Gregor and in 1949 left Germany for good.In Argentina he worked in a factory owned by a German-Argentine while continually to work as a doctor on the side.He traveled and worked both under his alias and occasionally Mengele and moved in high social circles and ultimately met President Perón, who know exactly who "Helmut Gregor" was. Once Perón was thrown out of power, Mengele immediately recognized the danger he was in due to the new government and a new extradition request for his return to Germany as well as Eichmann's capture. He spent the rest of his life in Brazil living under a number of different names until he eventually died by drowning in Brazil in 1979.