Photo By: Picture-alliance/dpa
The second world war was coming to an end, and with their god-like leader dead by his own hand, the highest-ranking Nazi officials seemed to be trapped within themselves. The Allies forced were pressuring them with their seeming omnipresence, their ideological walls and borders slowly crumbling. Vehemently believing in their purpose and hopelessly attached to their party, many Nazis were experiencing their personal apocalypse. They knew there was no way out. They knew that the timer reached zero. They knew that their fundamental goal was obliterated. Europe was controlled by the Allies; China was undergoing its own changes with the conflict between Nationalists and Communists and later the Cultural Revolution; the Middle East was adjusting to Israel as a newly independent state, and any German stepping foot in the United States would be condemned to a life of exclusion and isolation. Emotions were running high, most decisions were made because of them, and in the heat of the moment, South America seemed to be the perfect place to reconstruct their lives. Remaining largely neutral during the war, Latin America seemed to offer the chance to start over, to hide from justice, to live out their lives brushing their torturous past behind them. The Southern Cone of Latin America, namely Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, and Southern Brazil, became a safe haven for fleeing Nazis who were trying to outrun the allies and escape their doomed fate.
One of the most notable examples of Nazi sympathizers during the post-war era, is Argentina. Under the leadership of Juan Peron, strong ties were established between this Latin American country and Germany. Even before the devastating events of the early 20th century, Argentina was home to a significant number of German immigrants, which in turn helped solidify the ties between nations. Peron was an avid socialist, and the National Socialist German Worker’s Party- or Nazis- shared the same ideologies. During the war, Peron opted to cultivate a friendly relationship with his tormented European comrade. One can venture to say that Peron was even an aspiring Nazi -a controversial statement, nonetheless. He served in the Italian army as a military attaché at the start of the Second World war. The dictatorial and autocratic wave that was taking over Latin America was in some cases inspired by the new fascist regimes sparking in Europe. Germany and Italy became model governments for the kind of bureaucratic structures that many Latin American leaders wanted to implement, and Juan Peron did so with enthusiasm. During the war itself, Peron developed routes to smuggle Nazi officers and party members from Spain and Italy into Argentina. Said routes were called "ratlines" and they were the miraculous glimmer of hope for thousands of fleeing Nazis. As Peron helped them escape, he chose certain key members in order to incorporate them into the Argentine military based on their knowledge regarding military and technical tactics. Given that they were persecuted war criminals, many opted to forge Red Cross passports in order to escape Germany. According to records uncovered long after the war, Argentina housed at least 5,000 escaped Nazis, including around 800 SS officials who faked their documents in order to escape. One of the most high-profile Nazis who escaped to Argentina was Adolf Eichmann, who was a pioneering member in the structuring of the Jewish genocide. He escaped Germany and called himself Ricardo Klement. Knowing that he was walking on eggshells, Klement attempted to lead a quiet life, as many escaped Nazis did. Despite their seeming protection and safety in Latin America, they knew that any false step could lead to their conviction. Nevertheless, it seemed that Klement was not careful enough. In 1960, he was snatched from his car and kidnapped by Mossad agents, who were a group of Israeli secret services. Klement- or rather, Eichmann- was taken to Israel to be tried, eventually resulting in his execution.
Similar to Argentina, Southern Brazil was the home to a significant number of German migrants. Starting in the 1850s, many Germans decided to resettle in Latin America, and Brazil was an attractive living prospect. They established certain settlements which eventually, after the advent of the World Wars, became the perfect escape for Nazis and war criminals. As in Argentina, the fascist movement in Brazil gained strength. It is believed that the biggest fascist party outside of Europe was, in fact, in Brazil with over 40,000 members. Around 1,500 Nazis fled to Brazil, and amongst them was the infamous Angel Of Death: Dr. Joseph Mengele. Mengele was known for conducting brutal and cruel experiments on Auschwitz prisoners in an attempt to perfect the human race. Nazis were vehement believers in the innate superiority of the Aryan race, and through his experiments, Mengele was able to test theories and destroy lives. Before settling in Brazil, Mengele was believed to have arrived in Argentina in 1949, then moved to Paraguay in 1959, and eventually settling in Brazil. Although he never faced any legal, economic, or social repercussions for his unspeakable atrocities, Mengele did die a violent death as he drowned off of the Brazilian coast in 1979. Another Nazi party member, Gustav Wagner, who was an SS officer also lived out his days in Brazil. There was a movement to extradite Wagner in order to try him for his crimes, but Brazil’s supreme federal court fought against the warrant, saying that there were inaccuracies in the paperwork that demanded his return to Germany. It was in these small and under-the-radar actions that many South American countries were complicit to the crimes of the Nazi party during and after the second world war.
The German diaspora communities in Chile proved to be very interesting cases, especially considering Colonia Dignidad. Founded by Nazi party member Paul Schäfter in 1961, Colonia Dignidad was a cult under the guise of a commune where hundreds of children were tortured and abused. It is estimated that around 300 Germans and Chileans stayed at the commune, and once they were in, they were not allowed to leave. As if a setting for a horror movie, there were watchtowers and aggressive dogs who patrolled the fences in order to prevent any escapes. Survivors claim that Schäfter not only abused the prisoners but also coerced them into slave labor. Around 100 people are estimated to have been killed in cold blood in the commune, and the torture only stopped in 1997 when Schäfter fled Chile to Argentina due to a rampage of lawsuits ranging from abuse of children to sexual abuse. In 2005, he was convicted of serial pedophilia and stayed in prison until his death in 2010. According to the BBC, today, the commune is a tourist site called Villa Baviera, and around 100 of the victims and former members of the cult continue to live there given that “it is the only home they have ever known.” When the military dictator Augusto Pinochet rose to power in 1973, the commune was said to have been used as a torture center for political dissidents, culminating in the torture and interrogation of around 300 people who were seen as enemies to the state. Pionchet’s secret police, DINA, worked with members of the commune to build underground tunnels to facilitate the transportation and torture of prisoners. In 2019 Germany announced a plan to compensate the victims of Colonia Dignidad with around $11,000 USD. Aside from the horrific tale of the Colonia Dignidad, Chile is believed to have housed around 1,000 escaped Nazis. The inventor of the mobile gas chambers, Walter Rauff, was amongst those who resettled in Chile. He was responsible for the death of over 100,000 people and eventually died in Chile without any consequence. Rauff became the manager of a king crab cannery while also being a spy for West Germany. Arrested once In 1962, Rauff seemed to elude any consequence when he was released only a year later. Similar to Wanger’s case in Brazil, the Rauff was called for extradition, but the Chilean government refused to send Rauff back to Europe.
It is important to note that these countries did not aid Nazis on their own. There was a surreptitious underground network that quietly pulled strings based on personal interests. The United States, for example, partook in the secret extraction of Germany Nazis to Latin America, most famously Klaus Barbie. Barbie was a Gestapo leader who was scouted by the U.S. Counter-Intelligence Corps in order to use his knowledge of military and strategic tactics. Supposedly, Barbie would help the United States in their anti-communist crusade by serving as a spy and “torture adviser.” This man, following in the steps of his party members, was an avid murderer, even earning the nickname the Butcher of Lyon given that he orchestrated and conducted the mass killing of thousands of French Jews and resistance fighters. Fortunately, after a couple of years, Barbie was sent back to Europe and forced to face a court. He was charged for his crimes and forced to spend the rest of his days in prison. It seems that the most unseemly countries contributed to the escape of hunted Nazis, given that not only did the United States participate in this endeavor, but the Vatican did also so as well. Many priests living in the Vatican were convinced by Nazi leaders that they were catholic refugees who were in dire need of assistance, others knew fair-well of the crimes their benefactors committed but resorting to helping them any way. One specific case involved a Vatican Bishop called Alois Hudal who, knowing of the atrocities committed by the people he was helping, provided them with Vatican passports to ease their entry to Argentina through the networks that Peron had established.
There are thousands of other stories regarding Nazis who escaped Germany into the safety of Latin American countries. Unfortunately, many also escaped any kind of consequence and simply lived out their days silently, carrying the burden of the destruction of millions of lives. Latin America, although beautiful, diverse, lively, and colorful, has a dark side in which human errors and history blend to create a horrifying net of complicity and abuse. There is more to Latin America than what meets the eye or is divulged in mass media, and one must always maintain oneself informed to understand the true complexity of the surrounding world.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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