The Nazis in Latin America (Part II)

Over the years, after the Second World War, the Holocaust, and all the barbarism that humanity had experienced, a group of men, led by their leader Adolph Hitler, had to face the defeat of a regime they believed would last 1000 years, and which they had called the Third Reich. Nazi Germany, but not only that, Nazi Europe, had been devastated by the triumph of their enemies the Allies. Especially by Russia, but later by the United States, Britain and France as well. Hitler’s whereabouts were always a mystery, as it was said that he committed suicide with his wife Eva Braun, just before the Russians entered Berlin.

The fate of Hitler, who surely already knew that the largely suicidal war to which he had led Germany and all her allies, whether by conviction or compulsion, was a catastrophe for them, is uncertain.

In addition to Hitler, the entire Nazi leadership, the scientists who designed so many weapons, even in a very short range of time, sought the annihilation of all who were against their ideology.

Before they had to turn themselves in and end up at the Nuremberg Trials or commit suicide even in front of their captors, as in the case of Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s second in command, some decided that the smartest thing to do would be to flee to a place where they were not known and there clandestinely continue their lives. The most common destinations were in America, from the northern hemisphere to the most remote place in the south, Patagonia.

David A. Rosenthal.: They didn’t want anything?

Pablo Weschler.:  Nothing was known. This topic, the topic of the escape of the Nazis, is a topic that they started talking about only recently in the 60s, when once, let’s say, they gave special weight to the topic of the escape, of the kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann in Argentina, and people started talking a lot about the Nazis who lived in Argentina and in South America in general. Also, before, they lived under false identities, with other names. Of course, yes, but nobody investigated and nobody made big campaigns to start, let’s say, to ask for the head of this or that Nazi in Europe so that a trial could be called and things like that. The Americans themselves, when they came to occupy Germany after the war, gave a very big pardon to the German people.

They only looked for the big heads within the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials and they were tried. Of course, some of them went to the gallows, but the German people received a great deal of forgiveness from all powers once the war was over.

The subject of the war was well-known and from time to time someone who had been in the war would appear and tell something like that, but the distance and the means and the technology were so, let’s say, so limited at that time, that it wasn’t something that, you know, you turn on the television or you have your internet and you find out about everything that was happening in the war or after the war. And no, there wasn’t much interest, Argentina was a neutral country throughout the war and few people were informed, were aware of what was happening.

Of course, let’s say, let’s keep in mind that one interesting fact is that of course all the embassies of all the powers, including the Germans, were involved in the matter, they knew exactly what was happening, people were sneaking into Argentina, Germans, or in general Nazis who were escaping from Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslavia, were escaping from France, collaborators were arriving from Belgium, who were coming from Italy, of course. That was known, but at a diplomatic level, the people on the street didn’t give it much importance. The Jews themselves in Argentina, for example, didn’t give it much importance and they knew that some Germans were escaping from Germany to Argentina.

Yes, it was known. And the important thing is, to give you an idea, I got information from a letter that was written from the German embassy in Buenos Aires to the German embassy in Madrid. And detailing things that were happening in Argentina, the German ambassador in Argentina says, yes, we were able to have great help through our collaborator Eva Perón.

It is something very important. At the German level, she was considered a collaborator of the Germans in Argentina. He and Juan Perón, that is, this couple, who were the ones who ruled Argentina for ten years from 1945 to 1955, were fully engaged in helping the Germans in every way possible so that they could reach Argentina without any problems.

So, there was Argentine help, but the question also remains: what did Juan Perón and Eva Perón receive in exchange for this great help that they gave to all the fugitives who arrived in Argentina in those years? Of course. And well, for example, the issue of the German scientists who were evacuated to the United States and later founded NASA. That issue would be related, right? It could be related, but not to South America, but to the USA.

A few months ago, the book “Nace Sana” by Colombian-Israeli writer Bella Clara Ventura was published. The subject of this work is very interesting because of its theme, the escape of German technicians and engineers from Germany and the formation of the American Space Research Agency through this group. In this book I was a historical advisor to Mrs. Ventura. Few people know about this military operation which was called “Paperclip” at that time.

There is little information, it is covered up, that is in the archives of Maryland, in the United States, and it seems that there is not much interest on the American side to publish this, since it is clear that from one day to the next dozens of scientists, engineers and technicians from Europe who worked for the Nazi regime, for Hitler, disappeared, and they and their families disappeared.

Suddenly they appeared on American soil, apart from a small photo that I found in black and white, of course, all with German surnames who appeared in the United States, there is not much information about how they escaped.

DAR: But is there any information, any idea of ​​who helped them, directly the American government?

PW: Surely, maybe. You can’t do this mass escape like that, in an amateurish way. You need a well-armed infrastructure. Surely the American army, with some of the embassies, was involved in the matter, so that from one day to the next this mass of people disappeared, appeared in the United States, and began to work directly on the subject of ballistic missiles, on the subject of what was days later, years later, what was NASA. The seeds that were growing in 45 when they escaped, years later were really the basis of what was NASA, I think NASA was formed, with all the basis and all the knowledge of the Germans and the Nazis.

DAR: What happened to these German technicians and engineers?

PW: The war was almost over, at the end of 1944, it was already known that Germany could not win the war, Hitler, in the few months that he had left as an army, so these engineers did not want to fall into the hands of the Soviets, it was clear that they would end their lives in Siberia. So the first contacts were made with the Americans to save their lives and those of their families, so that they could continue to give this help to the Americans, to create and continue talking and developing the subject of ballistic missiles, the V-1, the V-2, which were very advanced and the Americans did not have the technology and of course, they were not that far ahead with the development of the atomic bomb, they had a very serious problem with the issue of heavy water, so the Americans knew that they were far behind German development and they wanted to count on the help of the Germans. They told them, okay, but you have to get us out of here, we are dozens of technicians who secretly have to escape from European soil and we are going to cooperate with you.

So this list of people who escaped overnight, came to America and started working for the government and formed what was the Space Research Institute, it was called at first, then it was actually NASA, which actually sent man to the moon, but we have to keep in mind that again these names were all German, that they were the ones who actually helped form NASA with their knowledge.

If this investigation had been done perhaps 20 or 30 years ago, then it would be easier to speak with direct witnesses and not indirect ones and really know what happened. But papers, documents, documentation are stored somewhere. I am sure that there are photos of Hitler in Argentina.

It is known that there are also photos of Mengele with Juan Perón, for example, in Argentina. On one occasion I was able to see that photo. In other words, there are materials that are hidden, but at the witness level it is very complicated to reach the witnesses because of their age, of course.

But there is information, it is hidden. And at some point perhaps those grandchildren or great-grandchildren will say, you know what? Well, my grandfather or my great-grandfather was a Nazi, I have no problem saying it, admitting it. And here I have information to offer.

So, I do this research on a documentary level because I film materials and take testimonies from people who know something about it. I have been doing this since 2005, more or less, when I started filming. I have more or less 16 hours of filmed unpublished materials, especially this subject that is so fascinating to me.

All of this is problematic, it is not easy to get to the sources. But perhaps with time it will become easier because people will feel a natural distancing from what their grandparents or great-grandparents did during the Second World War. Perhaps they will not feel guilt or shame, perhaps.

And they will accept and talk or tell and perhaps even show documents or things like that that are related to what happened with the escape and the arrival of those Nazi Germans to Argentina or in general to South America. But it is known, there are many books, there is a lot of literature. I have read several books, I have about 15 books in my house that are about this fascinating subject.

There are books, as I said, such as “The Authentic Odessa,” which were published at that time; “Nazis in the South” and “Hitler’s Secrets in Argentina.” Another very interesting book that I came across is from 1954, by Mr. Silvano Santander, an Argentine politician. His book is called “The Technique of a Betrayal,” about Juan Domingo Perón and Eva Duarte, agents of Nazism in Argentina. Santander published the book in 1954, and the Perón government threatened him. If that book were published, Santander would have to leave Argentina immediately because his life was in danger.

This gentleman published the book and had to go and live in Uruguay. So there is literature, there are materials, you can find very, very interesting things from that time and try to get to the truth. But I say that the biggest fish is missing in this matter, this topic, this investigation, which is still the whereabouts of Adolf Hitler once the war ended.

DAR: Where is his body and what happened?

PW: We are talking about the greatest demon of the modern era, the greatest murderer. And if we could really know what happened to him and not just stick to the official version that he committed suicide in the bunker, I think that would be something important, because we are talking about the most important person of the modern era, of history, and it would really be interesting to know what happened and not cover up the issue, both on the American side, since the American archives are still closed, for the most part.

Part of the Argentine archives were burned in 1997, not much information remained. So, what we are talking about here about Hitler, Nazism and everything that happened in World War II and afterwards, still has many black holes and there are things that can still be clarified and known. To improve or change and really tell the truth about modern history books, because I do not think that Hitler committed suicide in the bunker and there are things that can also be openly demonstrated. Also history and education, because history books perhaps at some point will have to say that Hitler really escaped from the bunker when the war was over and did not commit suicide. So, what is the importance of this type of documentary? Again, talking about bringing out and openly, everything that was really the truth.