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How Did South America Become a Haven For Nazi Refugees After WWII?
A confluence of factors allowed thousands of Nazis to escape prosecution in Europe
In 1960, prominent Nazi Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann was arrested in Buenos Aires before being hauled back to Israel to face trial for his crimes. The event was a shocking reminder that monsters from World War II were still alive and at large. It was also a reminder that in the years following the fall of the Third Reich, South America and Argentina in particular had become a nexus for Nazi refugees.
Myths and legends have sprang up in the wake of this unusual exodus. Some people claim Hitler himself escaped to Argentina. Others continue to hunt for secret Nazi hideouts and lost treasure in the jungles. Every few years a trove of Nazi propaganda or memorabilia is discovered in Argentina or Brazil. While many of these tales are tall they grew up out of the soil of truth. Hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of high ranking and middle ranking Nazi officials escaped to South America during and after 1945.
How did these Nazi criminals escape? Why did they choose South America? And how did hundreds of them, like Adolf Eichmann, end up in Argentina?
A Network Of Nazi Sympathizers
Even as Berlin burned and the Allies celebrated the greatest victory in world history there were still thousands of non-German people who believed in the Nazi cause. There were Nazi sympathizers inside the Vatican, there were fascists in ever level of the Spanish government, some Italians still believed in the cause that Mussolini had hanged for. These people formed a funnel that allowed Nazis to escape war torn Germany and flee to South America.
The networks of escape were called ratlines. The Nazis were like rats fleeing a sinking ship by scurrying down the ropes as the gunwales slowly sink into the ocean. It was a sort of anti-Underground Railroad where secret fascists smuggled Nazis out of Allied controlled areas, into neutral countries and then shipped them abroad.
One of the biggest exit points was Spain. Spain still had close ties to many countries in South America and going from Spain to Argentina was a relatively simple…
