A flourishing relationship developed between Germany and Argentina as early as the German Unification, with Germany eventually coming to hold a privileged position in the Argentine economy. In addition, dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) and many different kinds of sausage-like bratwurst and others have also made it into mainstream Argentine cuisine. Flags of Argentina, Buenos Aires Province and Germany in front of St. Joseph Catholic Church in, Historical ties with Argentina and Germany, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Gartenstadtschule — Colegio Ciudad Jardin —, The Real Odessa: Smuggling the Nazis to Perón's Argentina, https://web.archive.org/web/20070928131650/http://www.sippo.ch/files/news/press_06ra.pdf, Deutscher Bundestag 4. Though found throughout Argentina, over 80% of these were located in Buenos Aires, Misiones, or Entre Ríos in 1933. Apparently, two submarines had landed on the Argentinian coast, and Hitler with Eva Braun was on board the second. During World War Two, Argentina clearly favored the Axis because of close cultural ties with Germany, Spain, and Italy. They are descendants of Germans who immigrated to Argentina from Germany and elsewhere in Europe. After the war, communist regimes were created in Poland, Yugoslavia, and other parts of Eastern Europe. Some of the smarter Nazi officers and collaborators saw the writing on the wall as early as 1943 and began squirreling away gold, money, valuables, paintings and more, often in Switzerland. This colony was composed of 6 villages: Asunción (Spatzenkutter), Concepción (Valle María), San José (Brasilera), Agricultores (Protestante), San Francisco (Pfeiffer), and Salto (Koeller). Saint Sauveur-Henn, Anne, 1995, Un siècle d'émigration allemande vers l'Argentine, (Cologne, Germany: Boehlau). Minster, Christopher. The “real Odessa,” he says, consisted of about a dozen energetic ex-Nazis and Nazi collaborators from several nations, including a few wanted war criminals, … group of peasants from Germany who were enticed to settle the often inhospitable and dangerous region of south-central Russia Other wanted war criminals were too cautious to be found: Josef Mengele drowned in Brazil in 1979 after having been the object of a massive manhunt for decades. This census provides the Date of arrival in the Colony (24 groups between 22 and 01-1878 and 24-04-1880), Name, Nationality, Marital status, age, and literacy. Some of these men were even quite successful financially, such as Herbert Kuhlmann, a former commander of the Hitler youth who became a prominent businessman. Argentina is 97% white. These people settled in Colonia General Alvear in the province of Entre Ríos. [1], German Argentines have founded German schools such as the Hölters Schule and German-language newspapers such as the Argentinisches Tageblatt ("Argentine Daily"). The Nazi war criminals and collaborators may have been butchers, but there is no doubt that they were rabidly anti-communist. Moya, José, “Spanish Emigration to Cuba and Argentina,” in Mass Migration to Modern Latin America, 2003, edited by Samuel Baily and Eduardo José Míguez, (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources Inc.), 9-28. There are many towns and regions there where only German is spoken, due to German expatriate communities making up the majority of the local population. Well it seems like the opportune place to go. Before delving into the facts of the situation, it should be noted that there are several versions of the story of an Antarctic Nazi base. His great-granddaughter María Luisa Bemberg took over the company until she died in 1995 and her son, Carlos Miguens Bemberg was the director from 1989 until his resignation on May 17, 2006. [citation needed]. Graefe, Iris Barbara, 1971, Zur Volkskunde der Rußlanddeutschen in Argentinien, (Vienna: Verlag A. Schnell). Catholic settlers in La Pampa came from south of Buenos Aires and Protestants from Entre Ríos. Two studies have been done on these arrivals’ impact on the newspaper Das Argentinische Tageblatt and how it was used by anti-Nazi immigrants to contribute to the debate about fascism. By the 1990s, most of these aging men were living openly under their own names. It was Argentina that made a concerted effort to rescue as many Nazis as possible. Upon the invitation of Catherine the Great, 25,000 Germans immigrated to the Volga valley of Russia to establish 104 German villages from 1764 to 1767. Archaeologists are trying to determine whether ruined buildings in a remote nature reserve in Argentina were built as a hide-out for German … Argentina, in particular, became a refuge under the sympathetic regime of President Juan Peron, who helped protect Nazi war criminals. Argentina took all germans that could get its hands on before they were captured by the USSR or the USA. This can be attributed to increased immigration restrictions in the United States and Brazil as well as the deteriorating conditions in post-World War I Europe. [citation needed], Today, most German Argentines do not speak German at home because of the decline of the language; however, some estimates suggest that 1.8 million Argentines of non-German descent have some knowledge of German. Upon arriving in Argentina, the Volga German families were very happy even though they had to begin from scratch because they were finally living in freedom. German prosecutors in recent years have estimated that Brazil accepted between 1,500 and 2,000 Nazis, Chile took in between 500 and 1,000, and Argentina welcomed up to 5,000 Nazis to their country. Ante Pavelic and his cabal of close advisors were in possession of several chests full of gold, jewelry and art they had stolen from their Jewish and Serbian victims: this eased their passage to Argentina considerably. Even after Germany was defeated, there were many powerful men in Europe who had favored the Nazi cause and continued to do so. Swiss bankers, out of greed or sympathy, helped the former Nazis move and launder funds. A complete census index of all the villages within the colony villages can be found here [1]. Just when Russia was abridging the privileges granted to the Germans in an earlier era, several nations in the Americas were attempting to attract settlers by offering inducements reminiscent of those of Catherine the Great. A century after the first Germans had settled in the Volga region, Russia passed legislation that revoked many of the privileges promised to them by Catherine the Great. As for the rest of the Argentine Nazis, most assimilated into Argentina's sizable German community and were smart enough to never talk about their past. In the 1880s the Russian government began a subtle attack on the German schools. They comprised 28% of total immigration to the country, as mass migration to Argentina was slowing. In the ‘50s our government loved the Nazis. A handful of them, such as the Ustashi General Vladimir Kren, were eventually sent back, tried, and executed. German communities developed in many areas, especially Buenos Aires, with their own schools, hospitals, shops, theaters, sports clubs, and banks. Americans and British Didn't Want to Give Them to Communist Countries. Germany’s close victory against a valiant Argentinian team. The first census of the Volga Germans in Argentina was performed on March 31, 1881, in "Colonia General Alvear", Entre Rios Province. After World War II, under Juan Perón's administration, Argentina participated in establishing and facilitating secret escape routes out of Germany to South America for ex-SS officials (the ODESSA network)[4] Former Nazi officials emigrated to Argentina in order to prevent prosecution. Expansion from Colonia Hinojo went westwards comprising south of Buenos Aires and the province of La Pampa; from there they reached Córdoba and Chaco. Others, such as Dinko Sakic and Erich Priebke, gave ill-advised interviews, which brought them to the attention of the public. Spain was still ruled by the fascist Francisco Franco and had been a de facto member of the Axis alliance; many Nazis would find safe if temporary, haven there. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Due to the hundreds of thousands of German immigrants who lived in the country, Argentina maintained close ties with Germany and remained neutral for much of … In this upcoming "inevitable" conflict, third parties such as Argentina could tip the balance one way or the other. [citation needed], The country received 12,000 immigrants from Germany between 1946 and 1952, a smaller number than in previous periods. [5] It is a language that can be heard all over the country, and this is partly maintained by the continued existence of German-speaking Argentines and some business connections. [citation needed]. It was named after Carlos Weiderhold, a German Chilean from the city of Osorno who pioneer who settled the region, and the city has become one of Argentina's top tourist destinations. [2] The five provinces with the largest numbers of inhabitants of German descent are, in order of largest German population: Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Misiones and La Pampa. "Why Argentina Accepted Nazi War Criminals After World War II." Birth, marriage, … Wealthy Germans and Argentine businessmen of German descent were willing to pay the way for escaping Nazis. The Argentinian government not only welcomed the former German … In recent years a number of these stories have become popular online, with dozens of sites perpetuating them.The simplest story is that there was a Nazi Germany nurtured this sympathy, promising important trade concessions after the war. The influence of German culture has also influenced Argentine cuisine; the "Achtzig Schlag" cake, which was translated as Torta Ochenta Golpes in the country, can be found in some bakeries. ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/why-did-argentina-accept-nazi-criminals-2136579. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. Micolis, Marisa, 1973, Une communauté allemande en Argentine: Eldorado: Problèmes d’intégration socio-culturelle, (Québec, Centre international de recherches sur le bilinguisme). Franz Stangl. In 1874, a new military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in the military for 6 years. (2020, August 28). The sentiment in Russia became decidedly anti-German. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-did-argentina-accept-nazi-criminals-2136579 (accessed February 9, 2021). Argentine Wine. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. Christopher Minster, Ph.D., is a professor at the ​Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. You may be able to learn the town your ancestor came from by talking to older family members. Soon after the military service bill became law, both Protestant and Catholic Volga Germans gathered and chose delegations to journey across the Atlantic to examine settlement conditions in countries like the United States, Argentina, Brazil, and Canada. A century after the first Germans had settled in the Volga region, Russia passed legislation that revoked many of the privileges promised to them by Catherine the Great. Once you have traced your family back to your immigrant ancestor, you must determine the city or town the ancestor was from. Even those accused of the most heinous crimes, such as Ante Pavelic (whose Croatian regime murdered hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and Gypsies), Dr. Josef Mengele (whose cruel experiments are the stuff of nightmares) and Adolf Eichmann (Adolf Hitler's architect of the Holocaust) were welcomed with open arms. Perón's government was a big fan of the fascist trappings of Nazi Germany: spiffy uniforms, parades, rallies, and vicious anti-Semitism. Although Argentina would eventually declare war on the Axis powers (a month before the war ended), it was partly a ploy to get Argentine agents in place to help defeated Nazis escape after the war. There are still fifteen villages in Entre Ríos populated by descendants of the original settlers, twelve of them are of Catholic origin, and the remaining three, Protestant. The answers may surprise you. The opposite was true in Russia, Protestant Volga Germans outnumbered Catholics by about 2 to 1. The Catholic Church also lobbied heavily in favor of these individuals not being repatriated. Argentina was not the only place in South America that accepted Nazis and collaborators as many eventually found their way to Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and other parts of the continent. Many South American countries were home to large communities of ethnic Germans during and after … "The Nuremberg Trials." Because they had a pro Nazi government and had set up routes for Nazis to escape there. Weyne, Olga, 1986, El Último Puerto: Del Rhin al Volga y del Volga al Plata, (Buenos Aires: Editorial Tesis S.A.). For the German colonists, this law represented a breach of faith. "Hitler did indeed escape Berlin and lived out his life in relative peace and comfort in Argentina for 20 or 30 years after the war," he revealed on Amazon Prime's "Adolf Hitler's Great Escape". The numerous progeny of the founders and the division and distribution of their properties into smaller lots forced many of them to abandon the original colonization sites and find new occupations. Groth, Hendrik, 1996, Das Argentische Tageblatt: Sprachohr der demokratischen Deutschen und der deutsch-jüdischen Emigration, (Hamburg: Lit Verlag). Politische und wirtschaftliche Beziehungen und deutsche Auswanderung 1945-1955, (Sammlung Schöningh zur Geschichte und Gegenwart). Some German Argentines originally settled in Brazil, then later immigrated to Argentina. During the second period, Argentina experienced a boom in immigration due to massive economic expansion in the port of Buenos Aires and the wheat and beef producing Pampas. After World War Two, thousands of Nazis and wartime collaborators from France, Croatia, Belgium and other parts of Europe were looking for a new home: preferably as far away from the Nuremberg Trials as possible. Tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity, he was executed in 1962. Colonia Nievas (1885) - called Holtzel by the colonists. Hundreds of left-wing Peronist students and unionists were among the victims of the neo-fascist Argentine junta that launched the Dirty War … [citation needed], During the penultimate period, from 1933 to 1940, Argentina experienced another surge in German immigration. Schönwald, M.: Deutschland und Argentinien nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. It is common knowledge that Argentina was a safe haven for many Nazis after World War II. Many of those who immigrated directly from Germany were assimilated into the upper-middle class of Buenos Aires, but maintained strong ties to German culture, providing their children with a German education so they would not be at a disadvantage if they returned to Germany. There are several sources that may give your ancestor's place of origin. These men retained their positions after the war and were in a position to help out. Most germans that came after WWII were Kriëgsmarine sailors and the country was desperate to get all the engineers, scientist and officers it could. By 1945, as the Allies were mopping up the last remnants of the Axis, it was clear that the next great conflict would come between the capitalist USA and the communist USSR. Later on, Argentina maintained a strong economic relationship with both Imperial Germany and the British Empire, supporting both their wartime economies with supply shipments during World War I. Colonia San Miguel (3 October 1881) - called Dehler by settlers. The reason why so many Italians immigrated to Argentina, starting in the mid-1800s, was because there was more "room" in Argentina to absorb them, given that the physical elimination of the indigenous population in Argentina had gone further than in most Latin American countries. Zur Wirkung der politischen Entwicklung in Deutschland auf die Deutschen in Argentinien,” in Nationalsozialismus und Argentinien: Beziehungen, Einflüsse und Nachwirkungen, 1995, edited by Helger Medding, (Frankfurt: Peter Lang – Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften), 11-30. Baily, Samuel, “Italian Immigrants in Buenos Aires and New York City, 1870-1914: A Comparative Analysis of Adjustment,” in Mass Migration to Modern Latin America, 2003, edited by Samuel Baily and Eduardo José Míguez, (Wilmington, Delaware: Scholarly Resources Inc.), 69-80. As time passed and the Cold War dragged on, these Nazis would eventually be seen as the bloodthirsty dinosaurs they were. Most of the Nazis who went to Argentina lived out their lives quietly, fearing repercussions if they were too vocal or visible. Some well-known Nazis that emigrated to Argentina are Obersturmbannführer Adolf Eichmann, Nazi doctors Josef Mengele and Aribert Heim, Commander Erich Priebke, Commandant Eduard Roschmann, and General Lieutenant "Bubi" Ludolf von Alvensleben. This period is of particular interest because the older groups of German speakers began to feel a sense of cultural crisis due to the assimilation policies of the Argentine state, while the newcomers gave renewed life to German cultural institutions and created new ones. Ten Fugitive Nazi War Criminals who went to South America, 11 Facts About Dr. Josef Mengele, the Auschwitz "Angel of Death", Rise and Fall of Nazi Officer Franz Stangl, Biography of Juan Perón, Argentina's Populist President, Top Ten Villains of Latin American History, The Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution, The Gestapo: Definition and History of the Nazi Secret Police, Rudolf Hess, Nazi Who Claimed to Bring Peace Offer From Hitler. Argentina: The Nazis' "Cape of Last Hope" Argentina had an affiliation with the Axis of dictators in Europe, because of the country’s close cultural ties with Germany, Spain, and Italy, with many of the country’s citizens of European descent. The group did not congregate as tightly and participated more in general culture. The Catholic Church was extremely helpful as several high-ranking church officials (including Pope Pius XII) actively aided in the Nazis' escape. Today the Volga-German population alone in Argentina is well over 2 million. German immigration to Argentina occurred during five main time periods: pre–1870, 1870–1914, 1918–1933, 1933–1940 and post–1945. Additional Volga Germans, some from Brazil and others directly from Russia, arrived in Argentina over the next few years. Some of them lived in Argentina under their real names, but others clandestinely obtained new identities. Minster, Christopher. 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