Mengele lived openly in Argentina for years, declassified archives show
The archives show that Buenos Aires knew by the mid- to late 1950s that the Nazi doctor known as the "Angel of Death" had fled to Argentina.
Josef Mengele
Declassified archival files made public by Argentinian President Javier Milei prove that Josef Mengele, the infamous Nazi concentration camp doctor known as the “Angel of Death,” lived openly in the country after World War II and evaded arrest due to years of official inaction.
The archives, which were first declassified earlier this year and reported on by Fox News on Sunday, show that Buenos Aires knew by the mid- to late 1950s that Mengele had fled to the South American country, having arrived in 1949 using an Italian passport under the name Helmut Gregor.
The archive shows how local authorities “tracked, archived, mishandled and often took no action regarding the information they had about one of the world’s most wanted war criminals,” the Fox News report noted.
By 1956, Mengele began using his real name after having obtained a legalized copy of his original birth certificate from the West German Embassy in Buenos Aires, showing just how safe he felt in Argentina.
Local intelligence had already identified him as the top Nazi criminal by then, tracking his residence and investments, including a partnership in a medical laboratory believed to have been funded by Mengele’s father.
However, an Argentine judge rejected a 1959 West German extradition request, claiming “political persecution.” Further bureaucratic delays and poor coordination across agencies allowed Mengele to escape to Paraguay in early 1960. A secret memo dated July 12 that year shows officials were still searching for Mengele after he had already fled.
The files also outline Mengele’s move to Brazil later in 1960, where Nazi-sympathizing German Brazilian farmers provided safehouses. He lived for years under aliases, including Peter Hochbichler, José Mengele and Wolfgang Gerhardt, before dying of a stroke while swimming in 1979.
His remains were identified by Brazilian authorities in 1985 and confirmed by DNA tests seven years later.
The documents declassified by Milei also contain undated testimony of a Polish-born Argentine citizen, José Furmanski, who was a victim of Mengele, showing that authorities were fully aware of his crimes.
“I met Mengele. I knew him well. I saw him many times in the Auschwitz camp, with his SS colonel’s uniform and, on top of it, the white doctor’s coat,” said Furmanski in press clippings saved by local intelligence.
“He gathered twins of all ages in the camp and subjected them to experiments that always ended in death. Between the children, the elderly, and women … what horrors. I saw him separate a mother from her daughter and send one to certain death,” said Furmanski.
Historians believe that Argentina harbored some 5,000 Nazi war criminals, including high-profile figures such as Adolf Eichmann.
The release of the documents, which aligns with Milei’s commitment to government transparency and historical accountability, provides fresh insights into the extent of local support that facilitated their protection.
The declassified materials are housed in Argentina’s General Archive of the Nation and will be made available for public and academic research.
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