South Americans (specifically from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Peru, etc.) are of Hispanic descent and largely mixed with natives, i.e. the “Mestizo” contingent of their populations. Why would the ethnical uber-race want to seek refuge in “lesser” areas?
Sure, the “power brokers” in those countries are/were more direct Castilians, and maybe that is what the Nazi’s were dealing with in the aftermath of WWII. Maybe goes back to the Nazi support of Franco during the Spanish Civil War? I dunno, but it sure seems like South America would not have been high on the list of places for the former Nazi powerful and their racial purity doctrine to hide.
I would think the corrupt governments in those countries found the massive wealth the Nazis accumulated attractive. Many of the political elite in European countries were related. Some of the ruling class in South America may have had old family roots traceable to European countries.
Brazil had a fairly large German population before world War II. It reflects in their pastries and similar.
Argentina as well.
Early on Venezuela or portion of it was a German colony.
But as Hitler came into power and people started fleeing brought the big first waves of German Diaspora to South America.
Then the Nazis fled, and later post WW2 most of the rest of Europe chased out remaining ethnic Germans, primarily Eastern Europe. Who also fled to Argentina and Brazil.
I worked with Brazilians from families who immigrated from Germany in the 1800s. It’s fairly common, though Argentina has the most.
Oddly enough,…
While I was in the Philippines my Wifes Family Farm but’s up against some property that was owned by a German man came to the Philippines in the late 40’s early 50’s.
He went to a very remote place, built what was I am sure a Mansion then and then planted what appears to be 60 acres of Mahogany Trees. He passed, his Wife passed. No one has stepped up to claim the land and the City now owns all of these Mahogony trees.
I would guess he was running from something, because that might have been the near most remote place on Earth at the time.
The cities of those countries are relatively European ethnically, and were more so back in 1945. As mentioned, there were lots of German immigrants and colonies in several parts of South America. Also Italian communities, which may have been important for some others fleeing. South America was largely absent from WW2 so it wasn’t conquered or controlled by the Allies, it wasn’t destroyed, and it wasn’t totally primitive - back then Argentina was much closer to the USA in technology and wealth than it is now, for example. Basically it would have been the obvious place to run and hide for any Nazi, or other German, who had the opportunity and felt the need.
Mengele lived in the open, had lots of friends and died of natural causes in 1979. Argentina was pretty good to him, attempts by German to extradite him just made him move over the border to Paraguay.
Weren’t many guys much higher on the “wanted for war crimes” list.
Was just the first thing that popped onto my head, having been in that part of the world…the unbelievably vast tracts of land that are still so completely remote there.
I’d be interested to hear Yani’s take on that one, but was always surprised why the Israeli’s didn’t hunt down and cap everyone of of them as they did/tried to do in Europe. I’d wonder why the US didn’t do same, but think most really just wanted to put the war behind them in the US and move on. It’s also interesting to note that the US was quite ruthless in hunting down and capping Nazi’s in Europe for a time. Bill Donovan and his crew were not taking prisoners either.
My FIL is a 65th Infantry Division vet who saw action in the last two months of the war as they crossed the Rhine and Germany collapsed, liberating a couple concentration camps in the process. Since he was 19yo and not married he was left in Austria on occupation duty for a while. Among other things they hunted down “Werewolves” (Nazi’s who wouldn’t give it up) from time to time, including firefights that developed as a result.
The US didn’t have a vested interest in hunting down war criminals in South America, we didn’t even prosecute the ones in Japan who tortured and murdered US soldiers, some we even allowed to hold positions in Japans post war government.
I don’t think there were many guys the Israeli’s would have wanted more than Mengele, but once they grabbed Eichmann, similar operations became much more difficult and Mengele was still well protected by former SS groups like Odessa. It was probably very much like us trying to secure American POWs in post war Vietnam. Knowing they were there wasn’t the same as going and getting them.
Much of that was for in exchange of their “research” they’d done on germ/chemical warfare etc. via unit 731. The worst war criminals Japan had, who made the Nazi’s look like Boy Scouts, went on to be successful and wealthy.
No doubt very difficult for Israel to operate that far from Israel, especially at that time, but the US could have and should have. I get wanting to put war behind, but there are some people who needed removal from the planet no matter how long it took.