BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The Supreme Court in Argentina announced on Sunday the rediscovery of dozens of boxes containing Nazi material that had been confiscated by authorities during World War II and stored in the court’s basement. The 83 boxes were originally sent from the Germany embassy in Tokyo to Argentina in June 1941 aboard the Japanese steamship “Nan-a-Maru,” according to historical records pieced together by the court. Initial concerns were raised by authorities at the time about the potential impact of the contents on Argentina’s neutrality during the war. Despite claims by German diplomatic representatives that the boxes contained personal items, Argentine customs officials randomly searched five boxes and found postcards, photographs, propaganda material from the Nazi regime, and thousands of notebooks belonging to the Nazi party. A federal judge confiscated the materials and referred the matter to the Supreme Court. The court’s actions at the time were not immediately clear. Eighty-four years later, the boxes were discovered by court staff as they prepared for a Supreme Court museum. Upon opening one of the boxes, it was revealed that the material was intended to promote Adolf Hitler’s ideology in Argentina during World War II. The court has since moved the boxes to a secure room and invited the Holocaust Museum in Buenos Aires to assist in their preservation and inventory. Experts will also examine the material for any potential insights into lesser-known aspects of the Holocaust, such as international financing networks used by the Nazis. Argentina remained neutral in World War II until 1944, when it severed ties with Axis powers and declared war on Germany and Japan the following year. From 1933 to 1954, around 40,000 Jews sought refuge in Argentina from Nazi persecution in Europe. Argentina is home to the largest Jewish population in Latin America.
