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Argentina Declassifies Files Showing Mengele Lived Openly, Eluded Arrest

The newly released archive details failures that kept him out of custody despite officials knowing his identity.

Overview

  • President Javier Milei authorized publication of intelligence and police records that track Josef Mengele’s movements in 1950s Argentina.
  • Documents show he entered in 1949 with an Italian passport under the alias Helmut Gregor, obtained an Argentine ID, and was identified by authorities within a few years.
  • In 1956 he secured a certified copy of his birth certificate from the West German Embassy, reclaimed his real name on local documents, and acknowledged his SS service during the process.
  • West Germany sought his extradition in 1959, but an Argentine judge dismissed the warrant as political persecution, and fragmented enforcement plus media tip‑offs allowed his flight to Paraguay.
  • Subsequent records trace him to Brazil, where he died in 1979 and was later exhumed in 1985; the files also preserve survivor testimony, including José Furmanski’s account of experiments on twins.