Argentina’s top court finds 80 boxes of Nazi materials in its basement 

The Supreme Court announced on Sunday that numerous boxes of Nazi materials seized by Argentine authorities during World War II have been recently found in the basement of the court.

The German embassy in Tokyo dispatched 83 boxes to Argentina in June 1941 on the Japanese steamship “Nan-a-Maru,” as stated in a statement from the court’s historical findings. The significant shipment attracted the attention of officials, who were concerned that its contents might disrupt Argentina’s neutral stance in the conflict.

Though German diplomatic officials stated that the boxes contained personal belongings, Argentine customs officials conducted random checks on five boxes. They discovered postcards, photographs, and propaganda items from the Nazi regime, along with thousands of notebooks that belonged to the Nazi party. A federal judge seized the materials and forwarded the issue to the Supreme Court.

It wasn’t obvious right away why the items were dispatched to Argentina or what, if any, measures the Supreme Court implemented at that moment. Eighty-four years later, court employees discovered the boxes while getting ready for a Supreme Court museum.

The court has since moved the boxes to a room with enhanced security and requested the Holocaust Museum in Buenos Aires to assist in their preservation and cataloging. Specialists will also investigate them for any indications regarding unresolved elements of theHolocaust, including the global funding networks employed by the Nazis.

Argentina stayed neutral during World War II until 1944, when it severed ties with the Axis powers. The South American nation declared war on Germany and Japan the next year. Between 1933 and 1954, as reported by the Holocaust Museum, 40,000 Jews arrived in Argentina while escaping Nazi oppression in Europe. Argentina hosts the largest Jewish population in Latin America.