Milei to open Argentina’s Nazi ratline archives, urged to reveal Holocaust records

A CSW delegation met with the Interior and Defense Ministers, and the Argentinian National Archives director, who offered their cooperation in location documents on the so-called 'ratlines.'

By MICHAEL STARR FEBRUARY 25, 2025 19:47

WZO chairman Yaakov Hagoel meets with President of Argentina Javier Milei. (Illustrative) (photo credit: JERUSALEM POST STAFF)

Argentinian President Javier Milei said last Tuesday that he would open the country's archives on the coordination and financing of Nazi escape routes from Europe, according to Simon Wiesenthal Center Latin America (CSW).

A CSW delegation met with the Interior and Defense Ministers, and the Argentinian National Archives director, who offered their cooperation in location documents on the so-called "ratlines."

“Today’s commitment by Argentine President Milei set a historic precedent of justice for the world. We have waited nearly 80 years for definitive proof of Argentina’s involvement in Nazi rat lines and now, thanks to President Milei, archival evidence will finally reveal the full extent of this dark chapter. These escape routes allowed Nazis to evade justice and fund their new lives while Holocaust survivors struggled to rebuild their shattered ones – an injustice the Jewish people continue to endure every day,” CSW Global Social Action director Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement last Tuesday.

“Especially in a post-October 7 world, those who funded, facilitated or in any way aided these escape routes must be held accountable. There is no statute of limitations on the truth. This revelation ensures that history is no longer ignored and illuminates a straight path forward," he added.

CSW director Dr. Ariel Gelblung said in the same statement that all Argentinians could be proud of Milei's commitment to exposing the truth.

Javier Milei at the Western Wall, February 6, 2024 (credit: WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)

US Senator Chuck Grassley, who has been working with the Senate Budget Committee's investigation into Nazi-linked Credit Suisse account holders and their relation to Nazi ratlines, reportedly sent a letter to Milei through CSW for his assistance on the matter. A copy of the letter was reportedly forwarded to US President Donald Trump.

Canadian community praises Milei, call on Trudeau to act

Bnai Brith Canada government relations director David Granovsky said on X Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should implement similar moves.

"The time is now to release Canada's Holocaust records," said Granovsky.

After the fall of the Nazi German regime, Argentinian president Juan Domingo Perón and his administration allegedly facilitated Nazi resettlement in his country.

Through the ratlines to Argentina, thousands of Nazis and collaborators fled to Argentina including Josef Mengele and Adolf Eichmann. Eichmann, one of the main architects of the Holocaust, was captured in Argentina by the Mossad and smuggled to Israel to stand judgement for his crimes.