Argentina’s President Javier Milei attends a commemoration event ahead of the anniversary of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 17, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Martin Cassarini

The Argentine government has released nearly 2,000 previously classified secret service documents detailing the arrival of hundreds of Nazi war criminals who escaped to the country following the collapse of Nazi Germany during World War II.

“Starting today, anyone can access and download these documents,” Argentina’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement on X.

Previously declassified in 1992 under a decree by then-Argentine President Carlos Menem, the documents could only be accessed in a specially designated room at Argentina’s National Archives (AGN).

On Monday, government officials announced the completion of restoration and digitization work, making more than 1,850 reports and nearly 1,300 previously classified decrees accessible online. These documents shed light on the activities of prominent Nazi war criminals who took refuge in Argentina after World War II, including Holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann and the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp doctor Josef Mengele.

El Archivo General de la Nación hizo públicos documentos desclasificados sobre actividades nazis en Argentina y decretos presidenciales secretos.

Gracias a un extenso trabajo de restauración y digitalización, ahora podés acceder a más de 1850 informes y casi 1300 decretos… pic.twitter.com/4Ijs7fGqk0

— Vicejefatura de Gabinete del Interior (@vicejefaturaint) April 28, 2025

The published records show, for example, how Mengele — who was a physician and Nazi SS officer, nicknamed the “Angel of Death” for his inhumane medical experiments on prisoners at Auschwitz — entered Argentina in 1949 under the name Gregor Helmut and lived undisturbed in the country for decades.

Walter Kutschmann, a former Nazi official, also evaded justice for nearly 40 years. Despite being denounced to authorities in 1975, the records released by AGN show that he was not arrested until 1985. Instead, under his false identity, he worked in a hardware store, then as a taxi driver, and later as a purchasing director for the Argentine branch of the Osram lighting firm.

According to the previously classified documents, it is estimated that more than 10,000 Nazis used so-called “ratlines” to flee Germany as the Axis powers collapsed, with around half of them believed to have sought refuge in Argentina — known for its reluctance to grant extradition requests.

Titled “Documentation on Nazi Presence in Argentina,” these files include intelligence reports, photographs, and police records, compiling the results of investigations by federal authorities and the country’s leading intelligence agency from the 1950s to the 1980s.

Las autoridades de Argentina han revelado más de 1.850 documentos secretos sobre nazis de alto rango que huyeron a Sudamérica después del Holocausto !!!

Entre ellos: Josef Mengele, Walter Kochmann y Eduard Roschmann.

Gracias Milei !!! pic.twitter.com/I0Q0Iy7ax8

— Isaac (@isaacrrr7) April 29, 2025

Argentine President Javier Milei ordered the records to be released and digitized following a request by the Simon Wiesenthal Center — a California-based Jewish human rights organization — and a meeting with its representatives in Buenos Aires earlier this year. The organization is currently investigating ties between Swiss bank Credit Suisse and Nazi Germany.

“We commend the release of declassified archives to the public,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Latin American office said in a statement on Tuesday.

Since taking office over a year ago, Milei has been one of Israel’s most vocal supporters, strengthening bilateral relations to unprecedented levels and in the process breaking with decades of Argentine foreign policy tradition to firmly align with Jerusalem and Washington.

Milei, who won Argentina’s November 2023 presidential election, has also been outspoken in his support and appreciation for Judaism. His presidency has come amid an economic crisis, soaring inflation, and longstanding corruption scandals that have burdened the country.

The Latin American leader will visit Israel in June, where he is expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jewish State against terrorism and antisemitism. He is also scheduled to address the Israeli parliament and meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In February 2024, on his first international trip as president, Milei visited Israel in a show of wartime solidarity and reiterated his pledge to move Argentina’s embassy to Jerusalem. During his visit, he also traveled to Kibbutz Nir Oz in the Negev, where Hamas-led terrorists kidnapped several Israelis from their homes, including the Bibas family, on Oct. 7, 2023.

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Former US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff listens during a panel discussion with women entrepreneurs during his visit to Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver, Colorado, US, March 11, 2022. Photo: Jason Connolly/Pool via REUTERS

The Trump administration has dismissed many of former President Joe Biden’s appointees to the board that oversees the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, including Douglas Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Emhoff, who is Jewish and served as second gentleman of the US from 2021 to early 2025, lashed out at President Donald Trump’s decision to fire him and others appointed by Biden from the board, arguing his removal was political and undermined the mission of Holocaust remembrance.

“Today, I was informed of my removal from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council,” Emhoff said in a statement on Tuesday. “Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized. To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous — and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve.”

Emhoff has been outspoken against antisemitism. He became more outspoken about his Jewish identity in the aftermath of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.

Beyond Emhoff, the Trump team also removed other members of the Biden administration, including Ron Klain, Biden’s first chief of staff; Tom Perez, former labor secretary and senior adviser to the president; Susan Rice, who served as Biden’s top domestic policy adviser; and Anthony Bernal, a senior adviser to former First Lady Jill Biden. 

The Biden White House announced their appointments in January. Presidential appointments typically last 5 years. 

“President Trump looks forward to appointing new individuals who will not only continue to honor the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, but who are also steadfast supporters of the State of Israel,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

Former US Rep. David Cicilline (D-MD), a member of the board who was also dismissed Tuesday, called Trump’s decision “deeply disappointing.”

“The museum’s work has always been nonpartisan and should remain so. It is meant to challenge us all to think critically and clearly about our role in society, to confront antisemitism and all other forms of hate,” he continued. 

Since returning to the White House in January, the Trump administration has moved to overhaul cultural institutions under the administration of the federal government. In February, Trump fired the entire board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and installed himself as the new chairman. In March, Trump signed an executive order mandating a review of the programming offered in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The post Trump Fires Doug Emhoff, Other Biden Appointees From Holocaust Memorial Council first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Photo: Facebook.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Azerbaijan next Wednesday for a five-day visit to meet with President Ilham Aliyev and further strengthen bilateral cooperation amid regional tensions.

Netanyahu’s trip, facilitated by Baku’s mediation that led Turkey to approve his transit through Turkish airspace, comes just days after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visited Azerbaijan amid ongoing nuclear negotiations with the United States.

Last year, Turkey barred Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s aircraft from flying over its territory, which prevented him from attending the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku.

During the upcoming visit, Netanyahu and Aliyev are expected to address Turkey’s role in Syria and the recent Israeli-Turkish discussions held in Baku, focused on avoiding potential clashes or misunderstandings over military operations in the region.

Scheduled from May 7 to May 11, Netanyahu’s visit will also include a series of high-level meetings focused on strengthening Israeli-Azerbaijani relations, covering areas such as defense cooperation, energy, trade, and regional security. The Israeli leader will also meet with representatives of Azerbaijan’s Jewish community.

Azerbaijan’s ties with Israel have long been significant, with the country serving as the Jewish state’s most vital ally in the Caucasus and Central Asia for more than three decades, fostering a partnership that spans energy security, defense, and intelligence.

As a predominantly Shi’ite Muslim country that shares a lengthy border with Iran while maintaining strong ties with both Israel and Turkey, Azerbaijan holds a unique strategic advantage in stabilizing regional tensions and supporting efforts to normalize relations.

Earlier this month, for example, Azerbaijan positioned itself as a regional mediator by hosting talks between Turkish and Israeli officials in Baku, aimed at preventing unintended incidents in Syria, where both countries maintain a military presence.

“Azerbaijan plays a unique role in Israel’s broader strategy by serving as a potential bridge for normalizing relations between the Jewish State and other Muslim-majority countries,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, told The Algemeiner in an exclusive interview.

He explained that Baku has contributed to regional normalization efforts in the past, notably by facilitating the restoration of full diplomatic ties between Turkey and Israel in 2022, even though the relationship between the two countries has since gone downhill.

According to Schneier, as a strong ally of both Jerusalem and Ankara, Azerbaijan is well-positioned to mediate further diplomatic breakthroughs.

Baku’s strategic importance stems not only from its role at the crossroads of a growing pro-Western bloc countering the regional ambitions of Iran, but also from its economic influence in the region.

Azerbaijan and Israel have continued to expand their cooperation and strengthen their bilateral ties, especially in the energy sector, highlighting the predominantly Shi’ite Muslim country’s emerging role as a strategic player in the Middle East.

Earlier this year, Jerusalem and Azerbaijan’s state oil company, SOCAR, struck a major energy deal. In March, SOCAR also signed a gas exploration license agreement with the Jewish state.

As of 2019, Azerbaijan supplied over a third of Israel’s oil. Last year, Jerusalem was the sixth-biggest buyer of oil from Baku, with sales totaling $713 million.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has acquired advanced Israeli defense systems, including the “Barak MX” missile system and surveillance satellites, and remains a leading buyer of Israeli military hardware, which was crucial in its 2020 war with Armenia.

The post Netanyahu to Visit Azerbaijan in Effort to Deepen Strategic Ties Amid Regional Tensions first appeared on Algemeiner.com.