Uki Goñi at the archives of Argentina's Immigration Office. (Photo by Ricardo Ceppi)
'Nazi' Escape Dossiers
Buenos Aires - 20 April 2005

In late 2002, the Wiesenthal Center asked the Argentine government to open 58 Nazi-related secret documents. Of these, 49 were immigration dossiers of World War II criminals and suspected war criminals who entered the country under the protection of former president Juan Perón.

The files, containing the voluminous paperwork for the entry of SS criminals such as Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele, among others, were reportedly kept in a special safe for secret documents at Argentina's Immigrations Office.

In 1998, Immigrations refused access to these dossiers to writer Uki Goñi, who was researching material for his book The Real Odessa. Goñi was nonetheless able to identify 49 such 'secret' numbered files.

Current situation:

  • Two of the 49 requested dosssiers were opened in July 2003.
  • A total of 21 others, including those of Eichmann and Mengele, remain hidden.
  • According to documentation opened by Immigrations, the remaining 26 files were incinerated years ago. (Of these, 22 are stated as having been incinerated in 1958, three in 1967, and one, the file of SS criminal Josef Schwammberger, is confusingly reported as having been incinerated twice, first in 1958 and again in 1967).
Argentina's 49 'Nazi' Immigration Dossiers
DossiersPassenger (Alias)Status
72513/46Croatian DossierOpened
94079/47Lecomte, Jan (Degraaf Werheggen, Jan - Degraef, Jan)Opened
397594/50Barbie, Klaus (Altmann, Claus)Closed
74469/46Boucher, Marcel Emil AugusteClosed
238834/48Byttebier, Michel (Byttebier, Miguel José)Closed
39292/47Caluwe, AlfonsClosed
52146/47Darnand, Philippe (Foucachon, Philippe)Closed
71673/46de Mahieu, JacquesClosed
105436/47Durcansky, Ferdinand (Wilcsek, Mandor)Closed
105171/47Durcansky, Jan (Dubranka, Giovanni - Dubrawaka)Closed
231489/48Eichmann, Adolf (Klement, Riccardo)Closed
238136/48Fischböck, Hans (Schramm, Jacob)Closed
214878/48Gilsoul, GeorgesClosed
238883/48Guilbaud Degay, Georges (Degay, Jorge)Closed
55546/47Hoet, Gerard L.Closed
294758/49Maes, Antoine Gustave Albert (Maes, Anton)Closed
211713/48Mengele, Josef (Gregor, Helmut)Closed
234935/48Muller, Erich Friedrich Otto Karl (Noelke, Francesco)Closed
73752/50Petric, Juan (Velat, Marcello)Closed
89750/47Rojnica, Ivo (Rajcinovic, Ivan)Closed
28400/47Vaernet, Carl Peter (Varnet)Closed
298994/49Van Bellinghen, Willy AlfonsoClosed
170106/48Vermaercke, August PaulClosed
135189/47Byttebier, GerardIncinerated
189108/48 Calcoen, Frans Judocus LucienIncinerated
127028/47Claeys, Rudolf Petrus (Seynaeve, Maurice - Leroux)Incinerated
118049/47Cloetens, RenéIncinerated
198055/48Collard-Bovy, Henri AlphonseIncinerated
170868/48de Braekeleer, AdolfIncinerated
185628/48Devriendt, DanielIncinerated
170866/48Flameng, FransIncinerated
137638/47Guth, Friedolin (Guth, Fridolin)Incinerated
187888/48Hefelmann, HansIncinerated
356156/49Heilig, Bernhard (Richwitz, Juan or Hans)Incinerated
260864/49Høygard, Arne & Støren, Finn (Hoeygard & Finnstoren - Storen - Stoern - Stoeren)Incinerated
179095/48Hollants, Achille - Smekens, WillemIncinerated
179106/48Jooris, Gabriel Grégoire HenriIncinerated
160690/48Kipp de Wit van der Hoop, AbrahamIncinerated
99325/47Kutschmann, Walter (Olmos, Andrés Ricardo)Incinerated
138005/47Lantschner, FritzIncinerated
88694/47Males, BranimiroIncinerated
127198/48Pekar, JanIncinerated
211712/48Priebke, EB Erico (Pape, Otto) & Vandenbruwaene, Alida Dhooga deIncinerated
186912/48Sassen, Willem (Janssen, Jacobus)Incinerated
129301/47Tcherkhoff, Nicolas Georges (Scheer, Saly)Incinerated
179125/48Voetterl Mertens, Francisco (Votterl, Sepp)Incinerated
198535/48Lagrou, René (van Groede, Reinaldo)Incinerated
201430/48Schwammberger, JosefIncinerated
207207/48Versele, Rudolfo (Willemg--, Juppé)Incinerated

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