Nazi documents have been found during the renovation of a court basement.
While moving archived items, judicial officials were struck by 12 wooden crates marked as Crillón champagne.
When they opened one crate, they found hundreds of Nazi Party membership cards and other documents that had arrived on a Japanese ship in 1941.
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Officials believe the boxes may contain crucial information related to the Holocaust and the trail of Nazi money around the world.
The boxes were found in the basement of the Supreme Court, headquartered in the Palace of Justice in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Upon opening one of them, they discovered it was material intended to spread Adolf Hitler’s ideas in Argentina.
The documents date back to 1941, two years into World War II.
Supreme Court president Horacio Rosatti took part in the official opening of the remaining boxes on Friday (9 May).
The event was attended by the Chief Rabbi of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association, Eliahu Hamra, and the Executive Director of the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum, Jonathan Karszenbaum.
Also present were Professor Marcia Ras, a researcher at the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum; Pablo Lamounan, head of the Federal Judicial Assistance Centre; Jessica Susco, director of the Supreme Court Libraries; Marcelo Valente, director of the Auxiliary Services Office; and María de la Paz Podestá, a graduate in conservation and restoration of cultural assets.
The story began 84 years ago when the cargo arrived onboard the Japanese steamer ‘Nana Maru’ on 20 June 1941.
The German Embassy in Argentina declared the shipment as personal items for diplomats and demanded their free clearance.
However, the Customs and Ports Division halted their release.
Customs officials requested further information on the delivery, which reportedly weighed almost 700kg.
On 8 August 1941, Customs representatives and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs randomly selected five boxes and opened them.
They found postcards, passports, photos, and Nazi propaganda material as well as thousands of notebooks, some from the Nazi Party/Foreign Organization and others from the German Labour Front (DAF).
Officials decided to hold the boxes until they consulted with their superiors.
Days later, they were ordered to be returned to the German Embassy in Tokyo, from where they had been sent.
There was a legal attempt to halt their return to Japan as investigators felt it was important to open the remaining boxes.
They argued that they appeared to contain “anti-democratic propaganda harmful to nations with which the Argentine Republic maintains normal relations”.
Federal Judge Miguel Luciano Jantus seized the cargo on 13 September 1941 and the case was referred to the Supreme Court three days later.
The boxes then remained in storage until being discovered by chance now, as reported by Need To Know.
The material has been moved to a specially equipped room on the fourth floor of the courthouse, equipped with security cameras and police protection.
Researchers will begin evaluating the documents in order to assess their historical significance.
They believe they may contain information linked to the Holocaust and the movement of Nazi cash around the globe.
A spokesperson said: “The objective is a thorough review of everything found in order to evaluate it in the context of its historical significance and determine whether it contains crucial information on events related to the Holocaust.
“It will allow us to establish whether the items could shed light on still-unknown aspects, such as the Nazi money trail around the world.”
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