Argentina Raids Nazi Publisher

Police official says operation made 'historic seizure' of material
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 13, 2023 6:10 PM CDT
Argentina Closes Nazi Publisher
Federal agents put seized books inside boxes after displaying them to the press at Federal Police headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday.   (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A publisher near Buenos Aires selling books with antisemitic content was raided and shut down on Wednesday by Argentine authorities in what one official called a "historic seizure" of Nazi material. Libreria Argentina printed and sold Nazi propaganda texts and books with images of swastikas, iron crosses, and the Nazi party's imperial eagle, Reuters reports. "We are shocked by how profuse the material is," said Marcos Cohen of the Jewish group that sparked a two-year investigation and the raid, in which one person was arrested. "I don't remember anything like this being found before."

The bookstore's website was still working after the raid, and it added a large disclaimer on the landing page saying it sold books related to the two world wars that have been "marginalized from the more popular bookstores," per the AP. The notice said that the store did not "agree with them" but that their sale was intended for "collecting and research." The books are sold by other online outlets, as well. The case began when Delegation of Israeli Associations in Argentina filed a complaint with the government.

It's a crime to display Nazi symbols in Argentina, which has Latin America's largest Jewish population. Nazi Germany leaders including Adolf Eichmann went into hiding in the country after World War II to avoid war crimes trials; many Jewish refugees from Spain and Eastern Europe also settled in Argentina. "This is the first stage of the investigation," Police Commissioner General Carlos Alejandro Ñamandú said of stopping the sales and distribution of the material. "We're moving on to a second stage," he said. "The law penalizes not only those who manufacture, but also those who buy." (More Argentina stories.)

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