OPERATION ODESSA: THE FLIGHT OF NAZI WAR CRIMINALS TO LATIN AMERICA AFTER WORLD WAR II AND THE NAZI HUNTERS

Abstract

This article aims to analyze why Latin America, especially Argentina, was the region of the world that harbored the most Nazi war criminals—for example, Josef Mengele, Adolf Eichmann and Klaus Barbie—after World War II. It also aims to analyze how this fact has set the tone for the appearance of literary works about the fantastic adventures of “Nazi hunters” seeking the whereabouts of those individuals. For this purpose, in the first part of the article we will address Nazis’ escape to Latin America. Next, we analyze some literary works by authors who called themselves Nazi hunters.

Keywords

• IV Reich
• Nazismo
• América Latina
• Imaginário.