Somewhat NP Argentinians bound for Germany

[Hernán Díaz]

Not entirely true: from Priebke to Eichmann (just remember Mossad's intervention
in the whole thing) through Mengele and many many others, Argentina has been
-thanks to Peron- a paradise for these perpetrators of banality of evil. Peron,
this is well known, was close  with Mussolini, Franco (who gave him assylum in
Spain) and Stroessner (his host in Paraguay). The declaration of war was, of
course, a matter of protocolar convenience and did not reflect Peron's stand
point on the issue. Nazis here, in Argentina, preferred to seclude themselves in
small villages in Córdoba (one, sadly famous, is the paradisiac "La cumbrecita",
where not many years ago you could find a wonderful little street named
Mussolini) and in the mountains and lakes sorrounding Bariloche, surely because
of the resemblance these woods have with the Black Forest. It is true, though,
that Argentina's wealth by the mid-fourties was mainly related to the
agricultural production (Argentina was called "El granero del mundo") and to
Europe's ruin after the war. But to deny Perón's close relationship with nazism
is blindness. His corporative organisation of the state reflects the same fascist
misreading of Hegel you can find in European Fascism; his whole iconography and
the cult of his own personality are part of his  constitution as a charismatic
leader. All the school text were on Peron and his wife. And he built lots of
schools (named after himself, of course). Shools and highways and sport-arenas.
Three things Fascist always have been fascinated with. It is true, though, that
Perón's fascism cannot be understood in the same way as, let us say, Lugones's
(whose apparition in GG is not casual). There was a glorification (and an
invention) of tradition,  these spartan values were predominant in both cases and
the sword was always the last reason to attend to. But Lugones (and early
proto-fascist movements such as Uriburu's in the thirties) constituted the
oxymoron of Fascism without the people, whereas Perón came to power with the
support of the majority of the people. And this  speaks of the enormous
complexity of the issue. But it is impossible to say that Perón's "direct
involvement with the Germans in WWII were
> perpetrated by anti-peronistas in the late fifties."

jbor wrote:

> ----------
> >From: JBFRAME at aol.com
> >To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> >Subject: Somewhat NP Argentinians bound for Germany
> >Date: Fri, Aug 4, 2000, 3:30 PM
> >
>
> >
> > Actually, by the spring of 1945, Argentina was at war with what remained of
> > the Third Reich, & U-boats would not have been too welcome in Buenos Aires.
> > The myth of Eva Peron's direct involvement with the Germans in WWII were
> > perpetrated by anti-peronistas in the late fifties.  There were even some
> > impressive looking documents forged to give some validity to the story.
> > That being said, there may be some truth to her involvement after the war --
> > especially her famous European Tour -- arranging Swiss bank accounts for her
> > husband, etc.  You don't need nazi gold to account for Peron's later wealth
> > in Spanish exile.  He looted Argentina the same way Marcos looted the
> > Philippines.
>
> Yes, the connections are a wee bit strained all around (Graciela Imago
> Portales = Evita? Is that what's being suggested?), and in my reading
> Pynchon isn't in the habit of perpetuating historical myth. There's so much
> more intrinsic thematic and narrative substance in the Argentine thread of
> *GR*, including the faux-Borges couplet (383.19) ... the idealisation of the
> pampas ... the discussion of centralised govt vs provincial
> self-determination ("gaucho-anarchism") and Graciela's wonderful joke about
> Felipe as the "Gaucho Bakunin" being "more like a Gaucho Marx" (386.21) ...
> To regard it as a mere excuse to "comment" on some mythical "ratline"
> diminishes its significance, owes a little too much to such
> Hollywoodisations as 'Boys from Brazil', for mine anyway. Wernher von Braun
> went to the US, not Rio de la Plata ...
>
> As I said, the Rucksichtslos might provide far more fertile ground for such
> (olfactory) speculation anyway, that is, if sniffing out Nazis is one's
> thang.
>
> best