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Paraguay - Axis Relations

The era of the New Liberals, as Estigarribia's supporters were called, came to a sudden end in September 1940, when the president died in an airplane crash. Hoping to control the government through a more malleable military man, the "Old Liberal" cabinet named War Minister Higinio Mormigo president. Mormigo had gained fame in Paraguay by heading the 1936 expedition to Cerro Cora to retrieve Lopez's remains. The apparently genial Mormigo soon proved himself a shrewd politician with a mind of his own, and the Liberals resigned within a few weeks when they realized that they would not be able to impose their will on him. Having inherited Estigarribia's dictatorial powers, Mormigo quickly banned both Febreristas and Liberals and clamped down drastically on free speech and individual liberties. A nonparty dictator without a large body of supporters, Mormigo survived politically — despite the numerous plots against him — because of his astute handling of an influential group of young military officers who held key positions of power.

The outbreak of World War II eased Mormigo's task of ruling Paraguay and keeping the army happy because it stimulated demand for Paraguayan export products—such as meat, hides, and cotton—and boosted the country's export earnings. More important, United States policy toward Latin America at this time made Paraguay eligible for major economic assistance. A surge of German influence in the region and Argentina's pro-Axis leanings alarmed the United States, which sought to wean Paraguay away from German and Argentine solicitation. At the same time, the United States sought to enhance its presence in the region and pursued close cooperation with Brazil, Argentina's traditional rival. To this end, the United States provided to Paraguay sizable amounts of funds and supplies under the Lend-Lease Agreement, provided loans for public works, and gave technical assistance in agriculture and health care. The United States Department of State approved of closer ties between Brazil and Paraguay and especially supported Brazil's offer to finance a road project designed to reduce Paraguay's dependence on Argentina.

Much to the displeasure of the United States and Britain, Morinigo refused to act against German economic and diplomatic interests until the end of the war. German agents had successfully converted many Paraguayans to the Axis cause. South America's first Nazi Party branch had been founded in Paraguay in 1931. German immigrant schools, churches, hospitals, farmers' cooperatives, youth groups, and charitable societies became active Axis backers. All of those organizations prominently displayed swastikas and portraits of Adolf Hitler.

It is no exaggeration to say that Morfnigo headed a pro-Axis regime. Large numbers of Paraguayan military officers and government officials were openly sympathetic to the Axis. Among these officials was the national police chief, who named his son Adolfo Hirohito after the leading Axis personalities. By 1941 the official newspaper, El Pais, had adopted an overtly pro-German stance. At the same time, the government strictiy controlled pro-Allied labor unions. Police cadets wore swastikas and Italian insignia on their uniforms.

The December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war against the United States gave the United States the leverage it needed, however, to force Morinigo to commit himself publicly to the Allied cause. Morinigo officially severed diplomatic relations with the Axis countries in 1942, although he did not declare war against Germany until February 1945. Nonetheless, Morinigo continued to maintain close relations with the heavily German-influenced Argentine military throughout the war and provided a haven for Axis spies and agents. United States protests over German and Argentine activities in Paraguay fell on deaf ears.

While the United States defined its interests in terms of resisting the fascist threat, Paraguayan officials believed their interests lay in economic expediency and were reluctant to antagonize Germany until the outcome of the war was no longer in doubt. Many Paraguayans believed Germany was no more of a threat to Paraguay's sovereignty than the United States.

The Japanese colony in Paraguay was not recommended for restriction ["the Proclaimed List"] by the US Embassy, but was rather intervened by the Paraguayan Government as a result of prolonged negotiations between the US Embassy and the competent Paraguayan authorities. The importance of the colony to the country’s economy was such that it was not believed practical to list the colony in an attempt to prevent any imported materials reaching that organization. The plan set up presumed that the colony would be intervened and that the Government’s Agriculture Bank would assume the responsibility for all control measures over the colony including its finances as well as the purchase of its produce and the provision of any materials required by the colony.

The Allied victory convinced Morinigo to liberalize his regime. Paraguay experienced a brief democratic opening as Morinigo relaxed restrictions on free speech, allowed political exiles to return, and formed a coalition government. Morinigo 's intentions about stepping down were murky, however, and his de facto alliance with Colorado Party hardliners and their thuggish Guion Rojo (red script) paramilitary group antagonized the opposition. The result was a failed coup d'etat in December 1946 and full-scale civil war in March 1947.

The search for German war criminal Josef Mengele centered on South America, long a haven for Nazi fugitives. Paraguay was a special target for investigators. Mengele reportedly lived there during the early 1960s, and some Nazi hunters believed he resided in Paraguay under official protection. Mengele reportedly received considerable help from the network of prosperous people of German origin living in Paraguay.

Mengele, a physician, was accused of selecting tens of thousands of inmates at the Auschwitz concentration camp for medical experiments or extermination in gas chambers. Auschwitz's "angel of death" treated prisoners like laboratory rats during the Nazi era - he surgically removed people's hearts while they were still alive and sliced newborns into pieces. He believed that he was simply killing people who were already sentenced to death.

The Paraguayan Government was only mildly responsive to inquiries about Mengele, and President Stroessner has barred independent investigations, labeling them as interference in internal affairs. In the early 1960s Israeli operatives trailed Mengele to a farm near Encarnacion in southern Paraguay. The farm was heavily fortified and difficult to storm. The Israelis were also inhibited from taking action by the international uproar over their 1960 kidnaping of Nazi fugitive Adolph Eichmann in Buenos Aires. In January 1982, longtime Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal claimed that Mengele was alive, although afflicted with cancer, and was moving between Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Mengele's flight came to an end in Sao Paulo. Brazil. In 1979, Mengele drowned while swimming.