A remarkable historical discovery has come to light in Buenos Aires, where workers clearing out the basement of Argentina’s Supreme Court found wooden crates filled with Nazi-era documents. The find was made as part of a project to move the building’s archives to a newly established museum.

According to court officials, the documents date back to June 20, 1941, when they arrived in Argentina from Tokyo aboard the Japanese steamship Nan-a-Maru. Shipped in 83 diplomatic pouches by the German embassy in Tokyo, the contents were initially declared as "personal effects" by the German embassy in Buenos Aires.

However, Argentine customs officials were alarmed by the unusually large shipment and opened five of the pouches at random. Inside, they found a cache of Nazi propaganda, including photographs and postcards bearing swastikas, prompting them to seize the entire consignment. Despite a request from the German embassy to return the pouches to Tokyo, an Argentine judge ordered in September 1941 that all 83 pouches be confiscated.

The case was handed to the Supreme Court, which never issued a final ruling. The crates, apparently left untouched since the early 1940s, were stored and forgotten in the basement for more than 80 years—until last week’s accidental rediscovery.

“Upon opening one of the boxes, we identified material intended to consolidate and propagate Adolf Hitler's ideology in Argentina during World War Two,” the court said in an official statement.

The crates were quickly moved to a secure area, and court officials contacted the Buenos Aires Holocaust Museum for assistance in cataloging the materials. Photographs released by the court show black-and-white images and Nazi membership booklets being examined by museum experts.

Historians are hopeful that the rediscovered documents could shed light on Nazi propaganda efforts in South America and provide new insights into the regime’s financial networks and international connections.

Argentina has a controversial history with Nazism. After World War Two, the country became a refuge for several high-ranking Nazi officials, including Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele. In 2000, President Fernando de la Rúa formally apologized for Argentina’s role in sheltering Nazi war criminals.