Suspected Nazi artifacts found in a hidden room in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — In a hidden room in a house near Argentina’s capital, police believe they have found the biggest collection of Nazi artifacts in the country’s history, including a bust relief of Adolf Hitler and magnifying glasses inside elegant boxes with swastikas.

Some 75 objects were found in a collector’s home in Beccar, a suburb north of Buenos Aires, and authorities say they suspect they are originals that belonged to Nazis in Germany during World War II.

“Our first investigations indicate that these are original pieces,” Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said, saying that some pieces were accompanied by old photographs.

Among the items were toys that Bullrich said would have been used to indoctrinate children, a large statue of the Nazi Eagle above a swastika, a Nazi hourglass and a box of harmonicas.

Police say one of the most compelling pieces is a photo negative of Hitler holding a magnifying glass similar to those found in the boxes.

“We have turned to historians and they’ve told us it is the original magnifying glass” that Hitler was using, said Nestor Roncaglia, head of Argentina’s federal police. “We are reaching out to international experts to deepen” the investigation.

The photograph was not released to the public.

The investigation that culminated in the discovery began when authorities found artworks of illicit origin in a gallery in north Buenos Aires.

Agents with Interpol began following the collector and raided the house June 8. A bookshelf caught their attention and behind it agents found a hidden passageway to a room filled with Nazi imagery.

Authorities did not identify the collector, who is under investigation by a federal judge.

DAVID FERNANDEZ/EPA A bust relief of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and other suspected artifacts were found in a hidden room of a collector’s home in a suburb of Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital.