The politics of espionage : Nazi diplomats and spies in Argentina, 1933-1945 / Richard L. McGaha.

This dissertation investigates Nazi Germany's diplomacy and intelligence-gathering in Argentina from 1933-1945. It does so from three perspectives. This study first explores the rivalries that characterized the bureaucracy in the Third Reich. It argues that those rivalries negatively affected Germany's diplomatic position in Argentina. The actions of the AO in Argentina in the 1930s were indicative of this trend. This created a fear of fifth-column activity among Latin American governments with large German populations.Second, this study explores the rivalry between the Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service, SD) of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (Reich Security Main Office, RSHA) and Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Ministry, AA). It argues that the rivalry between these two organizations in Argentina was part of a larger plan on the part of Amt VI, SS Foreign Intelligence to usurp the functions of the AA. Intelligence operations were not necessarily undertaken to further the foreign policy goals of Nazi Germany, but to further the ambitions of the head of Amt VI, Walter Schellenberg.Third, this dissertation looks at the issue of ideology. Argentina was one of the last countries to break relations with Nazi Germany. This dissertation attempts to answer the question of how much ideology permeated individuals who were not exposed to Nazi ideology on a daily basis. This section attempts to add to recent studies that have argued the importance of ideology in Nazi Germany.In answering these questions, this study mainly relies on the German-language records of the AA held in College Park, MD. It also utilizes interrogation reports of individuals involved in diplomacy and espionage in Argentina, as well as messages decrypted by the British between German spies in Argentina and their superiors in Berlin. This study fits into new examinations of the nexus between intelligence and diplomacy and the role of ideology in the Third Reich.