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This Wednesday, in his regular column in Media Mañana on Channel 4 in Salto, researcher and communicator José Buslón presents one of the most shocking—and little-known—stories in Uruguay's recent history: the "Fuhrmann Plan ," a Nazi conspiracy based in Salto that sought to stage a coup d'état and seize control of the country in the midst of World War II.
An urban legend?
For decades, this story was believed to be merely a Salta myth. However, Buslón claims that the investigation conducted by his team demonstrates that the plan was real, and that there are documents, letters, photographs, and testimonies that confirm it .
The central protagonist is Arnold Fuhrmann , a German veteran who fought alongside Adolf Hitler in World War I. After traveling through Africa, Tierra del Fuego, Misiones (Argentina), and Buenos Aires, he arrived in Salto in 1935, where he disguised himself as a photographer and editor of a rural newspaper linked to the National Party . But behind that facade, according to Buslón, Fuhrmann was planning a high-impact operation: a Nazi invasion from the northern coast to take over the country in a matter of weeks .
Why Salto?
Salto offered a strategic location. From there, Nazi troops were expected to enter from Misiones, through points like Constitución and Belén , crossing the river from Chajarí and Federación. According to the plan, military cells would be trained in the region, taking advantage of rural areas far from state control.
Documents were found in the archives of the Uruguayan Parliament, as well as letters between Fuhrmann and high-ranking Nazis engagement rings with the regime was documented , which local collaborators received after contributing financially to the German war effort.
Uruguayan collaborators?
One of the most controversial aspects revealed by Buslón is the existence of local collaborators , including merchants and industrialists who sympathized with Nazism, not necessarily because of ideological affinity but because they considered the Third Reich as a third way compared to capitalism and communism.
It is also mentioned that young people from local sports clubs trained under Nazi slogans , with the expectation of supporting a possible coup d'état.
And the authorities?
Buslón maintains that there was institutional complicity. From the Police Headquarters to the local judiciary and political spheres, Fuhrmann operated with a suspicious degree of freedom , even after his arrest, as he was released shortly afterward.
At the same time, there were pockets of anti-fascist resistance , including Freemasons and social workers who denounced the danger. In Salto, night patrols were even organized to ensure that no lights were on, in anticipation of nighttime Nazi bombings—something that sounds like fiction today, but which in that context was taken very seriously.
An uncomfortable story
The Fuhrmann Plan was discredited by some as militarily unfeasible, although even its detractors do not deny its existence . In fact, it is believed that the United States promoted the claim to justify the establishment of military bases in Uruguay .
Buslón emphasizes that this story touches deeply, as many of those involved or their descendants are still alive. Fuhrmann, he reveals, married a woman from Salta 25 years younger than him, and then fled to Buenos Aires and São Paulo , where his trail fades. He was never tried or convicted.
Current relevance
Buslón warns that there is a risk of trivializing or reinterpreting these events by new generations who are misinformed or influenced by neo-fascist discourse . In times of crisis, he warns, these types of ideologies can find fertile ground if what happened is not remembered and studied.
“There was also resistance in Salto,” the researcher concludes. “There were those who risked their lives to stop this madness. This story must be told and known so that it never happens again.”
