Undated: Josef Mengele

Called "The Angel of Death" of Nazi Germany, Josef Mengele flees Argentina after the arrest of Adolf Eichmann (see post of May 11). He will make his way to Brazil, where he lives until his drowning death in 1979. Mengele and other doctors performed grisly experiments on prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

* "Israeli ex-agent: We allowed Nazi doc to escape" (news report from 2008): @

* More about Mengele: @ and @

* Entry from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: @

* Entry from www.trutv.com: @

* "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race" exhibition: @

* "Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account" (book): @

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Sunday, May 22, 1960: The Great Chilean Earthquake

The most powerful earthquake ever recorded, magnitude 9.5, struck the south-central coast of Chile. Its force was such that 15 hours later tsunami waves devastated Hilo, Hawaii, and two days later the Puyuhue volcano, about 125 miles from the epicenter, erupted. The death toll was relatively small (estimates range from 2,000 to 6,000), owing to the low population density and the prevalence of earthquake-resistant structures.

* Summary and links from U.S. Geological Survey: @

* Impacted areas: @

* Commemorative website (translated from Spanish): @

* Travel time of tsunami waves (in hours): @

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Wednesday, May 11, 1960: Israel abducts Adolf Eichmann

Adolf Eichmann, "the architect of the Holocaust," is captured by Israeli agents in Argentina, where he had been living since 1950. He was smuggled out of the country on May 21, and his capture was announced to the Israeli people on May 23. (His trial would begin in April 1961.) During World War II, Eichmann helped oversee the Nazi campaign to wipe out the Jewish population of Europe.

* More about Eichmann: @ and @

* More about the capture: @

* CIA files on Eichmann: @

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Thursday, April 21, 1960: Brasilia is born

Brazil's new capital city, built from scratch in about 3 and a half years, is officially inaugurated. It was constructed so that the capital would be in a more central part of the country than the previous capital, Rio de Janeiro. The new capital was known for its urban planning and its modern architecture; at left is the city's Cathedral.

* More about Brasilia: @

* More on history of Brasilia: @

* Graphic of city's key features: @

* Panoramic views of the city: @

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