Netflix series reignites search for family of creator disappeared by Argentina dictatorship

When Héctor Germán Oesterheld wrote his fearfulness comic portion El Eternauta successful 1957, it was simply a portion of speculative fiction.

Set successful Buenos Aires, the communicative begins erstwhile toxic snowfall begins to fall, sidesplitting each of those it touches. As the satellite descends into chaos, humans crook connected 1 another, and the leader is forced to combat to survive.

Two decades aft the comic was archetypal published, the communicative gained a darker, much sinister edge, erstwhile leftist Oesterheld and astir of his household were forcibly disappeared by Argentina’s subject dictatorship.

“El Eternauta was a parallel of what happened to Argentina, what happened to me,” said the author’s widow, Elsa Sánchez de Oesterheld, earlier her decease successful 2015. “My household was destroyed conscionable arsenic our state was destroyed.”

Now, a Netflix adaptation of the comic has reignited involvement successful the Oesterheld household – and successful particular, successful the destiny of Oesterheld’s 2 imaginable grandchildren.

During its 1976-83 battle connected Argentina’s citizens, the subject crushed immoderate imaginable opposition, sidesplitting oregon disappearing an estimated 30,000 people. Included successful that fig were Oesterheld, his 4 daughters and his 4 sons-in-laws.

To date, their nonstop destiny remains unknown. And due to the fact that 2 of the daughters were large astatine the clip of their disappearance, truthful is the destiny of Oesterheld’s 2 imaginable grandchildren.

One would beryllium the kid of Diana Oesterheld, who was 23 erstwhile she was abducted successful 1976, and six months pregnant. The different would beryllium the kid of Marina Oesterheld, abducted successful 1977 astatine the property of 20 portion 8 months pregnant.

Under the subject dictatorship, large prisoners were often kept live until they gave birth. Afterwards they were murdered – immoderate thrown live from alleged decease flights – and their newborns fixed to subject couples to rise arsenic their own. An estimated 500 babies were stolen.

Following the premier of the streaming adaptation of El Eternauta, the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, who person spent decades searching for the stolen children, and the quality rights organisation Hijos person launched a caller nationalist appeal.

“Did you cognize that 2 grandchildren of the creator of El Eternauta are missing and could beryllium alive?” Hijos posted online. “If you were calved successful November 1976 oregon betwixt November 1977 and January 1978 and person doubts astir your individuality oregon cognize idiosyncratic who does, we’ll archer you who your grandmothers could be.”

The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo person been searching tirelessly for the missing grandchildren for decades. Oesterheld’s widow, Elsa, joined the organisation successful the 1980s.

“She looked for her missing grandchildren until she died,” said Claudia Victoria Poblete Hlaczik, a spokesperson for the Abuelas, who herself was kidnapped arsenic a kid by the dictatorship and aboriginal reunited with her family. “The hunt has continued each of these years, for these grandchildren, and for each the different 300 inactive missing.”

Poblete Hlaczik said the grandchildren would beryllium astir 47 oregon 48 years old, and apt surviving unknowingly nether mendacious identities. “These crimes proceed until their identities are restored,” she said.

The renewed hunt besides comes astatine a captious moment, with the medication of Javier Milei sharply defunding policies aimed astatine preserving humanities memory.

Several officials – including the president – person been accused of promoting denialist narratives and disputing the fig of radical disappeared by the dictatorship. As portion of Milei’s sweeping spending cuts, hundreds of employees person been dismissed from the country’s quality rights secretariat and the justness ministry. And successful August 2024, the authorities shut down a portion that had played a important relation successful identifying babies illegally taken during the dictatorship.

Poblete Hlaczik said she hopes the adaptation of El Eternauta volition bring attraction to the values of “truth, representation and justice” successful these days of “denialism”. “El Eternauta speaks of quality values of charity, courageousness and corporate efforts – which is precise important during these times of individualism,” she added.

She said determination is inactive anticipation to find the missing grandchildren contempt the existent challenges: successful January, the 139th grandchild was identified.

Before her death, Sánchez de Oesterheld said she hoped her mislaid grandchildren volition 1 time “know who they are and wherever they belong, their origins, their roots”.

“My conflict each these years is truthful that my grandchildren cognize their truth,” she said.