An enormous bronze eagle clutching a swastika, salvaged from a German battleship sunk during the Battle of the River Plate in 1939, has left Uruguay grappling with its fate nearly 20 years after its recovery. The half-tonne sculpture, which adorned the Admiral Graf Spee, was raised from the River Plate in 2006 and briefly displayed in Montevideo before being hidden away on a military base amid concerns over its Nazi symbolism.
The sculpture, over 1.8 metres tall with a wingspan of nearly 3 metres, was originally mounted on the stern of the pocket battleship. After the ship was scuttled by its captain in December 1939, the eagle lay submerged for decades until a team led by British marine archaeologist Mensun Bound and diver Héctor Bado discovered it in 2004. Bound described the moment the swastika emerged from the mud as 'looking into the absolute heart of darkness'.
Following its recovery, the eagle was displayed in a Montevideo hotel, attracting thousands of visitors but also reports of Nazi salutes and spitting. The government soon removed it to the Cerro fortress, where it remains. 'The government didn’t want the site to become a place of pilgrimage or to risk it falling into the hands of neo-Nazis,' said researcher Daniel Acosta y Lara, who was part of the expedition.
Proposals for the eagle's future have ranged widely. Former President Luis Lacalle Pou suggested melting it down and recasting it as a dove of peace, but backtracked after public outcry. Local politician Teresa Marzano has campaigned to display it on the seafront in Punta del Este as a tourist icon, a plan that has drawn criticism. Acosta y Lara argues for a museum display, citing a similar sculpture at the Imperial War Museum in London.
The eagle is also at the centre of a legal dispute: businessman Alfredo Etchegaray, who financed much of the expedition, is suing the Uruguayan government for £18.7 million in compensation. As the 20th anniversary of its recovery approaches, Uruguay remains divided over what to do with the controversial relic.
