Outline

The historical influence of German and Jewish immigration in Argentina led to the duality of purpose that saw both the salvation of Jewish refugees and the cheerful acceptance of Nazi war criminals.

I.                   Jewish Immigration

A.    The New Jerusalem: open frontier for the chosen people

B.     The move to the city: Jewish influence on radicalism.

C.     The  WW2 influx

II.                German Immigration

A.    German schools: keeping German culture alive

B.     Post WW1: German resurgence and establishment

C.     Pro Nazi and Anti Nazi a community divided

D.    The Ratlines: Nazi immigration

III.             Germany’s South American friend

A.    German military assistance

B.     Peron’s European tour (his misunderstanding of fascist intent.)

IV.             Juan Peron.

A.    Not an anti-Semite

B.     Argentina’s own Paperclip: What fascists could do for Argentina.

V.                What it all means.

Abstract

Many people hold the assumption that the Argentine government supported fascism in world war two, especially with the amnesty given to Nazi war criminals at the end. However, most do not realize that Argentina also accepted the highest number of Jewish refugees from Europe out of any nation. This duality of purpose can be confusing, but it starts to become clearer when one researches the history of Argentina. There has been much written about the Jewish frontier companies and German military influence. The government of Peron and his ties to Europe has also been interesting to read about.  The country is one of European immigrants and influence. Both Christian Germans and Jews have had an effect on the culture and politics of Argentina for a long period of time. The relationships that led to amnesty for German war criminals grew out of Germany’s help in modernizing the Argentine military at the turn of the century. Beyond that most of the Nazis accepted were those who the govt thought could be of use, the same program that America and Britain used at the time. Far from being an evil colony of the Third Reich, my research on Argentina shows it to be a nation trying to absorb and synthesize the many cultures that have come with their own ideas and loyalties.

Research Paper

Deutschargentinier

My mother went to Argentina when she was in high school. She told me all about the German villages in the mountains. The idea of German beer gardens in South America has always interested me. I have also wondered about the Peronist help for Nazi war criminals. They were accepted into the government and aeronautics industry among other places. However, Argentina also accepted the most Jewish refugees in the world at the time. This disparity is very intriguing. So for my research paper I plan on writing about the history of German immigration in Argentina up to the time after the Second World War (maybe beyond if I can find good primary material from Wiesenthal.)