Feelings, experiences and jewish refuge in Tucumán (Argentina), 1939 – 1946

Abstract

The work examines a relevant but little-explored theme referring to the route that allowed thousands of Polish Jewish refugees to save themselves from the war and the Nazi advance, leaving Europe through the Far East. In order to articulate the scales of analysis and to approach the study of this subject inTucumán, where one of the oldest and largest Jewish communities in northern Argentina lives, the article analyzes -from a social history approach and with a qualitative methodology- the testimonies of Jewish immigrants and refugees, such as Nejome Zaluski de Werchow (1914-1994), who migrated to the province during Nazi times. The study considers that the influence of their descriptions of the war and its impact on the Jewish population is based on examples taken from tradition, the Bible and Jewish history. Furthermore, it is argued that there is a common language among Jewish refugees who were joyful and optimistic about the future thanks to migration, while they had also both sorrow and the need to honor the relatives who had perished during the Shoah. In this sense, it is also proposed that there is a contrast between their favorable perceptions about Argentina and the negative images of their European past.  

ARK CAICYT: https://id.caicyt.gov.ar/ark:/s16688090/0665reggp