The Holocaust and Latin America Migration, Resettlement and Memory

This book explores the history of the Holocaust in relation to Latin America. It is estimated that about 100,000 Jewish refugees immigrated to the region between 1933 and 1945. Despite the critical role Latin America played in sheltering Jewish refugees from Nazism, the region has remained largely on the margins of Holocaust studies. The volume adopts a global perspective, examining the Holocaust’s connections to Latin America, both as a region and as a mosaic of distinct national contexts. Structured around three key themes —migration, settlement, and memory— the book not only addresses the immigration policies of Latin American governments but also amplifies the experiences and voices of Jewish survivors who found refuge in this culturally diverse region.

1: Introduction.- 2: Stereotypes as Resistance: Jews and the Fight against Victimisation in Brazil, 1930-1945.- 3: “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea:” Cuba as a Temporary Shelter.- 4: A Special Juridical Status for Jews. Chilean Immigration Policy during the Third Reich.-5: Colonization, Refuge, and Nationalism: Bolivia and its Jewish Migration.- 6: Austrian Holocaust Refugees and Immigration Policy in Trinidad and Colombia.- 7: Mexico’s Jewish Community in the Post-War Period: Refugees, Survivors and Conflicts.- 8: Resettlement of Holocaust Survivors and Displaced Persons in Argentina.- 9: From Europe to Chile: The Ship Journey of Holocaust Survivors as a Time-Space of Transition and Elaboration of Meaning (1938-1950).- 10: Experiences of Persecution, Family Separations, Forced Migration and Life Reconfigurations of Holocaust Child Survivors in Mexico.- 11: Remigration from Montevideo to Vienna. A Transgenerational and Transnational Perspective on Heimat.- 12: Holocaust Afterlives and Memory Politics in Cold War Brazil.- 13: Itineraries of an Exemplary Memory: Colombia and the Holocaust.- 14: Holocaust Memory and Representation by Chilean Jews: Comparison with State-Sponsored Violence During the Dictatorship.- 15: Holocaust Consciousness and Colonial Legacies in Guatemala.- 16: The Diverse Uses of the Holocaust in Public Debates in Argentina.- 17: Final Remarks and Future Research.

Daniela Gleizer is Professor of History at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Emmanuel Kahan is Professor of History at the National University of La Plata, Argentina.

Yael Siman is Professor of Social and Political Sciences at the Iberoamericana University, Mexico City, Mexico.