The Jewish immigration to Argentina: a genealogist's perspecitive By Gabriel Braunstein Part One

The Jewish community of Argentina, with its more than 200,000 members, is one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, and accounts for about 50% of the Jews of Latin America. Many Jewish families ha e branches in Argentina, ma!ing this country a fre"uent ob#ect of genealogical in"uiry. $e will re iew the history of the Jewish immigration to Argentina to %ro ide a frame of reference for genealogical research in that nation. The Jewish immigration to Argentina can be broadly di ided into four different %eriods& '() from the disco ery of the American continent in (*+2 to (,,+, characteri-ed by a ery s%arse Jewish %o%ulation in ol ed mainly in business and trade. '2) from (,,+ to (+05, when many Jews who emigrated to Argentina settled as farmers under the aus%ices of the Jewish /oloni-ation Association 'J/A). '0) from (+05 to (+00, mass emigration, when Jews settled in urban areas and wor!ed in low1wage occu%ations. and '*) from (+00 to (+50, when Jews left 2uro%e to esca%e 3a-i %ersecution and the de astation created by $orld $ar 44.

First Period !"#$ % !&&#

$hile most %eo%le remember (*+2 as the year of the disco ery of the American continent by /olumbus, for Jews (*+2 is the year of the e5%ulsion from 6%ain. A significant number of those Jews e5%elled from 6%ain went to nearby 7ortugal where they li ed for about 50 years until the 8ing of 7ortugal, too, decided to ado%t the 4n"uisition and e5%el the Jews. 6ome mo ed from 7ortugal to 9ra-il, a colony of 7ortugal in the new world, trying to esca%e %ersecution. :rom 9ra-il some mo ed south to the territories that later became Argentina. 2 idence of the %resence of Jews in 6%anish 6outh America can be found in recorded cases of in"uisition %rosecution dating from the se enteenth century. 4n (;0< a iceroyshi% was established by the 6%aniards in the southern %ortion of the continent. 6ince then, the city of 9uenos Aires has been the %olitical, economic, and cultural center of Argentina. 2uro%ean businesses established re%resentations in 9uenos Aires, and in some cases the re%resentati es of those businesses were Jewish. Those merchants and businessmen, generally nati es of :rance or 2ngland, constituted the first seed of the Jewish community of Argentina. 4n (,52, they established the Jewish /ongregation of 9uenos Aires in an attem%t to %reser e their religious identity. There is also e idence of a small 6e%hardic community in 9uenos Aires by the end of the last century. An (,,; city census re ealed the %resence of 00< Jews in 9uenos Aires, and it is estimated that there were about (,500 Jews in the entire country.

'econd Period !&&# % !#()

The mass emigration of 2ast 2uro%ean Jews to Argentina started in (,,+ with the arri al of a grou% with about ,20 Jews from the 7ale. This arri al was %receded by a series of e ents that created the conditions necessary for the migration to ta!e %lace. Argentina bro!e away from 6%ain and became an inde%endent nation in a %rocess that culminated on July +, (,(<. 4t %roceeded, in a series of military cam%aigns, to establish so ereignty o er huge e5tensions of territory in what used to be the =iceroyshi% of >io de la 7lata. 4n an attem%t to %o%ulate these territories and accelerate the de elo%ment of the nation, the go ernment of Argentina %romoted the absor%tion and settlement of 2uro%ean immigrants around the middle of the 3ineteenth /entury. 4n about (,,(, this in itation was e5tended to the Jews of 2ast 2uro%e. At about the same time, iolent %ogroms too! %lace in >ussia, and new anti16emitic laws were %roclaimed that greatly undermined the "uality of life for Jews. Also, Argentina and >ussia established di%lomatic relations in (,,5, facilitating the e5change of information and tra el between the two countries. The combination of these e ents led to a wa e of immigration from the 7ale to Argentina. 4ts beginning traditionally is mar!ed by a grou% of about ,20 %eo%le from the icinity of

8amenets17odols!iy '7odolia), who arri ed in 9uenos Aires on August (*, (,,+, aboard the 6. 6. $esser. They settled as farmers in the %ro ince of 6anta :e, some 000 miles northwest of 9uenos Aires. The settlement was recogni-ed by the %ro ince as the town of Moises =ille '8iriat Moshe) on January (0, (,+0. Their first year was e5tremely harsh. many of them, in %articular the children, fell ill or died from malnutrition. :ortunately, their situation im%ro ed due to the inter ention of ?r. $ilhelm Lowenthal, a Jewish scientist from 2uro%e who was hired by the @o ernment of Argentine to %erform certain agricultural studies. 3ot only did he com%lain to the Argentinean authorities about the terrible situation of his brethren, but, more im%ortantly, ?r. Lowenthal a%%ears to be the %erson that influenced the @erman Jewish %hilanthro%ist, 9aron Maurice Airsh, to su%%ort Jewish immigration to Argentina. Bn August 2*, (,+(, the J/A was founded in London, with funds %ro ided by 9aron Airsh, for the %ur%ose of establishing agricultural colonies in Argentina 'and later in other %arts of 6outh and 3orth America) for the 2ast12uro%ean Jewish immigrants. The colony of Moises =ille was the first of a grou% of about (, Jewish agricultural settlements established by the J/A in arious %ro inces of Argentina. Aere is a list of these settlements, including the year of foundation and location&
/olony :oundation 7ro ince Moises =ille (,,+ 6anta :e Mauricio (,+2 9uenos Aires /lara (,+2 2ntre >ios 6an Antonio (,+2 2ntre >ios Lucien ille (,+* 2ntre >ios Montefiore (+02 6anta :e 9aron Airsh (+05 9s. AsCLa 7am%a Lo%e- and 9erro (+0; 2ntre >ios 6anta 4sabel (+0, 2ntre >ios /urbelo and Moss (+0, 2ntre >ios 3arcisse Le en (+0+ La 7am%a ?ora (+(( 6antiago del 2stero 7aimar1Datay (+(2 2ntre >ios Louis Bungre (+25 2ntre >ios A igdor (+0< 2ntre >ios Leonard /ohen (+0; 2ntre >ios

4t is estimated that in (+0+ there were a%%ro5imately ;0,000 Jews in Argentina. About 00% li ed in 9uenos Aires, 25% in the central %ro inces '6anta :e, 2ntre >ios, /ordoba, and La 7am%a) but not in J/A colonies, (5% in the colonies of the J/A, and 00% in the rest of the country.

Third Period !#() % !#*(

This %eriod is characteri-ed by the concentration of the new immigrants in big cities, %articularly 9uenos Aires. They came mainly from 7oland, >ussia, >umania, Aungary, 6yria, Tur!ey, and Morocco, esca%ing %o erty and %ersecution. Aowe er, they did not ha e the su%%ort of the J/A that %re ious immigrants en#oyed. 3ot only were they %oor and ignorant of the language and customs of the new country, but they also had to confront the situation on their own. These urban Jews started as low1wage wor!ers, %eddlers, small merchants and artisans, li ing in small, o ercrowded a%artments. 4n time they ad anced socially and economically to become merchants, store owners, and %rofessionals, and later businessmen, industrialists, and distinguished scholars, lea ing their mar! in almost e ery as%ect of Argentine society. ?uring this %eriod there was a significant influ5 of 6e%hardic Jews, mainly from 6yria, Tur!ey, and Morocco. They established their own institutions and tem%les and constituted about (0% of the total Jewish %o%ulation.

The /ity of 9uenos Aires and its surroundings became the %rinci%al center of Jewish life in Argentina in the early years of this century. 9y (+0*, more than half of the estimated 2(,,000 Jews of Argentina li ed there. $ithin the city, two districts, Bnce and =illa /res%o, stood out due to their high concentration of Jewish residents. 3ew institutions were created to satisfy the needs of the growing community& A Ae ra 8edusha was established in (+00 for burial %ur%oses, and the first Jewish cemetery of 9uenos Aires was o%ened in (+(0 in Liniers, a suburb of the big city. A 9i!ur Aolim was created in (+00 to assist the sic! and needy, leading to the establishment of a hos%ital 'Aos%ital 4sraelita) and a home for or%hans and seniors. The Jewish %o%ulation in the main cities of the central %ro inces also increased significantly. 9y (+0*, about 00% of the Jewish %o%ulation of Argentina li ed in these %ro inces, leading to the formation of local Jewish institutions and cemeteries. Among the cities with the largest communities are 6anta :e and >osario in the %ro ince of 6anta :e, and 7arana and /ordoba in 2ntre >ios.

Fourth Period !#*( % !#)(

4n the fourth %eriod of Jewish immigration to Argentina, Jews, mainly from @ermany, fled 2uro%e esca%ing the madness of the 3a-i regime. At that time, the @o ernment of Argentina started to im%ose restrictions on immigration due to internal %olitical and economic %roblems and, therefore, raised serious obstacles to the immigration of the @erman Jews. Many of them had to enter the country without %ro%er documentation and by illegal means, ma!ing the ad#ustment to their new life e en more difficult. A fraction of the @erman families were assisted by the J/A, which established e5clusi ely for them the colony A igdor in (+0<. Bthers were settled in e5isting colonies of the J/A. howe er, the ma#ority of @erman immigrants settled in big cities. ?es%ite the fact that many of them had %rofessional or craft s!ills, they could not immediately be absorbed by the economy of Argentina, and had to earn a li ing in low1wage, low le el %ositions, much li!e their 2ast 2uro%ean %redecessors. $ithin a few decades they were able to im%ro e their socio1economic %osition to become %art of the elite of the Jewish community. The @erman Jews created their own institutions and, for some time, were rather isolated from the mainstream of the community. The two most im%ortant institutions of the Jewish community of Argentina were established in this %eriod. The ?elegacion de Asociaciones 4sraelitas Argentinas, or ?AlA, was created in (+05 to %rotest the rise of 3a-ism in @ermany and later became the %olitical arm of the community. The immigration of Jews essentially sto%%ed after $orld $ar 44. The Jewish %o%ulation of Argentina %ea!ed around (+<0, when it reached a%%ro5imately 0(0,000, and then started to decrease, due to assimilation, emigration to 4srael, and emigration to other countries because of economic or %olitical reasons. 4n (+,2, 200,000 Jews were belie ed to li e in Argentina. :or the genealogist, some of the most im%ortant sources of information are ital records 'birth, marriage, death), !e%t in Argentina by an agency called >egistro /i il. The >egistro /i il has branches in the :ederal ?istrict '/a%ital :ederal) and in the ca%ital cities of each one of the %ro inces. >ecord !ee%ing started in (,,< for the :ederal ?istrict and somewhat later in the %ro inces. 4mmigration information is !e%t at the ?ireccion 3acional de Migraciones. 4t can also be obtained from a %ri ate institution, created a few years ago, called /entro de 2studios Migratorios Latinoamericanos or /2MLA. $atch for the second %art of this article in the ne5t J@6> 3ews. 7art 2 will co er s%ecific genealogy resources for tracing family histories in Argentina.