Di Griner in Buenos Aires: Exploring Holocaust Survivors' Oral Histories Pubblico

Abstract

Abstract
Di Griner in Buenos Aires: Exploring Holocaust Survivors' Oral Histories

In the wake of the Holocaust Jewish survivors dispersed all across the world, mainly to the United States and Israel. A sizable number, however, made their way to Argentina, where today about 800 survivors still reside. While many chose Argentina solely because a relative was already living there the survivors were actually becoming members of the largest Jewish community in Latin America. In the past several decades many survivors have recorded their life stories, either in a video archive or in a published book. A critical analysis of several of these published oral histories revealed many insights about how the survivors felt and talked about their experiences in Argentina.

A focus on the interactions with the Jewish community in Buenos Aires, reactions to traumatic events such as the 1976 dictatorship and the AMIA and Israeli embassy bombings, and perceptions of anti-Semitism in Argentina demonstrated that the survivors were creating particular self-identities in their life stories that were shaped by those experiences. The patterns that emerged within the collection of oral histories pointed to a complex process of identity formation possibly resulting from feelings of rejection by the Jewish community, insecurity about the similarities between Argentina and nazi Europe, and fear of anti-Semitism in an overtly Catholic country.

The speculations that were drawn in this analysis revealed particularities about the experience of survivors in Argentina as well as general insights about the unique value of oral history as a literary form. Oral history is the subject of debate over its validity as a historical source. This work holds the opinion that while it may not be of use for the historical reconstruction of specific events, oral history is a valuable and crucial tool for understanding how individuals perceive and reflect on those events.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction...1
Memory, History, and Oral History...4
The Holocaust...15
The Jewish Community of Buenos Aires...16
Survivor Accounts of Social Integration...22
The 1976 Dictatorship...33
Sara Rus...35
Anti-Semitism...45
Conclusion...62
Works Cited...65

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Jewish Studies
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Jewish Studies History, Latin American
Parola chiave	Oral history Holocaust survivors
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Lipstadt, Deborah, Emory University
Committee Members	Rogers, Thomas, Emory University Gold, Hazel, Emory University

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