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Double event on German-Jewish immigration to Argentina with Alfredo Schwarcz (Buenos Aires)
1st workshop: "German-Jewish identities in Argentina - Interdisciplinary perspectives on exile, migration and identity change"
with Alfredo Schwarcz (Buenos Aires)
Wednesday, 25.06.2025, 4-8 p.m., Kurt-Wolters-Straße 5, Room 0019
The workshop deals with German-Jewish identity constructions in Argentina and offers space for interdisciplinary exchange on this complex cultural-historical phenomenon.The event is divided into several thematic units: On the one hand, there will be a theoretical discussion of the differences between exile, flight and migration and their phenomenological specifics. A major role will be played by the explanation of the phenomenon of "ghettoization" as a survival strategy, whose significance for urban community building will be explained. The interrelationship of language and identity, in particular with regard to the role of mother tongue, acculturation processes and cultural reference points as well as the generational transformation of concepts such as "homeland" and "diaspora" are also taken into account. Psychosocial aspects are examined on the basis of the conditions of arrival and the biographical and generational identity transformation processes.This will be accompanied by a literary approach to the phenomena. The co-organizer of the event, Patrick Eser, will present works of German-Jewish-Argentinean exile literature of the "post-exile" that reflect the themes of the workshop and explore them in the medium of literature.
The workshop is aimed at students and teachers of cultural and literary studies, social sciences, psychology, history and all interested parties. Registration is requested.
Speaker: Alfredo Schwarcz is a psychologist and gerontologist. He works as a psychotherapist and is the author of the book "Trotz allem...die deutschsprachigen Juden in Argentinien" (1995)
The workshop is organized by the Institute of Romance Studies (PD Dr. Patrick Eser) and the Anti-Discrimination Office of the University of Kassel
Contact: eserp[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
2. "German-Jewish presence in Argentina - a community of destiny"
Lecture by Alfredo Schwarcz, Buenos Aires (Thursday, 26.06.2025, 6 pm, Campus Uni Kassel, Lecture Hall 4)
Many German-speaking Jews found refuge from persecution in Argentina during the Nazi era. This event sheds light on the history and development of this particular wave of migration and shows how a new homeland emerged from flight and expulsion.
The Argentinian psychologist Alfredo Schwarcz traces the path of the German-speaking Jews to Argentina. What did they know about the country on the Rio de la Plata? What did they find there? What difficulties did they have to overcome?
We look at the inextricably linked triangle of migration, dispersion and the Holocaust and its effects on the refugees. The lecture focuses in particular on questions of identity: What did the threefold affiliation mean for those affected? How did they deal with the feeling of being uprooted? The passing on of the German-Jewish cultural heritage to the next generations will also be addressed - with all its ruptures and continuities. The lecture shows how new cultural identities could emerge from flight and loss. It concludes with general reflections on the phenomenon of migration today and references to the present.
Introduction and moderation: Patrick Eser and Renate Pfromm
The event is organized in cooperation with the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation Kassel.