"German-Jewish presence in Argentina - a community of destiny" - lecture by Alfredo Schwarcz, Buenos Aires

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. A particular focus of the lecture is 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 and the Anti-Discrimination Office of the University of Kassel.