Argentine Jews - World War II and Anti-semitism

World War II and Anti-semitism

Argentina kept its doors open to Jewish immigration until 1938, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in Germany began to take more actions against Jews, and tensions rose across Europe in preparation for war. The government imposed new regulations on immigration; it was severely curtailed at a time of increasing persecution of Jews and the outbreak of World War II, when Jews sought a safe haven from the Nazis. Millions of Jews died in Europe during the Holocaust.

Juan Perón's rise to power in 1946 in Argentina after the war worried many Jews in the country. As Minister of War, he had signed Argentina's declaration of war against the Axis Powers, but as a nationalist, he had earlier expressed sympathy for them. He was known to admire the Italian Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini. Peron introduced Catholic religious instruction in Argentine public schools; he allowed Nazis' fleeing prosecution in Germany to immigrate to the country. Perón also expressed sympathy for Jewish rights and in 1949 established diplomatic relations with Israel. Perón's government was the first in Argentina to allow Jewish citizens to hold office.

Among the most notable Nazis who immigrated to Argentina was Adolf Eichmann, a high-ranking official who had supervised the death camps; he lived near Buenos Aires from after World War II until 1960. Israeli agents tracked him down and abducted him from a Buenos Aires suburb to Israel for trial for war crimes. Eichmann faced trial in Jerusalem beginning in April 1961.

Peron was overthrown in 1955, with the unrest unleashing a wave of antisemitism. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel from Argentina. Others have migrated to Europe and other destinations. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Tacuara Nationalist Movement, a fascist organization with political ties, began a series of anti-semitic campaigns. They encouraged street fights against Jews, and vandalism of synagogues and Jewish cemeteries.

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina was ruled by a military junta, that oppressed many and "disappeared" countless victims. During this period, the junta targeted Jews who opposed them for kidnapping, torture and executions; about 2,000 known victims of state terrorism were Jews. According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel had a special agreement with the Argentine government to allow Jews arrested for political crimes to immigrate to Israel. Jews also emigrated to Spain, where they found more tolerant conditions.

During the 1982 Falklands War, around 250 Jewish soldiers served in the Falkland Islands and strategic points in Patagonia. During their service, they suffered anti-semitic attacks by officers. The Argentine government allowed five rabbis to visit them: these were the only chaplains permitted to accompany the Argentine Army during the conflict. They are the only non-Catholic chaplains ever permitted to serve. According to the author Hernán Dobry, the rabbis were permitted to visit Jewish soldiers because Argentina had been buying arms from Israel, and did not want to risk the relationship "for the sake of five rabbis". During the war, Jewish soldiers confided in the rabbis, telling them about anti-semitic insults.