New Generations of Holocaust Memory in Latin America

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

In the aftermath of the Holocaust, many survivors migrated to Latin America, joining established Jewish communities across the Americas. In Argentina and Mexico, for instance, they sought refuge from their experiences in Europe, while also becoming a part of dynamic new worlds. In many cases, they created groups for survivors, and starting in the 1990s, Holocaust survivors took on a greater role in the public sphere through publications, talks, films, and testimonies. Yet, despite this presence, they also encountered challenges specific to the nations in which they settled. This included antisemitism and new experiences of anti-Jewish violence (such as the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires), other forms of political violence and repression. They also felt the challenges inherent to the passage of time as they sought ways to sustain Holocaust memory for new generations. Their efforts have taken on new dimensions in recent years during the COVID pandemic, in the aftermath of October 7th, and in response to political and economic crises. This interdisciplinary panel convenes new research on the experience of Holocaust survivors in Argentina and Mexico, exploring the dynamics of new formations of Holocaust memory in the face of these challenges. Political scientist Yael Siman will explore the experience of re-telling and the transmission of the testimonies of Holocaust survivors by their children through a new oral history collection in Mexico. Historian Emmanuel Kahan will discuss the ways in which President Milei is politicizing the Holocaust. Anthropologist Natasha Zaretsky will explore the reimagining of Holocaust testimony for the second and third generation in Argentina, examining the significance of building new models for transmitting testimony and renegotiating the public sphere. Together, the three papers highlight the complexities of generating Holocaust memory in the Americas, contributing to important scholarship on the dynamics of postmemory as well as understanding the specific evolutions of Holocaust memory in the Global South.

Sub Unit

• Holocaust Studies

Chair

• Adriana Brodsky, St. Mary's College of Maryland

Individual Presentations

• The Retelling and Transmission of Holocaust Testimonies in Mexico: A New Oral History Collection of the Second Generation - Yael Siman, Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico City

• From the Defense of Human Rights to the Fight against International Terrorism: The Uses of the Holocaust in the Speech of Javier Milei and the Liberal-Libertarians - Emmanuel Kahan, National University of La Plata

• Proyecto Aprendiz: Reimagining Holocaust Memory and Meaning for the Second and Third Generation in Argentina - Natasha Zaretsky, New York University

Respondent

• Avinoam Patt, New York University

Zoom Host

• Zoom Host 01