Start Date
5-3-2024 12:30 PM
End Date
5-3-2024 1:45 PM
Disciplines
History
Subjects
Jews -- Argentina -- History, Argentina -- Ethnic relations, International Jewish Labor Bund -- History, Transnationalism
Abstract
Between 1881 and 1948, thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to Argentina, escaping subjugation and seeking economic opportunities. These Jewish immigrants initially worked in the agricultural colonies of the Pampas before settling primarily in Buenos Aires, drawn to the benefits of living in a densely populated city. Jewish socialism abounded, connected with the Bund in Russia and Poland while still existing independently. This paper examines the organization Avangard, the first representation of Bundism in Argentina, and its economic and cultural aims, before exploring Bundist schools in Argentina. I also analyze the secular Jewish schooling movement in Poland in order to provide context and comparison for the Argentinian movement. Finally, this paper provides an investigation of multiple factors that led to the decline of local Bundist organizations in 1948. This paper argues that the presence of Bundism in Buenos Aires demonstrated the transnational identity of Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Argentina. I utilize research on migration, Jewish socialism, Yiddish, and specifically the scholarship of Frank Wolff to establish this transnational connection. Through Bundist organizations, Jewish immigrants retained a relationship with their home, language, and socialist beliefs, despite the distance.
Keywords: Jewish Labor Bund, Immigration, Transnationalism, Socialism, Secular Schools, Yiddish, Buenos Aires
Part of the Panel: Cross Cultural Narratives
Moderator: Professor David Horowitz
Creative Commons License or Rights Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42096
Included in
Jewish Immigrants in Argentina: The Bund as a Transnational Connection
Between 1881 and 1948, thousands of Eastern European Jews immigrated to Argentina, escaping subjugation and seeking economic opportunities. These Jewish immigrants initially worked in the agricultural colonies of the Pampas before settling primarily in Buenos Aires, drawn to the benefits of living in a densely populated city. Jewish socialism abounded, connected with the Bund in Russia and Poland while still existing independently. This paper examines the organization Avangard, the first representation of Bundism in Argentina, and its economic and cultural aims, before exploring Bundist schools in Argentina. I also analyze the secular Jewish schooling movement in Poland in order to provide context and comparison for the Argentinian movement. Finally, this paper provides an investigation of multiple factors that led to the decline of local Bundist organizations in 1948. This paper argues that the presence of Bundism in Buenos Aires demonstrated the transnational identity of Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Argentina. I utilize research on migration, Jewish socialism, Yiddish, and specifically the scholarship of Frank Wolff to establish this transnational connection. Through Bundist organizations, Jewish immigrants retained a relationship with their home, language, and socialist beliefs, despite the distance.
Keywords: Jewish Labor Bund, Immigration, Transnationalism, Socialism, Secular Schools, Yiddish, Buenos Aires
Part of the Panel: Cross Cultural Narratives
Moderator: Professor David Horowitz