Argentina and the Holocaust in Yad Vashem Studies, Volume XXVII

Argentina and the Holocaust: The Conceptions and Policies of Argentine Diplomacy, 1933-1945

This article analyzes the heretofore-unexamined perceptions and attitudes of the Argentine foreign ministry to Nazi anti-Jewish policies in Germany and Europe during the years 1933-1945. Argentine diplomats’ reports from Europe and their interpretations of events and policies reflect a spectrum of opinion ranging from identification with the Nazi regime and justification of its policies, to objections to these policies on humanitarian and moral grounds. However, the overall picture painted by these reports, together with the responses of the ministry of foreign affairs, is one of a clearly negative attitude towards Jews. This is especially clear in the restrictive immigration policies espoused by the diplomats and the ministry. Most poignant in this regard was the disinclination to honor requests for protection from Argentinian Jewish citizens who were resident in Germany or elsewhere in Nazi-controlled Europe.