Holocaust memory. Temporalities, actors, and practices in two national cases: Argentina and Mexico

Abstract

This chapter examines the moments and ways in which the memory of the Holocaust was expressed in two Latin American countries: Argentina and Mexico. The selection of the two cases is based on their differences, rather than their shared traits. Argentina has historically been a receiving country of large waves of European immigrants while Mexico has received one of the lowest percentages of immigrants in the region. In spite of restrictive migratory policies in both countries, about 25,000-35,000 Jewish refugees went to Argentina between 1933 and 1945, but only between 1,800 and 2,200 to Mexico. The two countries had a very different political history in the twentieth century: military dictatorships in Argentina and an authoritarian regime in Mexico, although both experienced transitions to democracy in the last decades. While various international events impacted them, the processes of Holocaust remembrance varied greatly. It is precisely this strong contrast between the two cases that allows us to examine how international phenomena interacted with national processes, leading to different memory contents and practices. A comparative approach reveals not only the plurality of Holocaust memory in the region, but also the particular role of the national context, the local adaptations and interpretations, thus questioning the widely shared view of a global Holocaust memory.