The enemy within · Argentina · 1919–1930s
The Tragic Week redirected fears of revolution into violence against Jewish neighbours.
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1919–1930s
The enemy within · A strike becomes a pogrom in Once
The Tragic Week redirected fears of revolution into violence against Jewish neighbours.
January 1919
During the Tragic Week in Buenos Aires, labour conflict and repression were accompanied by attacks on Jews. The Once neighbourhood became a target. Police and civilian nationalist groups participated in persecution. The violence treated a minority as if it had organized a threat to the whole country.
Russian becomes a code for Jewish
Agitators connected Jewish immigrants to a supposed Russian revolutionary plot. This turned origins and language into signs of guilt. Many targets had no role in the labour conflict or revolutionary movements. Their identity, rather than evidence of individual conduct, made them vulnerable.
Order becomes the justification
Attackers claimed to defend Argentine identity and social order. That language could make assault and humiliation appear patriotic. The mechanism was a substitution: a real conflict over labour and power was explained through a minority enemy, whose suffering was then presented as a way to restore the nation.