Jewish Gauchos in South America’s Pampas
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the help of philanthropic organizations, many Jews escaping persecution in Russia made new lives for themselves in the South American pampas.
Curated by Adriana Brodsky
Hopes and Realities
Though initially the tsar settled Jews as colonists in southern Russia in the early 1800s, anti-Jewish measures in later decades threatened Jews’ access to land. In response to this crisis, the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA or ICA) purchased agricultural plots and settled many Russian Jews in the pampas of Argentina, a country that was actively promoting immigration. Together with other ethnic groups, Jews worked land taken from indigenous people by the Argentine government to increase Argentina’s agricultural production. The following sources provide a glimpse into the JCA’s and Argentina’s expectations, and the realities Jews faced in the new land.
Speech Given to the General Assembly of the Jewish Colonization Association
This speech by the president of the Jewish Colonization Association to its board in Paris praises their work in Argentina while also addressing the difficulties colonies had faced in earlier years.
Report from Lucienville Agricultural Colony
Founded in 1900 by members of Lucienville colony, the Jewish Agricultural Society was one of the first agricultural cooperatives in Argentina and is still in existence today.
The Crisis of Jewish Colonization in Argentina
Published after his visit to the Jewish Colonization Association colonies in Argentina in 1908, Chasanowitch’s report is a scathing critique of the administration’s treatment of farmers.
Problems with Immigration
Russian engineer Aaron Pavlovsky was invited to Argentina to found its first agricultural school in 1883. In this speech, he insists that the country’s economic future depends upon immigration.
(Fictionalized) Accounts from Jewish Gauchos
Many Jewish gauchos (the Spanish word for agricultural workers) wrote about their experiences in the colonies, and those recollections and fictionalized accounts varied significantly. To some, the experience, though not free from hardship, saved Jews from persecution and was worth the suffering. To others, their treatment by the hands of JCA authorities was to be decried. To yet others, the project of the JCA’s regeneration of Jews as agricultural workers proved to be unfulfilling, and they sought new lives elsewhere.
The Jewish Gauchos
This collection of short vignettes about life in the Jewish agricultural colonies was published for Argentina’s independence centennial. It presents their experience as redemptive.
The First Pioneers
Alpersohn’s narrative about the early days of Colonia Mauricio blames the Jewish Colonization Association’s local administrators for the colonists’ suffering.
A Good Harvest
This story suggests that many of those who settled in the Argentine colonies did not enjoy farming or rural life. The story highlights longing for city life and the desire for higher education.
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