Oy, My Buenos Aires: Jewish Immigrants and the Creation of Argentine National Identity

Acknowledgments

xi Acknowledgments In both college and graduate school I was lucky enough to have mentors who encouraged me. Without them, this book would not exist. I became interested in this topic as an undergraduate at Whitman College, under the supervision of Julie Charlip. She helped me become a better writer and scholar. My mentor, Jeffrey Lesser, deserves my eternal thanks. Throughout the entire manuscript process, Jeff encouraged, supported, and challenged me to become a better historian. Many colleagues read and commented on my work in various forms, helping me to refine and polish it. David Sheinin has been enormously helpful in pushing me to rethink my theoretical framework, questioning my methodology , and offering thought-provoking commentary on my project at various stages. Raanan Rein has consistently listened to me and sent me in new directions as he assisted and encouraged my work. His comments on the manuscript for a final revision made this a much stronger book. Alex Borucki has always made me laugh as he helped and supported me personally and academically from Mobile to Montevideo. His knowledge of Argentine history, historiography , and the finer points of idiomatic early twentieth-century Spanish helped me comprehend the idiosyncratic culture of Buenos Aires and I can never thank him enough. Billy Acree provided insightful comments on an early version of the manuscript. Valeria Manzano has been both a great friend and colleague , especially in sharing her knowledge of Argentine popular culture. My acknowledgments xii colleague at the University of South Alabama Daniel Rogers read the entire manuscript and offered invaluable advice on how to get it ready to send to publishers . At Emory University, Eric Goldstein and Marina Rustow helped me tackle some of the theoretical and methodological issues. Colleagues Rafael Ioris, Brad Lange, and Fabricio Prado read early parts of the manuscript and offered helpful comments. Many people provided assistance both in learning Yiddish and with translations. In Buenos Aires, Esther Szwarc helped enormously at different points in the process. At Emory University, Marni Davis was a great study partner, and Marc Miller and Miriam Udell provided translation help. During the book process, Alan Astro provided the information I needed to complete my translations. I incurred enormous debts of gratitude doing the research for this project in Buenos Aires. Ariel Svarch did an amazing job following up on the final images and permissions for the book. At the IWO Archive, archivist Silvia Hansman provided essential assistance in locating the bulk of the documentation for this work. The rest of the staff of the IWO, particularly Ezequiel Semo and Debora Kacowicz, were also extremely helpful in finding materials for me. At the Biblioteca Tornquist, Patricia León’s knowledge and professionalism made it a pleasure to do research there. At the Centro de Estudios Históricos Policiales “Comisario Inspector Francisco L. Romay,” Sr. Kovi and his colleagues allowed me full access to their resources, for which I was very thankful . The staff at the Centro Marc Turkow (AMIA) were very helpful in allowing me to consult their excellent oral history collection. Andrés Glucksmann, grandson of Max Glücksmann, was kind enough to open up his home to me and allow me access to the family papers. In Buenos Aires, many friends and colleagues offered help and suggestions . Marta Goldberg gave me a place to stay and help in navigating both the streets and archives of Buenos Aires. She has always been a wonderful friend and invaluable resource. Nerina Viascovsky is a great friend and colleague who invited me into her home and shared her research while providing comments and resources that helped my own work. My colleagues from the Núcleo de Estudios Judíos, particularly Alejandro Dujovne and Emmanuel Kahan, have continued to be interested in and supportive of my work. I have also benefited from the knowledge of Argentine scholars and scholars studying Argentina, including Alicia Bernasconi, José Moya, Sandra McGee Deutsch, Adriana Brodsky, Susana Skura, and Beatrice Gurwitz. Finally, I want to thank Rodrigo Vergara and his family and friends for being my porteño family. acknowledgments xiii At the University of New Mexico Press, Clark Whitehorn was enthusiastic and interested from the beginning and has been an exceptional editor. Felicia Cedillos provided important feedback on the illustrations. Finally, the unnamed reviewer for the press pushed me to expand the work and rethink key elements, making the final product much stronger. Funding for the project...