Gleason Freidberg, Tamara; (2025) “Memorial Builders”: Responses and reactions to the Khurbn (Holocaust) in Mexico, 1941-1948. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

Text Memorial Builders Responses and reactions to the Khurbn (Holocaust) in Mexico 1941-1948.pdf - Accepted Version Access restricted to UCL open access staff until 1 October 2027. Download (2MB)

Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of the Holocaust on the Jewish community in Mexico from 1941, when the community learned about the mass killings and started memorialising European Jewry, to 1948. Drawing on the Yiddish press and overlooked archival materials, it explores memorialisation through political, pedagogical, and cultural activism, challenging entrenched narratives about how Jews discussed and memorialised the Holocaust. Yiddish-speaking antifascists mobilised local antifascist groups in condemnation of the Nazi atrocities, relying on their transnational networks as a political asset. By refocusing on Yiddish-speaking antifascist activism, this research contributes to the historiography of antifascism in Mexico. Jews in Mexico also demonstrated publicly against the Nazi atrocities. In doing so, they adapted previous integration strategies into the country by associating themselves with other European immigrant groups. Despite restrictive Mexican immigration laws, Yiddish writers portrayed Mexico as a four-hundred-year-old refuge that allowed them to revive Jewish culture as their cultural centre in Europe was being destroyed. The memorial culture the Jewish community developed in Mexico was multigenerational. Jewish educators taught students about the Holocaust through formal and informal education, and children wrote about the topic. Jews mourned and commemorated by organising events and through the Yiddish press, framing their reactions within their local context and referring to transnational discourses. This research contributes to the development of new perspectives on early reactions to the Holocaust by focusing on overlooked agents, such as Yiddish-speaking antifascists, children, and the youth. By analysing the Holocaust’s impact on the daily life of Mexican Jewry, this thesis shifts the focus from hegemonic postwar memorialisation practices explored by the current historiography to include marginalised narratives, events, and actors. It provides new avenues to explore early commemoration efforts in overlooked geographies, like Mexico, proving the global dimension of the Holocaust during the war period and its aftermath.

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