Synagogue "Templo Libertad" & Exhibit on Psychiatry during National Socialism
Spanish through Experience Meeting Notes
We enjoyed a double program for Spanish through Experience on Tuesday November 26 after the UWC Joint Board meeting. We visited the Jewish Museum near the Colón Theater and at the same venue we heard a talk on Psiquiatría en el Nacionalsocialismo by Barbara Grünenfelder-Elliker and Elena Levin. Our guide was the Jewish Museum’s Director, Rabbi Dr. Simón Moguilevsky who gave us a short history of the Jewish community in Argentina and the founding of the synagogue on Calle Libertad. In 1862 Henry Joseph came to Buenos Aires thinking he was the first Jew in the city but he discovered there were more. In fact the first Jews (of Portuguese origin) arrived in Argentina in the late 16th century, escaping from the inquisition. In 1889 Jewish immigrants began settling in the agricultural colonies set up by philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch in Entre Rios. We were shown religious artifacts and family treasures donated to the museum by local families. Rabbi Moguilevsky patiently explained the use and the purpose of many of these items.
Later we gathered in the meeting rooms to view the display by Elena first presented in Germany in German and then brought here to BA where photos and explanations are in both English and Spanish. Barbara gave us an energetic talk related to the events on view with interjections by Elena describing her discovery of what actually happened after WWII to the medical community in Germany and how she got involved in the project.
Patricia Caviezel