The Construction of the National Socialist “Community of the People” in Argentina

Abstract

National Socialists deprived of German citizenship thousands of people they thought of as alien to a homogenized Deutschtum, while including many others in a so-called popular-national-racial community. The latter was perceived both as a “scientific” reality and as something to be fostered in different ways. This article analyzes a series of devices used by National Socialism in Argentina to instill within German speakers the feel of a regenerate and harmonic community. It also points out that those messages and actions contributed to reinforce a German identification among the motley group of German speakers residing in the country while also contributing to integrate them into Argentine society as a whole.