Antisemitism in Chile

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Antisemitism in Chile started in early Chilean history during Spanish colonization and settlement. Now on the decline, Antisemitism has resurfaced throughout the country's history to include the 20th century Nazism in Chilean cities with German heritage. Chileans today have a positive view of the country's estimated 32,000 Jews or less than 1% of the population. [citation needed]

History of Judaism in Chile

Main article: History of the Jews in Chile

Ashkenazi
background. Chile is home to the third-largest Jewish community in South America.[1]

Spanish colonization and settlement

The first Jews arrived in Chile with the

Catholicism because, at the time of the Inquisition, had to hide their Jewish origin living. Most of this immigration occurred in the early years of the conquest, fleeing religious persecution in Spain, since in the Americas is not yet the court of the Inquisition installed.[2] Diego García de Cáceres, faithful friend and executor of the founder of Santiago, Pedro de Valdivia
, was one of them.

In colonial times, the most prominent Jewish character in Chile was the surgeon

Sephardic family from Portugal.[3] He was accused to the Tribunal of the Inquisition by his sisters, devout Christians, from attempting to convert them to Judaism. Maldonado declared openly Jew, causing him the conviction to be burned alive in 1639. According to a 2010 book, he was imprisoned because he tried to convert his two sisters, who had converted to Catholicism, and they denounced him.[4]

Jewish immigration in the 19th century

From 1840, decades after the abolition of the Inquisition in Chile, began the Jewish immigration to the country. The first Jews who arrived in Valparaíso were from Europe, especially from Germany and France. One of them, Manuel de Lima y Sola, was a man who became one of the founding members of the Fire Department of Valparaíso in 1851 and one of the founders of the Chilean freemasonry to create the first Masonic lodge, the "Unión Fraternal" two years later.[5]

Antisemitism from the Inquisition till the 20th century

Between the Spanish people which arrived to Chile during the Inquisition were Jews which had been sent away from their home land. The inquisition has been active in Chile until 1813. In that period, many Jews were executed. One of them was Francisco Maldonado De-Silva, a doctor who declared in public about his Jewish religion, and was executed only because of that. De-Silva's life story was published in the book “la gesta marrano”.[3] With Chile's independence, Jewish prayers were allowed in public only in 1856. The first official Jewish organization was established in 1909.

Nazism in Chile

Main article: Nazism in Chile

Santiago, and the southern cities with German heritage.[6]

After the dissolution of the

Pinochet Regime.[7]

Historically Nazism had also detractors in Chile. Example of this is the

telegram sent by Salvador Allende and other members of the Congress of Chile to Adolf Hitler after the Kristallnacht (1938) in which they denounced the persecution of Jews.[8]

Even before the

Nazification of the German Chilean community.[9] These communities and their organizations were considered a cornerstone to extend the Nazi ideology across the world by Nazi Germany. It is widely known that albeit there were discrepancies most German Chileans were passive supporters of Nazi Germany. Nazism was widespread among the German Lutheran Church hierarchy in Chile. A local chapter of the Nazi Party was started in Chile.[9]

While Nazi Germany did pursue a policy of nazification of overseas German communities[10] the German community in Chile did not act as an extension of the German state to any significant degree.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Chile Virtual Jewish History Tour". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  2. ^ "La comunidad judía en Chile - Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile". Memoriachilena.cl. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  3. ^ a b "Francisco Maldonado da Silva - Learn more about Francisco Maldonado da Silva at bigcaring.com. Francisco Maldonado da Silva articles, videos, and discussion". Bigcaring.com. Retrieved 2016-03-29.
  4. ISBN 1455613304
    . Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  5. ISBN 9780826320490
    .
  6. ^ "FRONTLINE/World. Fellows . Chile: The New Nazis - PBS". Pbs.org. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  7. ^
    S2CID 154230676
  8. ^ "Telegram protesting against the persecution of Jews in Germany" (PDF) (in Spanish). El Clarín de Chile's.
  9. ^ a b Nocera, Raffaele (2005), "Ruptura con el Eje y el alineamiento con Estados Unidos. Chile durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial", Historia (in Spanish), 38 (2): 397–444
  10. ^ Paula, Rogério Henrique Cardoso de (2017). "As comunidades alemãs frente ao nazismo no Brasil e noChile: uma História comparada" [The germans communities against nazism in the Chile and in the Brazil: comparative History]. Revista Trilhas da História (in Portuguese). 5 (10): 72–93. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  11. S2CID 149372568
    . Retrieved December 13, 2018.
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