To belong in Buenos Aires. Germans, Argentines, and the rise of a pluralist society.

This book analyzes the activities and fantasies of the people who sought to create a lasting German community in Buenos Aires and the behavior of others who challenged that project. It argues that ideas about the future drove thousands of German-speaking immigrants to carve out a place for ethnicity and pluralism in the cultural and linguistic landscape of Buenos Aires. In a moment when there was increasing pressure from the Argentine state and new nationalist forces to create a culturally homogeneous citizenry, the leaders of German-language institutions promoted a pluralistic vision of Argentine belonging by insisting that it was possible to be both ethnic and Argentine. Such efforts to create a lasting ethnic community that involved itself in issues of citizenship--particularly when repeated across groups in the Argentine capital--expanded the very meaning of that citizenship. At the same time, actors in the German Foreign Office, Lutheran and Catholic organizations in Germany, and nationalist associations interacted with German speakers in the Americas, and migrants and their children came to occupy an important space in the German national consciousness. In taking such an interest in Latin America, people in Germany promoted the idea that the German nation transcended not only political but also generational boundaries. Against the backdrop of ideologies of weltpolitik and imperialism, they espoused a belief in a territorially unbounded nation that would supposedly help Germany increase its global influence. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a massive wave of immigration transformed the cultural landscape of Argentina. Alongside other immigrants to Buenos Aires, German speakers strove to carve out a place for themselves as Argentines without fully relinquishing their German language and identity. Their story sheds light on how pluralistic societies take shape and how immigrants negotiate the terms of citizenship and belonging. Focusing on social welfare, education, religion, language, and the importance of children, Benjamin Bryce examines the formation of a distinct German-Argentine identity. Through a combination of cultural adaptation and a commitment to Protestant and Catholic religious affiliations, German speakers became stalwart Argentine citizens while maintaining connections to German culture. Even as Argentine nationalism intensified and the state called for a more culturally homogeneous citizenry, the leaders of Buenos Aires's German community advocated for a new, more pluralistic vision of Argentine citizenship by insisting that it was possible both to retain one's ethnic identity and be a good Argentine. Drawing parallels to other immigrant groups while closely analyzing the experiences of Argentines of German heritage, Bryce contributes new perspectives on the history of migration to Latin America—and on the complex interconnections between cultural pluralism and the emergence of national cultures. Introduction : The Future Of Ethnicity -- Social Welfare, Paternalism, And The Making Of German Buenos Aires -- Children, Language, And The Rise Of Pluralist Society -- The Language Of Citizenship : Curriculum And The Argentine State -- An Unbounded Nation? : Local Interests And Imperial Aspirations -- Transatlantic Religion And The Boundaries Of Community -- The Language Of Religion : Children And The Future -- Conclusion : Citizenship And Ethnicity. Benjamin Bryce. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. A social history of immigration and citizenship in Argentina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Focusing on social welfare, education, religion, and the role of children, Benjamin Bryce analyzes the efforts of German-speaking immigrants to carve out a place for themselves in the broader landscape of an increasingly culturally plural society.