Walking through Buenos Aires and observing the people on the streets, I often felt as if I were in a major European city. My carefully constructed concept of European immigration, developed back home, suddenly became tangible, and I was right in the middle of it. Right in the heart of a city whose history of longing, love, pain, and division has been sung countless times in melancholic melodies.
With just a handful of addresses, I threw myself into my diploma project and had the privilege of meeting many open-minded people, each with their own unique story. I sensed in many of them the pride of being able to share their stories, but also often a feeling of inner conflict. In essence, I myself am a large part of my diploma thesis. My grandparents, of German and Austrian descent, met after immigrating to Argentina, at the German Hospital in Buenos Aires, my eventual birthplace. My grandparents stayed in Argentina and built a new life for themselves. Argentina benefited from the high demand for imports from war-torn Europe. Until the 1950s, Argentina was far wealthier than the European countries suffering from the consequences of the war.
As a result, many immigrants found work and were able to build a new life in a foreign country. Many of them had great difficulty integrating, as some districts of Buenos Aires developed into German neighborhoods and suburbs. German schools and sports clubs opened, and buying meat from a German butcher was no problem. Between 1955 and 1983, the country was increasingly plagued by a period of instability. Argentina became increasingly indebted under various military regimes until a total economic collapse occurred in 2001.
For several years now, Argentina has been experiencing an unprecedented wave of emigration. The middle class, in particular, is fleeing sudden poverty. Many who have their roots in Europe are seeking them there and facing the same challenges as their ancestors many years before. However, some of them never had the opportunity to return to Germany or see Argentina as their new home. I had the privilege of visiting these individuals, each with their own unique family history, and documenting their lives.