Argentine Officials Honor Longtime Resident Emilie Schindler

Argentine officials honored longtime resident Emilie Schindler, who with her late husband, Oskar, helped save an estimated 1,200 Jews from certain death during World War II.

Recognizing Schindler signals a shift from the days Argentina welcomed former Nazis, Foreign Minister Guido di Tella said at last week’s ceremony.

Di Tella presented Schindler with the Orden de Mayo, which Argentina awards to civilians and members of the military who “contribute to international progress, welfare, culture and understanding and solidarity”.

The minister thanked Schindler for the efforts she and her husband made to save Jews from being shipped to Nazi concentration camps. Oskar Schindler hired Jews to work in his factory, established in Krakow, Poland.

The Schindlers’ story first received widespread attention last year with the release of Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List”.

Di Tella said the government’s recognition of Schindler, 87, along with its decision several years ago to open to the public for the first time its archives on the Nazi refugees who fled to Argentina after World War II, marked a shift in Argentina’s relationship with the Jewish community.

The founding member of Argentina’s ruling Peronist Party, Gen. Juan Peron, welcomed former supporters of Hitler who sought refuge in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

“What’s happening in Argentina is a cultural change with respect to the issue of Argentina and Nazism, between Argentina and the Jewish community, both domestic and foreign”, said Di Tella, who presented the award before government officials, religious leaders and diplomats.

“This award is part of that cultural change”, he said.

Schindler, in a speech read for her, thanked those who had supported her throughout the years. She said she did not feel herself to be a “heroine” and noted a certain sense of regret at being singled out for recognition because “this honor shows that I’ve been an exception”.