Origin of the name[edit]

The crime-organization founders, having originated from Warsaw, legally registered as the Varsovia Jewish Mutual Aid Society, which facilitated easy operations.^[6] In 1927, after the Polish envoy to Argentina filed an official complaint regarding the organization's use of "Warsaw" in the name (Varsovia in Spanish), they renamed it to Zwi Migdal in recognition of Luis Zvi Migdal, a founder.^[7]

History[edit]

The Zwi Migdal organization operated from the 1860s to 1939. After the First World War, it had four hundred members in Argentina. Its annual turnover was fifty million dollars at the turn of the century.^{[citation needed]} Its center was Buenos Aires, with branch offices in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Santos), United States (New York City), Poland (Warsaw), South Africa, India and China.^[8]

The Zwi Migdal Organization reached its peak in the 1920s: 430 ruffians, or pimps, controlled 2,000 brothels with 4,000 women in Argentina alone.^[9] The organization's success stemmed from the fact that its members were bound by rules that were "based on order, discipline, and honesty." The network was well-organized and members cooperated closely to protect their interests.

Modus operandi[edit]

The organization lured girls and young women from Europe in several ways. For instance, a well-mannered and elegant-looking man would appear in a poor Jewish village in Poland or Russia.^[10] He would advertise his search for young women to work in the homes of wealthy Jews in Argentina by posting an ad in the local synagogue. Fearful of pogroms and often in desperate economic circumstances, the parents would send their daughters away with these men, hoping to give them a fresh start. Another popular ruse was to find pretty girls and marry them, usually in a ceremony known as a "shtille chupah" (Yiddish expression meaning a quick wedding ceremony).^[11] The girls bade their families farewell and boarded ships to Argentina believing that they were on their way toward a better future. Their period of training as sex slaves often started on the ship. Some of them were married off to local men so that they could obtain entry visas.

Prostitutes who failed to satisfy their clients were beaten, fined or sent to work in provincial houses. Every business transaction was logged. The rufianes held a "meat market" in which newly arrived girls were paraded naked in front of traders in places such as Hotel Palestina and Cafe Parisienne. These activities went on undisturbed because the brothels were frequented by government officials, judges and journalists. City officials, politicians and police officers were bribed. The pimps had powerful connections everywhere. The largest brothels in Buenos Aires housed as many as 60 to 80 sex slaves. Although there were brothels all over Argentina, most were in Buenos Aires, in the Jewish quarter on Junin Street.^{[citation needed]}

Influence of the organization[edit]

The organization had arms in several countries, and was a controversial presence in South America's Jewish community. It was a supporter of Yiddish theatre in Brazil, but was attacked by Jews in Rio de Janeiro for presenting Torah scrolls. A great number of Jews who had come to Brazil did so as families, and viewed prostitution as immoral and "impure" influences. Zwi Migdal's attempt to relocate to Rio, after events in Buenos Aires (discussed below), caused an increased battle against the group among Brazilian Jews.^[12]

In Argentina, the group's activities were at times used to bolster antisemitism, a use that also occurred in Brazil,^[13] where the Jewish community also often opposed the organization.^[14] More specifically the group was cited in relation to negative views of Eastern European Jews, who were at times seen as more prone to criminality and/or political radicalism within Argentinian society, as opposed to German Jews.^[15] The Chilean Nicolás Palacios used their crimes in claims Jews "dominated" Argentina's women and were "polluting" that nation.^[16]