Raquel Liberman (10 July 1900 – 7 April 1935) was a Polish immigrant to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, a victim of
human trafficking. Her denouncement of her traffickers led to the breaking up of the Jewish human-trafficking network from Poland,
Zwi Migdal
Zwi Migdal ( yi, צבי מגדל, Polish: Cwi Migdał) was an organized-crime group by Polish Jewish individuals, founded in Poland and based mainly in Argentina, that trafficked in Jewish women from Central Europe for sexual slavery and forced ...
, which in the early 20th century operated a worldwide
white-slavery ring.
Early life
Liberman was born on 10 July 1900 in Berdichev in the
Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate, r=Kievskaya guberniya; uk, Київська губернія, Kyivska huberniia (, ) was an administrative division of the Russian Empire from 1796 to 1919 and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1919 to 1925. It wa ...
of the Russian Empire. According to the
Jewish Women's Archive, she moved to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in
Russian Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
with her family as a child. In 1919, she married Yaacov Ferber, a Warsaw tailor, according to Jewish rites. Ferber emigrated to Argentina and she followed him to
Tapalqué,
Buenos Aires province, with her two sons in 1922. Her husband died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
soon after their arrival. Needing economic support and not knowing
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, Liberman left her children with a foster family and looked for a job in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
.
Liberman later kept the existence of her children a secret, and her children were unaware of her subsequent history.
[
]
Slavery
It is unclear how Liberman got involved in the criminal network, as there are very few records of her early life, and she concealed parts of her personal history.
Unable to find work as seamstress
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.
Not ...
, she was either forced into or voluntarily entered into prostitution, through a Jewish human trafficking network named Zwi Migdal
Zwi Migdal ( yi, צבי מגדל, Polish: Cwi Migdał) was an organized-crime group by Polish Jewish individuals, founded in Poland and based mainly in Argentina, that trafficked in Jewish women from Central Europe for sexual slavery and forced ...
, (previously "Varsovia").[ One possibility is that her sister and brother-in-law belonged to the organization.][ This network worked in ]Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
under the semblance of a Jewish Mutual Aid Society which lured girls and young women to Argentina where they were exploited sexually. Exactly how it occurred is uncertain, but Liberman ended up working for a ''caftan'' (pimp) named Jaime Cissinger, whom she paid for protection.[
For at least four years Liberman was a captive of the human trafficking network. She managed to save money to buy her liberty, possibly with help from someone else. She opened a shop in ]Callao
Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists o ...
road but Zwi Migdal started to harass and threaten her to avoid her example being copied by other female captives. A member of the Zwi Migdal, José Salomón Korn, fooled her with a false marriage promise and married her in a faked Jewish ceremony. He then stole her savings and attempted to force her back into a brothel.[
Liberman escaped a second time and on 31 December 1929 she denounced the Zwi Migdal to Inspector of Police Julio Alsogaray. Her judicial complaint was the first to publicly expose these criminal networks in Argentina and evolved into the dissolution of the human trafficking network.][
]
Complaint and Zwi Migdal persecution
After Liberman escaped the second time,[ she contacted Julio Alsogaray, a policeman with a reputation for integrity,][ and with him on 31 December 1929 filed a complaint in court. The commissary asked if she was determined to make her declaration to the magistrate and she affirmed: "I can only die once, I won't withdraw the complaint".] The criminal court magistrate Manuel Rodríguez Ocampo called Liberman to testify. Her testimony brought to light the criminal organization's methods, where women were forcibly transported from one place to another, and constantly abused physically and psychologically to make them subservient and prevent them from denouncing the organization.[
The magistrate ordered the detention of 108 members of the Zwi Migdal][ and the arrest of 334 fugitives on charges of corruption and conspiracy. The lengthy ]trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...
ended in September 1930, with 108 criminal convictions.[ "The very existence of the Zwi Migdal Organization directly threatens our society", Judge Ocampo wrote in his ]verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal trier of fact, finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In Engl ...
, handing down long prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
sentences.
During the investigation the complicity of the criminal organization with the federal police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
was uncovered. The magistrate's ruling was appealed. Despite Liberman's testimony, the appeals chamber magistrate only retained three members of the organization in custody, freeing the other members. The appeals chamber magistrate justified this action by saying that only Liberman had testified (despite constant threats) whereas other victims did not.[
However, the trial increased public awareness of Zwi Migdal, and led to its dissolution.][
]
Death
In 1934 Liberman applied for a visa to return to Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. The trip never took place since several months later, on 7 April 1935, she died of thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
at the age of 34.
Recognition
Raquel Liberman has been the inspiration for a number of authors. Nora Glickman
Nora, NORA, or Norah may refer to:
* Nora (name), a feminine given name
People with the surname
* Arlind Nora (born 1980), Albanian footballer
* Pierre Nora (born 1931), French historian
Places Australia
* Norah Head, New South Wales, headlan ...
's book ''The Jewish White Slave Trade and the Untold Story of Raquel Liberman'' is a historical account. Writer and poet Ilan Sheinfeld Ilan may refer to:
Organization
* ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children
Given name
* Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name
* Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer
* Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footbal ...
has also written an account of that time, ''The Tale of a Ring''.[ ]Humberto Costantini
Humberto ''"Cacho"'' Costantini (April 8, 1924 – June 7, 1987) was an Argentinian writer and poet whose work was influenced by Buenos Aires slang ( porteño).
Biography
Costantini was born in Buenos Aires, the only child of Italian Jewish ...
died before he could complete a fictionalized account, ''Rapsodía de Raquel Liberman'', which he had hoped would "justify imin the eyes of God". Carlos Luis Serrano
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewhe ...
wrote a play about her, ''Raquel Liberman: una historia de Pichincha''. The novel THE THIRD DAUGHTER (HarperCollins, 2019) by Talia Carner is a penetrating look into early 20th-century sex-trafficking taking the cue from Sholem Aleichem's "The Man from Buenos Aires." Myrtha Shalom wrote the book ''La Polaca''.[ Argentine-born film-maker Gabriela Bohm has produced a 30-minute documentary about her, entitled ''Raquel: a marked woman''.][
In Argentina, as of June 2010, the Raquel Liberman award was created to honor those who promote and protect the ]rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
of survivors of violence against women
Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...
.
See also
*Sexual slavery
Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This include ...
*Alfonse Pogrom
The Alfonse pogrom (in Polish language, Polish, '':pl:Pogrom alfonsów, Pogrom alfonsów'' 'pogrom of the pimps'; the Polish language, Polish slang term ''alfons'' means 'pimp'; 24–26 May 1905) Entry reproduced onlinhereby the Żydowski Instytut ...
* Simon Rubinstein (pimp)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberman, Raquel
1900 births
1935 deaths
People from Berdychiv
People from Kiev Governorate
Jews from the Russian Empire
Jewish Argentine history
Rebel slaves
Polish emigrants to Argentina
Deaths from cancer in Argentina
Deaths from thyroid cancer
Human trafficking in Argentina
Prostitution in Argentina
20th-century slaves