Jewish Refugees From Nazism
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Jewish refugees from Nazism are
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
who were forced to leave their place of residence due to persecution by the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
, their allies and collaborators between 1933 and 1945. The proportion of those who survived compared to those who died is about half in different countries. Since the 1930s, right-wing regimes with
anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
policies came to power in the
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and some other
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
an countries. These events led to the emergence of hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees. Between 350,000 and 400,000
Yehuda Bauer Yehuda Bauer (; 6 April 1926 – 18 October 2024) was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the The Holocaust, Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew Univer ...
.
American Jewry and the Holocaust: The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 1939–1945.
' ''Wayne State University Press'', p. 26. 1981. .
Jews left Germany,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, and
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
before the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Of the 235,000 Jewish immigrants to
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
from 1932 to 1939,The fifth wave of repatriation (1932–1939)
/ref> approximately 60,000 were
German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...
.From a Minority Movement to a National Movement: The Fifth Aliyah (1929–1939).
Methodological materials on the history of Zionism.
Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...
During World War II, millions of Jews were forced to evacuate areas occupied by the German army and its allies, and most of those who remained were forcibly moved to
ghettos A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
and then either killed on the spot or deported to
extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
s. Many countries, fearing the influx of refugees, created obstacles and did not grant them entry permits. Even news of the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis did not become a reason to reconsider this policy. After the war, the rise of anti-Semitism in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and the desire of the surviving victims of the genocide to go to Palestine caused a conflict with the anti-immigration policy of the British Mandate authorities. In the 1950s and later, questions of material compensation for victims of persecution were addressed.


1933–1939

The idea of expelling Jews from Germany was one of the most important programmatic points of the
National Socialists Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', Vol. 3. p. 17. 2001. .
Basin, Yakov Zinovievich.
The Jewish Question and the Emigration Policy of Germany and the USA in 1933-38.
' ''Notes on Jewish History'': Magazine. October (issue 16 (119)). 2009.
At the time the Nazis came to power, 523,000 Jews lived in Germany, making up less than 1% of the population.German Jewish Refugees, 1933–1939.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
.
At the first stage, populist measures (boycotts, insults, etc.), discriminatory legislation, and economic sanctions were used as anti-Jewish policies.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', p. 205. Vol. 2. 2001. .
Subsequently, violent pressure was applied to force Jews to emigrate, as well as direct deportations. The expulsion of Jews was accompanied by their almost total robbery during emigration. The Nazi policy of confiscating property intensified from 25% in 1933 to almost 90% by 1938.


Anti-Jewish legislation 1933–1937

The mass persecution of Jews in Germany began on April 1, 1933, when the first nationwide boycott of all Jewish businesses in the country was carried out.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 176-178. Vol. 2. 2001. .
The main instrument of anti-Jewish policy in 1933–1935 was anti-Jewish legislation.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', p. 185. Vol. 2. 2001. .
On April 7, 1933, the
Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service (, shortened to ''Berufsbeamtengesetz''), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-establish the Civil Service, was enacted by the Nazi Party, Na ...
was adopted, which ordered the dismissal of all non-
Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
officials, with rare exceptions. Anyone who had at least one Jewish ancestor was considered a non-Aryan.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 185-188. Vol. 2. 2001. .
Then, from April to December, several regulations and measures were adopted aimed against the Jewish intelligentsia with the goal of ''eliminating the influence of Jews on public life.'' Thus, on April 25, quotas were introduced for the admission of Jews to educational institutions, and on May 10, a public
burning of books Book burning is the deliberate destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or politic ...
by Jewish and anti-Nazi authors took place. Racial restrictions affected doctors, lawyers, notaries, professors, editors and others.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 189–190. Vol. 2. 2001. .
A stream of anti-Semitic publications appeared in the press, especially in the weekly
Der Stürmer ''Der Stürmer'' (; literally, "The Stormer / Stormtrooper / Attacker") was a weekly German tabloid-format newspaper published from 1923 to the end of World War II by Julius Streicher, the '' Gauleiter'' of Franconia, with brief suspension ...
edited by
Julius Streicher Julius Sebastian Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a German publicist, politician and convicted war criminal. A member of the Nazi Party, he served as the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reic ...
.Samuel Ettinger. Part Six. ''The Newest Period. Chapter Six. The Nazis' Rise to Power in Germany and the Genocide of European Jewry during World War II. History of the Jewish People.'' Jerusalem: ''Aliya Library'', p. 543. copies. 2001. . The result of this policy was the flight of 60,000 Jews from Germany in 1933–1934, of which 53,000 ended up in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
.Lilly Mousse. A Call to the Nations. Minsk: ''Encyclopedics'', p. 29. 500 copies. 2007. . The pinnacle of anti-Jewish legislation was the so-called
Nuremberg Race Laws The Nuremberg Laws (, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The two laws were the Law f ...
adopted on September 15, 1935. Jews were deprived of German citizenship; mixed marriages were prohibited. Subsequently, amendments were adopted to the laws, and all other racist legal norms were drawn up as an addition to these laws.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 191–198. Vol. 2. 2001. .
At the economic level, a policy of ''
Aryanization Aryanization () was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis powers, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It enta ...
'' was carried out - the transfer of property into the hands of people of German origin. At this stage, ''Aryanization'' was not associated with the forced seizure of property, but direct and indirect pressure was exerted on Jews to sell their property.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 203–204. Vol. 2. 2001. .
From 1933 to 1937, 130,000 Jews emigrated from Germany.


International reaction

In October 1933, the League of Nations Assembly created a special office for Jewish refugees from Germany, the High Commissioner for Refugees Arriving from Germany. Its head was the American professor and journalist
James Grover McDonald James Grover McDonald (November 29, 1886 – September 25, 1964) was a United States diplomat. He served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Early life McDonald was born in Coldwater, Ohio, on November 29, 1886. His parents operated a hote ...
. He began to fight for the unification of efforts to finance aid, since the League of Nations did not directly finance this work, and against restrictions on the immigration of refugees. In two years of work, he helped to settle 80 thousand Jewish refugees in Palestine.Morgun Yu
Refugees are a global problem of the 21st century.
''Belarusian Journal of International Law and International Relations''. No. 2. 2001.
Introduction to International Refugee Protection 6. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
/ref> MacDonald tried to convince the League of Nations to intervene directly, but these attempts were unsuccessful. On December 27, 1935, MacDonald resigned in protest. In an open letter on this matter, he noted: In 1936, the "British Committee for Aid to German Jews" was created. It developed active lobbying activities in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
.Samuel Ettinger. Part Six. ''The Newest Period. Chapter Six. The Nazis' Rise to Power in Germany and the Genocide of European Jewry during World War II. History of the Jewish People.'' Jerusalem: ''Aliya Library'', p. 546. copies. 2001. .


Forced emigration 1938–1939

The year 1938 was a turning point in the attitude towards Jews in Germany. After the dismissal of the pragmatist
Hjalmar Schacht Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht (); 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970) was a German economist, banker, politician, and co-founder of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank during the ...
as Minister of Economics at the end of 1937, the influence of the radical Nazis, in particular
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
, increased. Historian
Dan Michman Dan Michman (born 28 June 1947) is a Jewish historian. He is the head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem and incumbent of the John Najmann Chair of Holocaust studies. Michman was born in Amsterdam in ...
notes a direct connection between the accelerated preparations for war and the tightening of anti-Jewish policies.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 211-212. Vol. 2. 2001. .
Beginning in 1938, this policy was intensified with the aim of achieving the emigration of Jews from German territory. It included means of psychological pressure in the form of further discrimination and separation of Jews and non-Jews, economic discrimination and police pressure.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', p. 213. Vol. 2. 2001. .
Several measures were carried out throughout Germany, the purpose of which was to pit Jews against non-Jews, such as the separation of postal items and forced name changes. From June 1938, after the mandatory registration of "Jewish property", forced "Aryanization" began. Dan Michman writes that police pressure actions to force Jews to emigrate were carried out by both the SS and the police system as a whole and were distinguished by particular cruelty.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 214–217. Vol. 2. 2001. .
Professor
Marion Kaplan Marion Kaplan (born January 24, 1946) is Skirball Professor of Modern Jewish History at New York University.Faculty Page https://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/marion-kaplan.html She is a three-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award f ...
notes that Jews were literally robbed bare during their emigration, even to the point of having their gold teeth removed.Marion A. Kaplan.
Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany.
' New York: ''Oxford University Press'', pp. 131-132. 1998. (Studies in Jewish History). .
According to Michman, the apogee of forced emigration was the so-called Polish Action at the end of October 1938, when 17,000 German Jews with Polish passports were arrested and forcibly deported across the Polish border.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 221–222. Vol. 2. 2001. .


Anschluss of Austria and the establishment of the Central Bureau for Jewish Emigration

The
annexation of Austria The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany") arose after the 1871 unifica ...
was part of the official foreign policy of the Nazis from 1933.Abarenkov V. P. et al. Brief political dictionary. 4th ed., suppl. Moscow: ''Politizdat'', p. 23. p. 512. 750,000 copies. 1987. On March 12, 1938, German troops entered the country, and on March 13, the Law on the ''Reunification of Austria with the German Empire'' was published, according to which Austria was declared ''one of the states of the German Empire'' under the name '' Ostmark''. At the time of annexation to Germany, the Jewish population of Austria was 181,778 people, of whom 165,946 (91.3%) lived in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. After the
Nuremberg Laws The Nuremberg Laws (, ) were antisemitic and racist laws that were enacted in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting of the Reichstag convened during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. The two laws were the Law ...
were implemented in Austria, 220,000 people were considered Jews in Austria.Austria.
article from the
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
After the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
, which was accompanied by spontaneous pogroms,Evan Burr Buckey. Hitler's Austria: Popular Sentiment in the Nazi Era, 1938–1945. ''UNC Press Books'', p. 133, 336. 2002. . Jews became the object of organized persecution. This prompted many
Austrian Jews The history of the Jews in Austria starts after the Jewish diaspora, exodus of Jews from History of ancient Israel and Judah#Roman occupation, Judea under Roman occupation. There have been Jews in Austria since the 3rd century CE. Over the cour ...
to flee the country, mainly to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. From March 26 and throughout April, Jews were forcibly expelled from entire regions of the country - to the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 218–219. Vol. 2. 2001. .
The Anschluss was an important stage in
Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
's activities - in the part that concerned anti-Jewish policy. A forced reorganization of Jewish communities was carried out, this process was led by
Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...
. In August 1938, Eichmann founded the
Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Vienna The Central Agency for Jewish Emigration in Vienna () was a ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD-Security Service) agency established in August 1938 to accelerate the forced emigration of the Austrian Jews and (starting in October 1939) to organize and carr ...
to speed up the emigration process.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', p. 220. Vol. 2. 2001. .
In November 1938, Hermann Göring created a similar institution in Berlin. In 1939, Adolf Eichmann founded a similar bureau in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
.Adolf Eichmann.
/ref> Before the war, 100 thousand Jews left Austria.


The Evian Conference

From July 5 to 16, 1938, at the initiative of US president
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
, the
Evian Conference Evian (, ; , stylized as evian) is a French brand that bottles mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. Evian is owned by Danone, a French multinational corporation. In addition to the miner ...
was convened to address the problem of refugees from Germany and Austria, with representatives from 32 countries taking part. Not a single international organization involved in refugee assistance was represented, except for the commissioner general of the League of Nations. Representatives of the refugees themselves and Jewish organizations were not allowed to attend the conference. Of the conference participants, only the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
expressed a desire to accept refugees and provide them with land for this purpose. European countries, the United States and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
stated that they were unable to expand the quotas. Great Britain categorically refused to accept refugees either in the metropolis or in Palestine, offering to accept a small number of people in
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
.Évian Conference.
''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia.''
The result of the Evian Conference was the creation of the ''Intergovernmental Committee on Refugee Affairs'', which operated until April 1943. Australia agreed to accept 15,000 refugees over three years, and Latin American countries were also ready to accept them in small numbers. Thanks to the work of the Intergovernmental Committee, an international agreement was concluded to allow refugees in transit to cross borders without passports. Negotiations with Germany on organized emigration and on allowing refugees to take some of their property with them were fruitless due to the Nazi position. Overall, the Evian Conference did not solve the refugee problem.Telman I

Continent: magazine. May 11 (No. 19). 2009.
For the Jews of the
Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
, according to the famous statement of
Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...
(later the first president of Israel), "''The world was divided into two camps: countries that did not want Jews, and countries that did not want them in their countries.''"Berkovich, Evgeniy Mikhailovich
Odyssey of one dynasty. Triptych.
No. 2 (61). 2009.
Meanwhile, the situation for Jews continued to deteriorate and the flow of refugees continued to grow, especially after the ''
Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
'' pogroms of November 9–10, 1938."Kristallnacht".
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
Marion A. Kaplan.
Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany.
' New York: ''Oxford University Press'', p. 129. 1998. (Studies in Jewish History). .
In December 1938, Britain allowed 10,000 Jewish children to enter the country without their parents, the so-called ''
Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...
'' program. The Kindertransport Association.
/ref> The program was interrupted with the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.


Rublee-Wohlthat-Plan

On December 15, 1938,
George Rublee George Rublee (1868–1957) was a U.S. lawyer who involved himself with state and national political reform during the Progressive Era (1910-1918) and with international affairs from 1917 to 1945. Rublee spent much of his childhood in Europe, wh ...
, head of the ''
Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees The Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR), also known as the Intergovernmental Committee for Political Refugees or the Évian Committee (), abbreviated as IGC, or sometimes IGCR, was formed on July 14th, 1938Hjalmar Schacht Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht (); 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970) was a German economist, banker, politician, and co-founder of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank during the ...
, a well-known German industrialist and president of the
Reichsbank The ''Reichsbank'' (; ) was the central bank of the German Empire from 1876 until the end of Nazi Germany in 1945. Background The monetary institutions in Germany had been unsuited for its economic development for several decades before unifica ...
, to ensure the emigration from Nazi Germany Jews to the United States, Great Britain and other countries. For saving the Jews, Schacht demanded 3 billion
Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛ︁ℳ︁; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, and in the American, British and French occupied zones of Germany, until 20 June 1948. The Reichsmark was then replace ...
, which was equal to 1 billion 200 million dollars.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', pp. 239–240. Vol. 2. 2001. .
In January 1939, Hermann Göring entrusted further negotiations with Rublee to the adviser of the Ministry of Economics,
Helmuth Wohlthat Helmuth C. H. Wohlthat (4 October 1893 – 1982) was a German businessman and civil servant in Nazi Germany. From 1938, he was a chief aide to Hermann Göring in the Four Year Plan organization, and headed several high-level diplomatic and econo ...
. In February 1939, Wohlthat announced his readiness to accept the plan for the emigration of 150 thousand able-bodied Jews over 3–5 years. Then their families and dependents were to follow. During this period, Germany pledged not to put pressure on the remaining Jews. The plan was supposed to be financed from capital confiscated from the Jews and additional international aid. However, due to the violation of agreements by the German authorities and the unwillingness of the United States and other countries to accept refugees, Rublee's plan was not implemented.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', p. 241. Vol. 2. 2001. .


Persecution in Czechoslovakia

In March 1939, the Czech Republic was declared a protectorate of Germany, and
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
became its ally. Persecution of Jews began there as well. Emigrants were charged a very large emigration tax, which effectively meant confiscation of property. The total value of property confiscated by the Nazis from the Jews of
Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially- annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the German occupation of the Czech lands. The protectorate's population was mostly ethnic Czechs. After the ...
was about 12 billion
Czechoslovak koruna The Czechoslovak koruna (in Czech and Slovak: ''koruna československá'', at times ''koruna česko-slovenská''; ''koruna'' means ''crown'') was the currency of Czechoslovakia from 10 April 1919 to 14 March 1939, and from 1 November 1945 to 7 ...
. By October 1941, when the Nazis finally banned emigration, 26,629 (according to other sources, 43,000) people had left Bohemia and Moravia. The remaining Jews were confined to ghettos, 75,765 of whom died.Czechoslovakia.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''


Emigration statistics

Jewish emigration from Central Europe in 1933–1939: By the beginning of World War II, there were 370,000 Jews remaining in Germany, Austria and the
protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...
.Samuel Ettinger. Part Six. ''The Newest Period. Chapter Six. The Nazis' Rise to Power in Germany and the Genocide of European Jewry during World War II. History of the Jewish People.'' Jerusalem: ''Aliya Library'', pp. 541–560, p. 545. 3000 copies. 2001. .


World War II


Jewish refugees from Poland

With the beginning of the German army's invasion of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
on September 1, 1939, a stream of Jewish refugees from that country rushed east.Tolochko D. M.
The Problem of Refugees from Poland in Soviet-German Relations (September 1939 - June 1940).
' ''Journal of Russian and East European Historical Research.'' No. 1 (4). p. 66. 2012. .
At first, the USSR did not hinder the
Polish Jews The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...
, but then closed the borders and sent the fleeing Jews back to the territory occupied by the Germans. According to eyewitnesses, Soviet border guards also opened fire on the refugees: Gennady Kostyrchenko.
Stalin's Secret Policy: Power and Anti-Semitism.
' - 2. Moscow: ''International Relations'', p. 187. 2003. .
Subsequently, in February 1940, the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
refused Germany's offer to resettle German and Austrian Jews in
Birobidzhan Birobidzhan ( rus, Биробиджан, p=bʲɪrəbʲɪˈdʐan; , ), also spelt Birobijan ( ), is a town and the administrative centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia bord ...
and
Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine (, ) refers to the western territories of Ukraine. There is no universally accepted definition of the territory's boundaries, but the contemporary Ukrainian administrative regions ( oblasts) of Chernivtsi, I ...
.
Pavel Polian Pavel Markovich Polian (; born 31 August 1952), pseudonym: Pavel Nerler, is a Russian geographer and historian, and Doctor of Geographical Sciences with the Institute of Geography (1998) of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He authored over 300 ...

The Missing Link in the Holocaust's Prehistory.
''Emergency reserve.'' Moscow, No. 3 (47). 2006. . .
On September 21, 1939, the expulsion of Jews from the Polish territories annexed to Germany began - they were deported to the area between the
Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
and the Bug.Samuel Ettinger. Part Six. ''The Newest Period. Chapter Six. The Nazis' Rise to Power in Germany and the Genocide of European Jewry during World War II. History of the Jewish People.'' Jerusalem: ''Aliya Library'', pp. 541–560, p. 547. 3000 copies. 2001. . From October 1939 to March 1940, about 95 thousand Jews were deported from
Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
,
West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
,
Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...
, Upper East Silesia, Vienna and Moravska Ostrava to the
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
area.Нацистская политика уничтожения еврейского народа и этапы Катастрофы.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
In the autumn and winter of 1939, approximately 15,000 Polish Jews fled from Poland to
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and found temporary refuge in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
. In late 1940 - early 1941, 2,100 Jews from this group of refugees managed to leave for the
Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
- as far as
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.Polish Jews in Lithuania. Flight to Japan.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
.
Assistance to these refugees was provided by a
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
businessman, a representative of
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
and the Dutch consul in Lithuania since 1939,
Jan Zwartendijk Jan Zwartendijk (29 July 1896 – 14 September 1976) was a Dutch businessman and diplomat. As director of the Philips factories in Lithuania and part-time acting consul of the Dutch government-in-exile, he supervised the writing of 2,345 visas f ...
, who began issuing Jews certificates for entry into the Dutch colony of
Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...
in the
Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...
in the
Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
. The Japanese consul in Lithuania,
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania. During the Second World War, Sugihara helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so that they could travel through Japan ...
,Escape and Rescue: A Special Exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
.
issued them transit visas, since people could only reach their destination through the territory of the USSR and Japan. In total, thanks to Sugihara, from October 1940 to August 1941, 3,489 Jewish refugees from Europe entered Japan, heading primarily to the
Shanghai ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately in the Hongkou district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwestern Yangpu ...
. In early 1941, the Japanese Foreign Ministry allowed the refugees to remain in Japan or in the occupied areas of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.Vilnius.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
In early 1940, 65,796 Jewish refugees from Poland were registered in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
.Rosenblat E. S., Elenskaya I. E
Dynamics of the number and settlement of Belarusian Jews in the 20th century.
''Population and society'': bulletin. March 18 (issue 105-106). 2003.
The total number of Jewish refugees from western Poland to the USSR is estimated by various sources at between 200,000 and 500,000 people.Iofe E

Collection. — Minsk, Vol. 2. 2003.
From the end of June 1940, after the annexation of Lithuania,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
,
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
,
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
and
Northern Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...
to the USSR, large-scale
deportations Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...
began inland as special settlers of "''socially dangerous elements''" and refugees, among whom were 82-84% Jews. About 100,000 Jewish refugees were
deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...
in this way, mainly to the northern logging sites of the USSR. Gennady Kostyrchenko.
Stalin's Secret Policy: Power and Anti-Semitism.
' - 2. Moscow: ''International Relations'', p. 190. 2003. .
Some of them subsequently joined the Polish Anders Army to take part in the fight against Nazism.Gutman I.
Jews in Anders' Army, formed in the USSR.
' Daniil Romanovsky, David Zilberklang. Yad Vashem: studies: collection. Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', Vol. 2. p. 123. 2010. .
On February 18, 1943, a group of Polish Jews (369 adults and 861 children, including 719 orphans and 142 children with one or both parents) arrived in Palestine after almost 4 years of painful wanderings, including flight from Poland to the USSR, evacuation to
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
, transfer to
Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (; ; ) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters region. Demographics Population: Etymology The Rus ...
, and from there to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, an orphanage in Iran from August 1942 and travel to Palestine via
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
and Sinai.Black I
"Tehran Children" - the unknown story of the salvation of Jewish children.
''
Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...
.'' September 18, 2008.


Germany's attack on the USSR and the evacuation of Jews

After Germany attacked the USSR and occupied the western part of the country, Jews living in the USSR became victims of Nazi persecution. Some of them managed to evacuate to the east and south of the country. Semyon Shveibish, an employee of the Jerusalem University, wrote that by the beginning of the war, 4,855 thousand Jews lived in the USSR (excluding refugees from the occupied part of Poland and from
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
), including 4,095 thousand in the territory that was occupied during the war. Of these, 1.2-1.4 million Jews were evacuated to the Soviet rear.Potemkina M.N
Evacuation and national relations in the Soviet rear during the Great Patriotic War.
''Domestic history'': journal. No. 3. 2002.
According to historian
Dov Levin Dov Levin (; December 1, 1925 – June 27 or 28, 2001) was an Israeli jurist in the Supreme Court justice in 1982–1995. He served, most notably as one of the judges in the trial of John Demjanjuk. Biography Dov Levin was born in Tel Aviv to Eliy ...
, the number of those who left for evacuation was 1-1.5 million peopleDov Levin. ''The Attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Rescue of Jews.'' Ed. by Michael Robert Marrus. Part 8: ''Bystanders to the Holocaust.'' The Nazi Holocaust: ''Historical Articles on the Destruction of European Jews.'' Munich: De Gruyter Saur, Vol. 3. p. 1128. 1989. . Historian Albert Kaganovich in his 2023 monograph "The Tashkent Front: Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Rear" believes that, considering the flight of Jews, including from places that were never occupied, the total number of Jewish refugees was over 2 million people.Albert Kaganovich. "Tashkent Front": Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Rear. Moscow: ''M. Greenberg Library''; Bookmen, 2023. p. 11. . At the same time, no more than 100 thousand managed to evacuate from the western territories annexed to the USSR after 1939, where more than 2 million Jews lived.Smilovitsky L. L. Evacuation and flight from Turov. Summer 1941. Comp. Ya. Basin. Lessons of the Holocaust: History and Modernity: ''Collection of scientific papers.'' Minsk: ''Kovcheg'', Issue 3. p. 82. 2010. . Researcher Solomon Schwartz, author of the book "''Jews in the Soviet Union since the Beginning of World War II,''" published in 1966 in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, claimed that nothing was done in the USSR for the timely evacuation and rescue of Jews from the Nazis. However, historian Maria Potemkina believes that this thesis distorts reality. According to the Central Statistical Administration of the USSR, of the population subject to evacuation (excluding children from evacuated children's institutions) registered on September 15, 1941, the share of Jews was 24.8% (second place after
Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
- 52.9%). Thus, the percentage of evacuees from the total Jewish population living in the western regions of the USSR was higher than that of representatives of other peoples, except for Russians. Dov Levin claims that the decision to evacuate did not affect the fate of the Jews in the territories annexed to the USSR in 1939 at all, since it was made when most of these territories had already been captured by the Germans.Dov Levin.
A Fateful Decision: The Flight of Jews to the Interior of the USSR in the Summer of 1941.
' Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', V. 1. p.47. 2009. .
In turn, Albert Kaganovich writes that a number of post-Soviet authors, including Potemkina, adhere to the patriotic principle of "''not airing dirty linen in public''" and deliberately promote an embellished concept of "''successful absorption''" of refugees.Albert Kaganovich. "Tashkent Front": Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Rear. Moscow: ''M. Greenberg Library''; Bookmen, 2023. p. 17. . Both those evacuated by order of the government and those who fled on their own initiative could use the services of 128 evacuation centers, 100 refugee aid stations, and hundreds of hot water distribution points distributed along the routes from the border regions to the east as far as the
Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.
. However, there were also attempts to forcibly hinder the evacuation of the population, especially in the context of the rapid advance of German troops and the growing administrative chaos.Dov Levin. ''The Attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Rescue of Jews.'' Ed. by Michael Robert Marrus. Part 8: ''Bystanders to the Holocaust.'' The Nazi Holocaust: ''Historical Articles on the Destruction of European Jews.'' Munich: De Gruyter Saur, Vol. 3. pp. 1125—1127. 1989. . Thousands of evacuees were detained at the old Soviet Polish, Soviet Latvian, etc. borders, and Soviet soldiers threatened to shoot them if they tried to reach the interior of the USSR. In other places (for example, in Bessarabia), the authorities and the military helped Jews who, both in an organized manner and spontaneously, fled to the east.Dov Levin.
A Fateful Decision: The Flight of Jews to the Interior of the USSR in the Summer of 1941.
' Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', V. 1. p.62. 2009. .
There were also problems with the transportation and resettlement of refugees after leaving the western regions of the USSR: many had to wait for trains for several days or even weeks (in early December 1941, there were 40-45 thousand people at 5-6 junction stations in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, including 12-15 thousand in
Jambyl Jambyl or Zhambyl Region (; ), formerly known as Dzhambul Region () until 1991, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is Taraz. The population of the region is 1,209,665; the city is 335,100. The region borders Kyrgyzstan, and is v ...
); the mortality rate on the way was high (in February 1942, 26 out of 240 students of a vocational school died during the move from
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
to Stalinsk in
Novosibirsk Oblast Novosibirsk Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative center, administrative and economic center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of N ...
). There are known cases of forced deportation of refugees: for example, from November 25 to December 5, 1941, 36,500 refugees from among former Polish citizens were deported from
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
to Kazakh
collective farms Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member-o ...
, and on December 8, 1941, 21,500 refugees who had accumulated at the railway stations of Kazakhstan were sent to collective farms in the south of
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
. Even though many Jewish refugees had no experience of heavy agricultural work, people resettled on collective farms received food only on condition that they worked on them. Housing was often provided by forced resettlement with local residents. There were epidemics of
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
,
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
and
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
,
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
,
measles Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, blood blister") is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by Measles morbillivirus, measles v ...
, and
scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...
. Despite the efforts of the central authorities, refugees often encountered anti-Semitism everyday among the population and local party organs.Albert Kaganovich. Jewish Refugees in Kazakhstan During World War II.
History. Memory. People. ''Proceedings of the V International Conference'' (October 28, 2010, Almaty). Almaty, p. 13-31. 2011.
Noting the fact of the relatively high number of evacuated Jews, researchers point out that the evacuation was carried out in areas of the former "''
Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...
''", where there were initially more Jews than in other areas of the country.Medvedev Yu
Fact without the right of correspondence.
''Rossiyskaya Gazeta''. issue 5291 (212). September 21, 2010.
Dov Levin suggests that the fact that many Jews were members of the Communist Party, and the evacuation of party and
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
activists was considered one of the priorities for the Soviet government (for example, 55.2% of all members of the local Communist Party, 2,553 people, were evacuated from the
Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
, which was occupied for just three days), influenced the increase in the percentage of Jews among the evacuees compared to the percentage in the population.Dov Levin. ''The Attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Rescue of Jews.'' Ed. by Michael Robert Marrus. Part 8: ''Bystanders to the Holocaust.'' The Nazi Holocaust: ''Historical Articles on the Destruction of European Jews.'' Munich: De Gruyter Saur, Vol. 3. p. 1126. 1989. . Summarizing the situation, Levin concludes that "''the view accepted in pro-Soviet circles, according to which the Soviet government organized the rescue of its Jewish citizens during the Second World War, has no basis.''"Dov Levin.
A Fateful Decision: The Flight of Jews to the Interior of the USSR in the Summer of 1941.
' Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', V. 1. p.64. 2009. .


Ghettos and deportations to death camps

In the cities of the occupied territory, Jewish ghettos were created, where the Nazis drove the entire Jewish population of the city and its environs under threat of death. The largest ghettos in the USSR were the
Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
and
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
ghettos. Later, the ghetto population was exterminated or taken to death camps.Ghetto.
''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust''.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
The number of
Soviet Jews The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "Fo ...
who ended up in the territory occupied by the Germans amounted to 2.75–2.9 million people, almost all of them died.Statistical data. ''The destruction of Jews in the USSR during the German occupation (1941–1944).'' Collection of documents and materials.
Yitzhak Arad Yitzhak Arad (; né Icchak Rudnicki; November 11, 1926 – May 6, 2021) was an Israeli historian, author, IDF brigadier general and Soviet partisan. He also served as Yad Vashem's director from 1972 to 1993, and specialised in the history of ...
. Jerusalem: ''Yad Vashem'', 1991. pp. 6-7. .
Thus, by December 1941, 80% of the 300,000 Jews in the
Baltics The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
had been killed by the Nazis and their accomplices.Statistical data. ''The destruction of Jews in the USSR during the German occupation (1941–1944).'' Collection of documents and materials.
Yitzhak Arad Yitzhak Arad (; né Icchak Rudnicki; November 11, 1926 – May 6, 2021) was an Israeli historian, author, IDF brigadier general and Soviet partisan. He also served as Yad Vashem's director from 1972 to 1993, and specialised in the history of ...
. Jerusalem: ''Yad Vashem'', 1991. p. 14. .
At the same time, Jewish ghettos were created in the occupied countries of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
, primarily in Poland. All Jews, including Jews from
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
, were also forcibly resettled there under threat of death. The largest was the
Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...
, which held about 450 thousand prisoners, and there were also large ghettos in the cities of
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
,
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
,
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...
, and
Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
. The Nazis and their collaborators deported almost 76 thousand Jews from France, and only 3% of them survived the
Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. 100 thousand
Dutch Jews The history of the Jews in the Netherlands largely dates to the late 16th century and 17th century, when Sephardic Jews from Portugal and Spain began to settle in Amsterdam and a few other Dutch cities, because the Netherlands was an unusual ...
died in extermination camps.Klein B
Exposing Europe.
''Cascade: newspaper''. No. 335. June 11, 2009.
In total, about 800 ghettos were created, which held at least a million Jews. Most of the Jews resettled in ghettos in Europe were killed by the Nazis.


Refugee Reception Statistics

Countries that accepted Jewish refugees in 1933–1943 (except for those temporarily evacuated during the war deep into the USSR):Refugees.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
The countries that had taken in the most Jewish refugees from the Third Reich (as a percentage of their own population) before the war—France, Belgium, and Holland—were themselves soon occupied by the Nazis, leaving the Jews with virtually nowhere else to go. The United States, which took in the most refugees in terms of total numbers, could have saved many more if it had wanted to, according to many commentators, since it took in a tiny fraction of its population—1/1000.The United States of America and the Holocaust.
''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust''.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
.
Alexander Riman
Jews at Three Dollars a Piece.
''Vesti'': newspaper. August 21, 2003.
The total number of Jewish displaced persons is estimated at 7 million, most of whom died.


Aftermath of World War II

After the end of the war, many refugees continued to seek refuge in Palestine. By the end of the war, more than 200,000 Jews were in refugee camps in Europe.''Holocaust. Resistance. Revival. The Jewish People during World War II and the Post-War Period (1939–1948)'' Study Guide edited by I. Altman and P. Agmon. - Moscow: ''Holocaust Foundation'', p. 184. 2000. . In Poland, the Jews who survived the Holocaust were again persecuted. The unwillingness of the Poles to return Jewish property appropriated during the war and conflicts with the new government, which included Jews, led to numerous attacks on Jews - from November 1944 to December 1945, 351 Jews were killed in such attacks.Poland. Jews of Poland in the Postwar Period.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
David Engel
Patterns Of Anti-Jewish Violence In Poland, 1944–1946.
''Yad Vashem Studies''. Vol. XXVI 10. Yad Vashem (1998).
The largest of the anti-Semitic actions was the pogrom in Kielce on July 4, 1946, during which 42 Jews were killedAnti-Jewish violence in Poland. ''The Times''. p. 4. July 4, 1946. and more than 40 were wounded. These events caused a mass emigration of Jewish survivors from Poland. Of the 380,000 Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust, 100,000 remained in Poland by the end of 1946. Pogroms and the growth of anti-Semitism were also observed in Hungary and other countries of post-war Europe. The underground organization
Bricha Bricha (), also called the Bericha Movement, was the underground organized effort that helped Jewish Holocaust survivors escape Europe post-World War II to the British Mandate for Palestine in violation of the White Paper of 1939. It ended w ...
helped refugees reach Palestine.Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', Vol. 6. pp. 255–274. 2001. .
''Holocaust. Resistance. Revival. The Jewish People during World War II and the Post-War Period (1939–1948)'' Study Guide edited by I. Altman and P. Agmon. - Moscow: ''Holocaust Foundation'', p. 189. 2000. . During the period 1945–1948, 66 ships with 70,000 illegal immigrants arrived in Palestine. Of these, 64 ships were sent from Europe and two from
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
. However, Great Britain continued to pursue a strict policy of restricting immigration towards the surviving victims of the Holocaust; from the autumn of 1946, illegal refugees were deported to special concentration camps created in
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
,Lesson 32: The fight against the British - illegal immigration and settlement activity.
''History of Zionism''. Teaching materials.
Jewish Agency for Israel The Jewish Agency for Israel (), formerly known as the Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. It was established in 1929 as the operative branch of the World Zionist Organization (WZO). As an ...
.
where 51,500 people were interned.Aliyah.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
Passengers of ships carrying illegal immigrants often put up fierce resistance to the British during deportation, which sometimes led to casualties among the refugees, for example, three were killed and 28 were wounded when the ship '' Exodus-1947'' was captured by British sailors. The violence against refugees and the outrage of the world community over these facts played a significant role in the discussion of the decision to partition Palestine and create the
State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
."Illegal" Immigration.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
After the creation of Israel in May 1948, its government declared repatriation an inalienable right of every Jew. The report of the Special Subcommittee on Displaced Persons of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives of January 20, 1950, stated that Israel allows all Jews into the country regardless of any criteria, regardless of age, profession, social status, etc. The last camp for Jewish displaced persons in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
was closed in 1953.Displaced People.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
In the USSR, the re-evacuation of Jews encountered problems. Those returning were often met with hostility both due to the massive impact of Nazi propaganda during the occupation and in connection with attempts by Jews to return housing and property seized by their neighbors during their absence. The situation is particularly difficult in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
, where several anti-Semitic incidents have occurred, including pogroms and murders.Albert Kaganovich. "Tashkent Front": Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Rear. Moscow: ''M. Greenberg Library''; Bookmen, 2023. pp. 384-397. .


Obstacles to refugees and rescue attempts

Many countries, fearing an influx of refugees, created obstacles and refused to grant them entry permits. Even news of the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis did not become a reason to revise the anti-immigration policy. The authorities of pre-war France, which was experiencing the effects of the global economic crisis, feared that Jewish refugees would worsen the problem of unemployment. Already at the end of 1933, the representative of France in the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees announced that France would only be a transit country, but not a final destination for refugees.Vicky Caron. Uneasy Asylum: France and the Jewish Refugee Crisis, 1933–1942. Stanford: ''Stanford University Press'', 1999. p. 15-16. p. 605. ''Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture''. . The mass deportation of Polish Jews from France in the autumn of 1938 provoked the unemployed
Herschel Grynszpan Herschel Feibel Grynszpan (Yiddish: הערשל פײַבל גרינשפּאן; German language, German: ''Hermann Grünspan''; 28 March 1921 – last rumoured to be alive in 1945, declared dead in 1960) was a History of Jews in Poland, Polish-Jew ...
to attempt to assassinate the German diplomat
Ernst vom Rath Ernst Eduard vom Rath (3 June 1909 – 9 November 1938) was a member of the German nobility, a Nazi Party member, and German Foreign Office diplomat. He is mainly remembered for his assassination in Paris in 1938 by a Polish Jewish teenager, ...
, who died of his wounds two days later. The Nazi Germany regime took advantage of this assassinationEuronews: "Kristallnacht" lasting several years.
/ref> attempt to carry out a mass pogrom against the Jewish community under the slogan "''Revenge for the murder of Ernst vom Rath''", which became known as "''Kristallnacht''". Many refugees, especially from Germany and Austria, sought to reach neutral
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. However, the
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
authorities, fearing an influx of refugees, already in the second half of the 1930s banned immigration and allowed only transit. From October 1938, at the request of the Swiss government, Third Reich border guards stamped the passports of departing Jews with the stamp ''"J"'' - ''"Jude"'' (Jew). In August 1942, the Swiss Federal Police issued an instruction according to which "''refugees who have become such solely due to persecution on racial grounds cannot be considered political emigrants''". Many German, Austrian and French Jews were handed over to the Nazis or deported back.Switzerland.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
The Swiss who helped Jews cross the border illegally were subject to criminal prosecution. In 1937, due to the impossibility of legal immigration to Palestine for most of the Jewish refugees, the
Zionists Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...
created an organization for illegal immigration –
Mossad LeAliyah Bet The Mossad LeAliyah Bet (, ) was a branch of the paramilitary organization Haganah in British Mandatory Palestine, and later the State of Israel, that operated to facilitate Jewish immigration to British Palestine. During the Mandate period, it ...
. Before the proclamation of Israel in 1948, this organization illegally transported more than 16,000 Jews to Palestine before the end of the war and more than 70,000 from 1945 to 1948.Roger Powers S. Protest, Power, and Change: ''An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women's Suffrage''. Routledge, p. 395. p. 640. 2012. . The
White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...
of British colonial secretary
Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald (17 August 1901 – 11 January 1981) was a British politician and diplomat. He was initially a Labour Party (UK), Labour Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP), but in 1931 followed his father ...
was published on May 7, 1939, after the failure of the St James's Palace Conference regarding the future of the Palestine Mandate. It stated that "''the aim of His Majesty's Government is to establish within ten years an independent Palestinian State."'' Over the next five years, the number of Jewish immigrants was not to exceed 75,000 people, and the Jewish population was to be no more than 1/3 of the population of Palestine. After 5 years, the entry of Jews into the country was prohibited "''if the Arabs of Palestine object to immigration,''" and the purchase of land by Jews was prohibited or limited.The White Book.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
However, Arab immigration was not limited. Mitchell Bard. The British Mandate Period. Myths and facts. A Guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Translation by A. Kuritsky. - Moscow: ''Jewish Word'', pp. 27-2, p 478. 5000 copies. 2007. By 1944, out of 75 thousand immigration visas, only 51 thousand were used. The restrictions were slightly relaxed, and Great Britain allowed the entry of Jewish refugees into Palestine in the amount of up to 18 thousand people per year.Abolition of the Mandate.
Origins and History of the Palestine Problem 1917–1988. UN.
Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...
and other underground Jewish groups in Palestine tried to hinder the immigration policy of the British authorities. Thus, in November 1940, in the
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
roadstead, Haganah bombers blew up the ship '' Patria'', which had 1,700 immigrants from Europe on board, in the hope of preventing the forced deportation of refugees to
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. According to the organizers of the explosion, the plan was to damage one of the compartments with the explosion, but the hole was too big, and 250 refugees drowned.
Benny Morris Benny Morris (; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. Morris was initially associated with the ...
. Righteous Victims. ''Vintage books'', p. 163, p. 784. 2001. .
A similar policy against Jewish immigration was carried out by the United States - over a 10-year period, from 1933 to 1943, the total number of unused quotas in the United States was 1,244,858.Arthur D. Morse
While six million died; a chronicle of American apathy.
''Random House'', p
130.
p. 420.
American historian
Joseph Telushkin Joseph Telushkin (born 1948) is an American rabbi and writer. He has authored more than 15 books, including volumes about Jewish ethics, Jewish literacy, as well as the book ''Rebbe'', a ''New York Times'' bestseller released in June 2014. Biogr ...
notes that according to public opinion polls, "''the majority of Americans were against the access of a significant number of Jewish refugees to the country.''" The attitude in the United States to the problem of Jewish refugees before entering the war was characterized by
Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( ; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born Israeli statesman, biochemist, and Zionist leader who served as president of the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization and later as the first pre ...
in his book "Trials and Errors", published in 1949: The quintessence of
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
immigration policy was the statement of one of the employees of the relevant department: in response to the question of how many Jews Canada could accept, he replied: ''None is Too Many.'' As a result, Canada accepted fewer refugees than any other Western country.Michael R. Angel Elizabeth Dafoe
Review: Irving Abella and Harold Troper, None is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933–1948.
Manitoba History. - Manitoba: ''University of Manitoba'', Iss. 7. 1984. .
The most famous example of anti-immigration policy towards Jewish refugees was the fate of the steamship ''
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
'', which left Hamburg for Cuba on May 13, 1939, with 936 passengers on board, including 930 Jews. Even though large sums of money were paid for tickets and a guarantee of return in case of refusal to accept, and the majority had a Cuban visa, the Jews were unable to disembark in Cuba. Cuba accepted only 27 passengers of the ''St. Louis''. The passengers of the steamship were also unable to disembark in the United States or Latin American countries. Direct appeals to US president Roosevelt to save at least some of the passengers, including more than 400 women and children, were of no help. The
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an WP:SOAP, advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a J ...
made gigantic efforts, hiring lawyers and offering large sums of money as guarantees, but all was in vain. The ship headed back to Europe. By the time of its arrival in June, an agreement had been reached that 2/3 of the refugees would be accepted by Belgium, Holland and France, and 1/3 by Great Britain. Moreover, it was emphasized that this precedent would not be the basis for making decisions in the future. As a result, it is estimated that only 288 of the passengers of the St. Louis who disembarked in England and 278 of the 619 who disembarked in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
and were accepted by France, Belgium and Holland survived the Holocaust and the war.Voyage of the St. Louis.
''Holocaust Encyclopedia''.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
.
In addition to accepting Jewish refugees, there was also the problem of repatriating its own Jewish citizens who found themselves under German occupation. After 1943,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
created serious problems for the repatriation of its own citizens of Jewish nationality from France and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, although they were in mortal danger. Similar problems arose with the repatriation of
Turkish Jews The history of the Jews in Turkey ( or ; ; () covers the 2400 years that Jews have lived in what is now Turkey. There have been Romaniotes, Jewish communities in Anatolia since at least the beginning of the common era. Anatolia's Jewish popu ...
.Yanovitsky A
Imaginary salvation: two neutral states of Europe and the Holocaust.
''Lechaim'': magazine. November, 2008. (No. 11 (199)).
The transportation of Jews by sea during the war often ended with the death of ships and passengers. Thus, on February 24, 1942, in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
, the Soviet submarine '' Shch-213'' sank the Bulgarian ship '' Struma'' with 769 refugees on board, only one passenger was saved.Rohwer Jürgen. Allied submarine attacks of World War Two: European theater of operations, 1939—1945. - Annapolis: ''Naval Institute Press'', p. 107, p. 252. 1997. .Ariel Ben Solomon
Turkish government commemorates Jews killed in 1942 ‘Struma’ tragedy.
''The Jerusalem Post'' (February 25, 2015).
On August 5, 1944, a Soviet submarine sank the
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
ship '' Mefkura'' with more than 300 Jewish refugees on board on its way to Palestine.Submarine of the SS (Boredom) class.
uboat.net.
Ioanid R
Ransom of the Jews: The Story of Extraordinary Secret Bargain Between Romania and Israel.
Dee, Ivan R. Publisher, p 21, p. 240. 2005. .
On April 19–30, 1943, the Anglo-American
Bermuda Conference The Bermuda Conference was an international conference between the United Kingdom and the United States held from April 19 to 30, 1943, at Hamilton, Bermuda. The topic of discussion was the question of Jewish refugees who had been liberated by All ...
was held, dedicated to the problem of refugees from the countries occupied by the Nazis. The Bermuda Conference failed to even repeal the White Paper of 1939, which limited Jewish immigration to Palestine to an insignificant figure of 75 thousand people over 5 years compared to the total number of refugees, although this was one of the most important demands of Jewish organizations. The only achievement of the Bermuda Conference was the resumption of the activities of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, which was created at the
Évian Conference The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains, France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany. It was the initiative of United States President Franklin ...
.Bermuda Conference.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
By October 1, 1943, in less than three weeks, 7 thousand Jews from
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
were transported to neutral
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
by the Danish anti-Nazi underground. The Nazis managed to deport only 472 Danish Jews to concentration camps.Denmark.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
In
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, they managed to save 930 of the approximately 1,800 Jews, also transporting them to Sweden.Norway.
''Holocaust Encyclopedias''.
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
In 1944, Swedish diplomat
Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. In ...
managed to save thousands of Jews in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
using forged documents.Raoul Wallenberg
''Holocaust Encyclopedias''.
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
The last major attempt to save Jews was made in 1944 by Rudolf Kastner. He negotiated with the Nazis to allow Jews to leave the occupied territories for neutral countries in exchange for the delivery of 10,000 trucks with food for the German army ("Blood for goods"). An agreement was not reached, but Kastner managed to get 1,686
Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...
to leave for Switzerland by paying a large sum of money.Kastner Regier Rudolf.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
Melamid L
The Kastner Case, 50 Years Later.
''Cursor''. August 4, 2005.


Holocaust Victim Compensation

As a result of the persecution and extermination of Jews during the Holocaust, a huge number of people lost their property and suffered material deprivation. At the same time, Jewish property was often appropriated by persecutors and simply neighbors and was also confiscated by the states where they lived. On September 20, 1945, the chairman of the Jewish Agency, Chaim Weizmann, appealed to the governments of the four powers that occupied Germany with a request to return the Jewish property confiscated by the Nazis to their owners, and if the owners were no longer alive, then to transfer the property to authorized Jewish organizations that would spend the funds on the rehabilitation of the health of Holocaust victims. Later, in 1951, the State of Israel officially made similar demands.German Reparations.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
Israel demanded that Germany reimburse the costs of accepting 500 thousand people - refugees from Europe - on its territory. The costs were estimated at $3,000 per person, for a total of $1.5 billion. In addition, a demand was made to compensate for the loss of property in the amount of $6 billion. The United States, Great Britain and France declared that they were bound to Germany by the Paris Reparations Treaty and could not demand new reparations. The Soviet Union ignored the demands. However, in September 1951, German chancellor
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
declared his readiness to discuss the possibility of paying compensation, and on September 10, 1952, an
agreement Agreement may refer to: Agreements between people and organizations * Gentlemen's agreement, not enforceable by law * Trade agreement, between countries * Consensus (disambiguation), a decision-making process * Contract, enforceable in a court of ...
was signed under which Germany was to pay Israel 3 billion marks in goods over 14 years. An agreement was also signed with the
Claims Conference The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or Claims Conference, represents the world's Jews in negotiating for compensation and restitution for victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs. According to Section 2(1)(3) of the Prop ...
on the adoption of laws for the direct payment of compensation to victims of Nazi persecution and the payment of 450 million German marks to assist in rehabilitation and resettlement. In addition, under the Federal Compensation Act of September 18, 1953, certain categories of individuals and legal entities were entitled to compensation, including 270 thousand Jews. Several other compensation programs were subsequently adopted, under which tens and hundreds of thousands more people received payments. The total amount of compensation paid was more than 50 billion dollars.Claims Conference.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
Several governments that had previously been occupied by the Nazis and their Nazi-allied countries in Europe also committed themselves, decades after the war, to the restitute of Jewish property that had been confiscated in 1939–1945, as well as by the communist regimes of Eastern Europe after the end of the war. Such programs were adopted in Hungary,Vyacheslav Yakubenko
Restitutions in Eastern Europe.
Jews of Eurasia. ''Eurasian Jewish Congress'', (No. 1 (2)). March, 2003.
Poland, Norway,Berit Reisel, Bjarte Bruland

''The Reisel-Bruland Report on the Confiscation of Jewish Property in Norway During the War''. The Norwegian Restitution Committee (1988).
BelgiumCompensation for Holocaust Victims.
Jewish News Agency (March 12, 2008).
and Lithuania.
NEWSru, July 14, 2009.
Significant funds from Holocaust victims were appropriated by Swiss banks. Several lawsuits were held in 1996–1998, as a result of which Swiss banks were obliged to pay Holocaust victims $1.25 billion and publish a list of unclaimed accounts from that time to search for owners and heirs.Holocaust: Claims Time Expires.
BBC News Russian BBC News Russian () – formerly BBC Russian Service () – is part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of nearly 40 languages it provides. History The BBC's first Russian-language broadcast was a translation of a speech ...
, August 6, 2001.


Representation in Art

The most famous literary work describing the fate of Jewish refugees was the best-selling novel
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
by American writer
Leon Uris Leon Marcus Uris (August 3, 1924 – June 21, 2003) was an American author of historical fiction who wrote many bestselling books, including '' Exodus'' (published in 1958) and ''Trinity'' (published in 1976). Uris was a co-founder of the Write ...
, published in 1958 and published in 50 languages with a total circulation of over 7 million copies.Juris Leon.
article from the ''
Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia The ''Shorter Jewish Encyclopedia'' (''SJE''; ) was published in 11 volumes in Jerusalem from 1976 to 2005 in Russian by the Society for Research on Jewish Communities with the support of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The ''SJE'' is the only ...
''
The main historical background of the novel is the return of Jews to Eretz Israel from the end of the 19th century until the creation of the State of Israel. A filmExodus.
''
IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
''
of the same name was made based on this book in 1960 and the
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
''Ari'' was staged on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
in 1971."Miss Universe, Juris and the Archives", materials of the Harry Ransom Research Center.
/ref>Ari
/ref>Poster of the musical
/ref> Winfried Sebald's novel The Emigrants tells, among other things, about the persecution of Jews in pre-war Germany. This topic is also raised in
Remarque Erich Maria Remarque (; ; born Erich Paul Remark; 22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970) was a German novelist. His landmark novel ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1928), based on his experience in the Imperial German Army during World War ...
's novels ''
Flotsam In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are terms for various types of property lost or abandoned at sea. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A ...
'' and '' Shadows in Paradise''.M. S. Raizman
At the Crossroads. About the novel by E.M. Remarque "Love Thy Neighbor"
/ref>
/ref> The documentary film
Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately in the Hongkou district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwestern Yangpu ...
(2002) tells the story of German Jews who fled Nazi persecution and ended up in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in the late 1930s.Shanghai Ghetto.
''
IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
''
Shanghai Ghetto.
shanghaighetto.com


References


Literature

* Basin, Yakov Zinovievich.
The Jewish Question and the Emigration Policy of Germany and the USA in 1933-38.
' ''Notes on Jewish History'': Magazine. October (issue 16 (119)). 2009. * Gutman I.
Jews in Anders' Army, formed in the USSR.
' Daniil Romanovsky, David Zilberklang. Yad Vashem: studies: collection. Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', Vol. 2. pp. 121–176. 2010. . * Albert Kaganovich. "Tashkent Front": Jewish Refugees in the Soviet Rear. Moscow: ''M. Greenberg Library''; Bookmen, 2023. p. 448. . * Gennady Kostyrchenko.
Stalin's Secret Policy: Power and Anti-Semitism.
' - 2. Moscow: ''International Relations'', p. 784. 2003. . * Dov Levin.
A Fateful Decision: The Flight of Jews to the Interior of the USSR in the Summer of 1941.
' Jerusalem: ''
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
'', V. 1. 2009. . * Dov Levin. ''The Attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Rescue of Jews.'' Ed. by Michael Robert Marrus. Part 8: ''Bystanders to the Holocaust.'' The Nazi Holocaust: ''Historical Articles on the Destruction of European Jews.'' Munich: De Gruyter Saur, Vol. 3. pp. 1118–1129. 1989. . * Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', Vol. 2. 2001. . * Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', Vol. 3. 2001. . * Dan Michman. ''The Catastrophe of European Jewry.'' - 1. - Tel Aviv: ''
Open University of Israel The Open University of Israel (, ''Ha-Universita ha-Ptuha'') is a distance education, distance-education university in Israel. It is one of ten public universities in Israel recognized by the Council of Higher Education (CHE). Open University ...
'', Vol. 6. 2001. . * Lilly Mousse. A Call to the Nations. Minsk: ''Encyclopedics'', p. 256. 500 copies. 2007. . * Tolochko D. M.
The Problem of Refugees from Poland in Soviet-German Relations (September 1939 - June 1940).
' ''Journal of Russian and East European Historical Research.'' No. 1 (4). pp. 66–76. 2012. * Samuel Ettinger. Part Six. ''The Newest Period. Chapter Six. The Nazis' Rise to Power in Germany and the Genocide of European Jewry during World War II. History of the Jewish People.'' Jerusalem: ''Aliya Library'', pp. 541–560, p. 687. 3000 copies. 2001. . * Statistical data. ''The destruction of Jews in the USSR during the German occupation (1941-1944).'' Collection of documents and materials.
Yitzhak Arad Yitzhak Arad (; né Icchak Rudnicki; November 11, 1926 – May 6, 2021) was an Israeli historian, author, IDF brigadier general and Soviet partisan. He also served as Yad Vashem's director from 1972 to 1993, and specialised in the history of ...
. Jerusalem: ''Yad Vashem'', 1991. p. 424. . * ''Holocaust. Resistance. Revival. The Jewish People during World War II and the Post-War Period (1939-1948)'' Study Guide edited by I. Altman and P. Agmon. - Moscow: ''Holocaust Foundation'', p. 344. 2000. . *
Yehuda Bauer Yehuda Bauer (; 6 April 1926 – 18 October 2024) was a Czech-born Israeli historian and scholar of the The Holocaust, Holocaust. He was a professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew Univer ...
.
American Jewry and the Holocaust: The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, 1939-1945.
' ''Wayne State University Press'', p. 522. 1981. . * Marion A. Kaplan.
Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany.
' New York: ''Oxford University Press'', p. 304. 1998. (Studies in Jewish History). . * Thomas Albrich. ''Escapé Throwgh Austria: Evish Refugees and the Austrian Route to Palestine.'' ''Tylor & Francis Group'', 2006. . *
Irving Abella Irving Martin Abella (July 2, 1940 – July 3, 2022) was a Canadian historian who served as a professor at York University from 1968 to 2013. He specialized in the history of the Jews in Canada and the Canadian labour movement. Early life Abe ...
, ''Harold Troper. None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933-1948.'' Toronto: ''Key Porter Books'', p. 340. 2002. . * Marion Bergnann.
Continental Britons: German-Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany.
' ''Bergnann Books'', 2006. . *
Walter Laqueur Walter Ze'ev Laqueur (26 May 1921 – 30 September 2018) was a German-born American historian, journalist, political commentator, and Holocaust survivor. He was an influential scholar on the subjects of terrorism and political violence. Biograph ...

Generation Exodus: The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany.
''University Press of New England'', 2001. *
Louise London Louise Ann London is the author the book '' Whitehall and the Jews, 1933-1948'' (2000), credited as a scholarly addition to the historical interest in Jewish immigration, and shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize in 2001. London was ...
.
Whitehall and The Jews, 1933—1948: British Immigration Policy, Jewish Refugees, and the Holocaust, 1933—1948.
' ''Cambridge University Press'', p. 327. 2000. . * Pamela Rotner Sakamoto.
Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees.
' ''Praeger Publishers'', p. 216. 1998. .


External links


Refugees
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
{{commons category-inline, Jewish refugees from Nazism Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany Migration policy of Germany