Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Netherlands, 1933-1940
The Dutch government was faced with a refugee influx immediately after the Nazi seizure of power. Examines Dutch refugee policy on the basis of government archives and records of refugee assistance organizations. Emphasizes that decisions made during the 1930s should not be judged in light of the Holocaust. Refugees were seen as economic competitors, and the Jewish community feared an outbreak of antisemitism. Civil servants in charge of policy saw the Netherlands as a transit point and Jews as the responsibility of the Jewish community. Only those in immediate physical danger were admitted as refugees, not Jews fleeing economic and social discrimination. After the Anschluss in Austria, the border was closed and refugees were declared "undesirable aliens." After the "Kristallnacht" pogrom, refugees were turned back, except for a small organized group of 2,000. Illegal entrants who were caught were placed in military-run camps. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism)
Print Book, English, 1986
M. Nijhoff, Dordrecht, 1986