Immigrant or Exile? Comparing U.S. and British Immigration Policies’ Influence on Jewish Refugee Identities in New York and London, 1935-1945

• In Event: Past is Present? Reconsidering Jewish Refugees and Immigration Policies of World War II in Light of Contemporary Refugee Crises

Abstract

In an age of “Muslim Bans” and anti-immigrant populist politics there is undoubtedly an urgent need to understand precisely how national immigration policies can shape refugee experience. As such, this paper contrasts specific World War II-era British and U.S. policies on immigration, employment, and freedom of movement, and demonstrates that, at least initially, Jewish refugee integration was swifter and more thorough in London than in New York. It also explores how, paradoxically, German Jews in New York identified themselves as American to a greater degree than their counterparts in London considered themselves either English or British in these early years. What accounts for this discrepancy is found in a side-by-side analysis of self-expressions of identity in refugee letters, diaries and organizational papers. This approach provides a new framework for challenging long-standing assumptions about the effects of U.S. immigration policies compared to other nations’ such as Great Britain, on daily refugee life and community development. The paper’s broader purpose is to apply conclusions of a historical comparative study to current discourse around refugee rescue and immigration.

Author

• Lori Gemeiner Bihler, Framingham State University