scholarly journals The St. Louis Crisis in the Canadian Press: New Data on the June 1939 Incident

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 13-40
Author(s):  
Pierre Anctil ◽  
Alexandre Comeau

Starting in late May 1939, a humanitarian crisis developed when some 900 German Jews were denied the use of prearranged Cuban temporary immigration permits in the port of Havana after having arrived on board of the MS St. Louis, a luxury German liner. The event soon attracted much media attention because of its dramatic character and negotiations immediately began to find a safe haven for the stranded passengers elsewhere on the Atlantic seacoast. Eventually, after a few days, all efforts in this respect failed and the captain of the MS St. Louis, Gustav Schröder, was forced to contemplate bringing his human cargo back to Western Europe where four countries allowed the passengers to disembark. This article discusses the involvement of the Canadian government and media in this crisis, and the role that the Mackenzie-King cabinet played in denying the German Jewish refugees any hope of being welcomed in the country. Of particular interest here is the fact that the Canadian public was not well informed of the fate of the St. Louis passengers, in either official language, and that largely for this reason no serious pressure was put on the government to bring a different resolution of the crisis. À la fin du mois de mai 1939, une crise humanitaire est apparue quand quelque 900 Juifs allemands, arrivés à bord du paquebot le Saint-Louis, n’ont pu bénéficier dans le port de La Havane de permis d’immigration temporaires cubains déjà émis. L’événement n’a pas tardé à attirer beaucoup d’attention de la part des médias par son côté dramatique et des négociations ont immédiatement été lancées afin de trouver sur la côte atlantique un autre port d’accueil pour les réfugiés apatrides. Après quelques jours, le capitaine du navire, Gustav Schröder a toutefois dû se résoudre à regagner l’Europe de l’Ouest, où quatre pays ont accepté de prendre en charge les passagers. Cet article s’intéresse au rôle joué par le gouvernement et par les médias canadiens dans cette crise, et en particulier au fait qu’aucun geste concret n’ait été fait pour accueillir les réfugiés juifs au pays. L’auteur porte une attention spéciale au fait que le sort des passagers du Saint-Louis n’ait pas fait l’objet de reportages dans les journaux canadiens, dans aucune des langues officielles, et que pour cette raison le cabinet de Mackenzie-King a senti peu de pression de la part des citoyens canadiens pour trouver une résolution différente à la crise.

Itinerario ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-187
Author(s):  
Rosa de Jong

AbstractThe authors of three recent monographs, The Escape Line, Escape from Vichy, and Nearly the New World, highlight in particular the relevance of transnational refugee and resistance networks. These books shed new light on the trajectories of refugees through war-torn Europe and their routes out of it. Megan Koreman displays in The Escape Line the relevance of researching one line of resistance functioning in several countries and thereby shifts from the common nationalistic approach in resistance research. In Escape from Vichy Eric Jennings researches the government-endorsed flight route between Marseille and Martinique and explores the lasting impact of encounters between refugees and Caribbean Negritude thinkers. Joanna Newman explores the mainly Jewish refugees who found shelter in the British West Indies, with a focus on the role of aid organisations in this flight.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Laurence

This book traces how governments across Western Europe have responded to the growing presence of Muslim immigrants in their countries over the past fifty years. Drawing on hundreds of in-depth interviews with government officials and religious leaders in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Morocco, and Turkey, the book challenges the widespread notion that Europe's Muslim minorities represent a threat to liberal democracy. The book documents how European governments in the 1970s and 1980s excluded Islam from domestic institutions, instead inviting foreign powers like Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Turkey to oversee the practice of Islam among immigrants in European host societies. But since the 1990s, amid rising integration problems and fears about terrorism, governments have aggressively stepped up efforts to reach out to their Muslim communities and incorporate them into the institutional, political, and cultural fabrics of European democracy. The book places these efforts—particularly the government-led creation of Islamic councils—within a broader theoretical context and gleans insights from government interactions with groups such as trade unions and Jewish communities at previous critical junctures in European state-building. By examining how state–mosque relations in Europe are linked to the ongoing struggle for religious and political authority in the Muslim-majority world, the book sheds light on the geopolitical implications of a religious minority's transition from outsiders to citizens. This book offers a much-needed reassessment that foresees the continuing integration of Muslims into European civil society and politics in the coming decades.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18
Author(s):  
Christina Bache

Purpose The following question drove this research: Would the pursuit of a rights-based approach, one that considers local dynamics and political sensitivities result in greater economic integration and social inclusion of Syrian refugees in Turkey? The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This piece draws on independent research the author conducted in Turkey and other frontline states to the war in Syria from 2016 to 2018. Findings Despite a shift in government policy toward Syrian refugees, without an overarching rights-based approach that includes the participation of all stakeholders and considers local dynamics and political sensitivities, enhancing the livelihood security of Syrian refugees and vulnerable members of host communities remains bleak in Turkey. Originality/value This original paper closely examines the Government of Turkey’s response to the humanitarian crisis that was precipitated by the armed conflict in Syria. The paper also examines the socioeconomic dynamics and increased tensions between the Syrian refugee and host communities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-11
Author(s):  
Ilya Leonidovich Morozov

‘Red Army Fraction’ is a youth extremist left-wing terror group that was active in the 1970–1980s on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. The terror group and its ideology originated mostly in Western German university circles. Most representatives of the group were descendants from wealthy families of high social standing. The ideology of the group included a mix of concepts related to social equity, preventing autocratic tendencies in the government machinery and interventions of Western countries against developing ‘third world’ countries and peoples. State security system of West Germany was unable to suppress the terror group for over two decades. The group finally announced its voluntary dissolution in 1998 due to a dramatic change in socio-political climate and general crisis of the left-wing political ideology. The growth of oppositional sentiments among present-day Russian young people is partially similar to the students’ unrest that had place in Western Europe in the 1960s and gave rise to terrorist groups. This makes the study of West Germany’s experience in countering the threat important.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152
Author(s):  
Khagan Balayev ◽  

On April 28, 1920, the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan was overthrown as a result of the intrusion of the military forces of Russia and the support of the local communists, the Soviet power was established in Azerbaijan. The Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan and the Council of Peoples Commissars continued the language policy of the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 28, 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan issued an instruction on the application of Russian and Turkish as languages for correspondences in the government offices. On June 27, 1924, the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic executed the resolution of the second session of the Central Executive Committee of Transcaucasia and issued a decree “on the application of the official language, of the language of the majority and minority of the population in the government offices of the republic”. Article 1 of the said decree declared that the official language in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic was Turkish.


Author(s):  
Adem Arkadas-Thibert

AbstractIt’s important that the government does not make the process to get the documents too complicated. (Western Europe/Other).


2019 ◽  
pp. 261-266
Author(s):  
Philipp Nielsen

THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT might have intended to eliminate Jewish life in Germany, and it succeeded in depriving of their German lives the individuals who illustrated the (im)possibilities of Jews being engaged on and with the German Right in this book. Yet it did not succeed in ending their lives altogether. The majority of the German Jews appearing on these pages managed to survive the Holocaust, through emigration, hiding, or perseverance in the concentration camp system. After the Holocaust they gave testimony, archived their records, and collected those of others. Without their efforts this book on German Jewish conservatives would not exist; and though it ends with their emigration—all but one never returned to Germany for any lengthy period of time—their individual stories were not over. By briefly recounting their lives after 1938, I want to conclude by paying them my respects....


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document