Flight, Expulsion, and Jewish Responses

Many Jews in Nazi Germany tried to flee antisemitic oppression. Their success depended on family considerations, financial ability, and the willingness of other countries to admit Jewish refugees.

Leaving Germany was a costly bureaucratic process. Jewish organizations worldwide tried to help, but destination options were limited. American immigration quotas denied entry to many, such as refugees on the St. Louis in 1939. At the Evian Conference in 1938, only the Dominican Republic agreed to admit refugees. Desperate Jews fled as far as Shanghai. Some sent children out of the country to safety by Kindertransport or through Youth Aliyah.