Description
Book SynopsisUnwelcome Exiles. Mexico and the Jewish Refugees from Nazism, 1933–1945 reconstructs a largely unknown history: during the Second World War, the Mexican government closed its doors to Jewish refugees expelled by the Nazis. In this comprehensive investigation, based on archives in Mexico and the United States, Daniela Gleizer emphasizes the selectiveness and discretionary implementation of post-revolutionary Mexican immigration policy, which sought to preserve mestizaje—the country’s blend of Spanish and Indigenous people and the ideological basis of national identity—by turning away foreigners considered “inassimilable” and therefore “undesirable.” Through her analysis of Mexico’s role in the rescue of refugees in the 1930s and 40s, Gleizer challenges the country’s traditional image of itself as a nation that welcomes the persecuted. This book is a revised and expanded translation of the Spanish El exilio incómodo. México y los refugiados judíos, 1933-1945, which received an Honorable Mention in the LAJSA Book Prize Award 2013.
Table of ContentsIntroduction Chaper 1: BACKGROUND Chaper 2: JEWISH REFUGE: A EUROPEAN PROBLEM, 1933–1937 Chapter 3: THE KEY YEAR: 1938 Chapter 4: FROM PROJECTS FOR JEWISH COLONIZATION TO GREATER INFLEXIBILITY, 1939–1940 Chapter 5: SIGNS OF A THAW? THE EARLY YEARS OF MANUEL ÁVILA CAMACHO’S GOVERNMENT, 1941–1942 Chapter 6: THE URGENCY OF REFUGE: 1943–1945 Final Thoughts Bibliography Index
