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My interest in the 'refugee question' of the 1930s stemmed initially from time spent as an undergraduate at Manchester University, an interest which has been expanded, via a doctoral thesis, to the writing of this book. In wri ting about the German and Austrian refugees who fled to the Netherlands before the country was occupied in May 1940, the main aim has been to re turn the 'refugee question' of the 1930s into its pre-war context,a context from which it has often been dragged to provide an introduction to the events of the war period and the policies carried out by the Germans in oc cupied Europe. A study of the Netherlands provides the opportunity to look at refugees as a whole, not just as Jews, social democrats or communists, and also to examine the reaction and response of an European government to what was essentially a unique problem. I take great pleasure in recording my gratitude to the many people who have helped me in the course of my work. To the Dutch Ministerie van On derwijs en Wetenschappen and the Twenty-Seven Foundation for grants which enabled me to spend time in the Netherlands completing the research for this project, and to the British Acadamy for their financial assistance with publication costs. The research for this book took me to many libraries and archives in a number of countries.
List of contents
I: Introduction.- II: Jewish refugees and the relief organisations.- 1. The Netherlands: Government and society in 1933.- 2. Jewish emigration from Germany.- 3. Jewish refugees and the Netherlands 1933-40.- 4. The establishment of Jewish relief organisations.- 5. The work of the Comité voor Joodsche Vluchtelingen.- 5.1. Funding and refugee relief.- 5.2. Reconstructive assistance.- 5.3 Retraining and re-emigration.- III: The Dutch government and the refugee problem.- 1. Immigration law and its enforcement before 1933.- 2. Government attitudes and admissions policy in 1933.- 3. Attempts at restriction 1934-1937.- 4. Stricter controls 1937-1938.- 5. The November pogrom.- 6. 1939: The refugee camps.- 7. International considerations.- IV: The organisation of relief for political refugees.- 1. Emigration of political refugees to the Netherlands.- 2. The German Socialist Party (SPD).- 3. The German Communist Party (KPD).- 4. Other left-wing groups.- 5. Conclusion.- V: The government and the political refugees.- 1. The Dutch government and the political refugees.- 2. Political representation of refugees in the Netherlands.- 3. German action against emigre and refugee groups.- 4. Left-wing refugees and NSDAP activists.- 5. Conclusion.- VI: Conclusion.- Notes.
