WWII had a number of devastating effects on Europe, from cities being physically decimated to the economy being devastated. One such effect of the war was the displacement of millions of European Men, Women, and especially children.
Image credit: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/gabersee-displaced-persons-camp
The displacement of such a massive number of people had serious implications for European nations. France, for example, felt they needed to bring in “1,400,000 to 1,500,000 immigrants in order to meet its future labour needs” (Zahra, p. 337). As detailed in the reading, France began to heavily politicize what the demographics of these potential immigrants needed to look like, as to avoid losing too much of their national identity to their huge number of incoming foreigners. A strategy France used to avoid this was to prioritize children as the highest value refugees, as children are nearly guaranteed to successfully assimilate into and become good citizens for whatever country they end up in.
Overseas, the U.S. had very different feelings on where they wanted these refugees to go. The U.S., while definitely invested in making sure these DP’s found new homes, wasn’t really interested in opening its borders to hundreds of thousands of Europeans who’s ideals may not align with that of the U.S.’ at all. While this is different from a country like France, who was very keen on bringing in immigrants to kickstart the rebuilding of its population, it shares a key sentiment in that neither country was too interested in taking on DP’s who weren’t overly likely to easily assimilate into the countries existing ideals. This can also be seen in Russia, where anti bolshevists were being shipped en masse to concentration camps and other undesirable destinations.
These readings were rather interesting for a few reasons, but a big thing that stood out to me was just how deep-rooted xenophobia seems have been, or perhaps still is, in modern, developed countries around the world. It shocked me to learn that France was rejecting thousands of refugee babies who were half French simply due to their skin color not being light enough. Why would a country that desperately needs over a million more people for the workforce in the short-medium term turn away children born to its own citizens? I think a huge reason the matter of DP’s after the war was such a problem was due to different countries being too afraid of accepting people that don’t look and think exactly like them, and that realistically there very possibly could have been just about enough room for everyone. Its sad that nations cling to their national identity so closely after a devastating event that destroyed the homes of millions, when if they had just been a bit more tolerant to others not only could the surviving victims of the war’s impact have found new homes much more easily, but the nations themselves would have had a huge influx of immigrants who likely would have been extremely thankful to be there.
I agree with you that countries were afraid to accept DP’s because they were afraid of their differences. Governments did not want to accept refugees that were going to stir up trouble because of political differences. They only want people who will assimilate into society. That is why France focused on children since they had a higher chance of becoming an ideal French citizen. Even then France still rejected many children because they did not fit the standard.
I enjoyed your post, your statement around France is interesting “as children are nearly guaranteed to successfully assimilate into and become good citizens for whatever country they end up in,” since France has now shown in more recent times its frustration with immigration. It is upsetting that DPs were essentially categorized based on needs of countries rather than being a place of refuge.
I liked how you went into detail about the effects of DPs depending on which country they tried to immigrate to. This information on the different countries government’s and how they reacted to DPs from different countries was certainly very interesting, and I’m glad you touched on that topic. Additionally, great job interpreting the text from the authors and creating a great post.