Attitudes Towards Jewish Migration to Australia in the 1930s
Describe and account for attitudes towards Jewish migration to Australia in the 1930s (distinguishing between political and public attitudes). Did Australian policy towards Jewish refugees change significantly during and after war from what had prevailed in the 1930s? How would you explain the policy continuity or change?
Throughout the 20th Century, the policy adopted by Australia towards Jewish migration can best be described as one of restriction and limitation. Australian political and public attitudes during the 1930s were influenced by fears of the Jewish community’s inability to assimilate into Australian culture, the threat that they may have posed on job security and standards of living as well as the potential for their arrival to stimulate extreme anti-Semitism problems within Australia. The outbreak of war and the publication of Jewish persecution in Europe did little to alter the feelings of insecurity towards Jewish communities in Australia. While there were some attempts to increase the arrival of Jewish people after World War II, the sentiment of the majority of the Australian population remained unchanged and restrictions on immigration were still enforced. This theme of underlying racial prejudice continued to shape Australian policy throughout this entire period.
During the 1930s, it is evident that the Coalition Government, comprised of the United Australia Party and Australian Country Party, made attempts to restrict the immigration of Jews into the country. First and foremost, the recent Australian struggle through the Depression meant that the Government was intent on protecting the job security and living standards of the Australian populace. The migration of any foreign immigrants was therefore unpopular due to the threats it placed on the Australian worker. This policy became an excuse for limiting the number of Jewish refugees accepted into Australia and resulted in an increase of the amount of landing money required to five
Throughout the 20th Century, the policy adopted by Australia towards Jewish migration can best be described as one of restriction and limitation. Australian political and public attitudes during the 1930s were influenced by fears of the Jewish community’s inability to assimilate into Australian culture, the threat that they may have posed on job security and standards of living as well as the potential for their arrival to stimulate extreme anti-Semitism problems within Australia. The outbreak of war and the publication of Jewish persecution in Europe did little to alter the feelings of insecurity towards Jewish communities in Australia. While there were some attempts to increase the arrival of Jewish people after World War II, the sentiment of the majority of the Australian population remained unchanged and restrictions on immigration were still enforced. This theme of underlying racial prejudice continued to shape Australian policy throughout this entire period.
During the 1930s, it is evident that the Coalition Government, comprised of the United Australia Party and Australian Country Party, made attempts to restrict the immigration of Jews into the country. First and foremost, the recent Australian struggle through the Depression meant that the Government was intent on protecting the job security and living standards of the Australian populace. The migration of any foreign immigrants was therefore unpopular due to the threats it placed on the Australian worker. This policy became an excuse for limiting the number of Jewish refugees accepted into Australia and resulted in an increase of the amount of landing money required to five
References: Primary Sources Internal document for discussion in Department of Interior, 6 August 1936, cited in Bartrop, Paul., Australia and the Holocaust 1933-1945, Kew, Vic: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994. Perkins, J. A., Department of Interior document for Cabinet, 2 June 1933, cited in Bartrop, Paul., Australia and the Holocaust 1933-1945, Kew, Vic: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994. Secondary Sources Bartrop, Paul R., Australia and the Holocaust 1933-45, Kew, Vic: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994. Blakeney, Michael, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, Sydney: Croom Helm Australia, 1985. Foster, John, Community of Fate: Memoirs of German Jews in Melbourne, Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1986. Jupp, James, The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, Cambridge; New York; Oakleigh, Vic: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Lack, John and Templeton, Jacqueline, Bold experiment: a documentary history of Australian Immigration since 1945, Melbourne; New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Markus, Andrew, Australian Race Relations, 1788-1993, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1994. Markus, Andrew, ‘Jewish Migration to Australia 1938-49’, Journal of Australian Studies, no. 13, 1983, pp. 18-31. Rutland, Suzanne, ‘Postwar Anti-Jewish Refugee Hysteria: A Case of Racial or Religious Bigotry’, Journal of Australian Studies, vol.77, 2003, pp.69-79, accessible at:http://www.api-network.com/main/pdf/scholars/jas77_rutland.pdf. [ 2 ]. Paul R. Bartrop, Australia and the Holocaust 1933-45, Kew, Vic: Australian Scholarly Publishing, 1994, p. 26. [ 4 ]. James Jupp, The Australian people: an encyclopedia of the nation, its people and their origins, Cambridge; New York; Oakleigh, Vic: Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 534. [ 8 ]. Andrew Markus, ‘Jewish Migration to Australia 1938-49’, Journal of Australian Studies, no. 13, 1983, p. 20. [ 9 ]. John Foster, Community of Fate: Memoirs of German Jews in Melbourne, Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1986. [ 12 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 130. [ 17 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 141. [ 24 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 146. [ 27 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 133. [ 30 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 166. [ 33 ]. Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish refugees, 1933-1948, p. 166. [ 36 ]. Suzanne Rutland, ‘Postwar Anti-Jewish Refugee Hysteria: A Case of Racial or Religious Bigotry’, Journal of Australian Studies, vol.77, 2003, pp.69-79, accessible at: http://www.api-network.com/main/pdf/scholars/jas77_rutland.pdf., p. 69. [ 37 ]. Andrew Markus, Australian Race Relations, 1788-1993, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1994, p. 160. [ 38 ]. John Lack and Jacqueline Templeton, Bold experiment: a documentary history of Australian Immigration since 1945, Melbourne; New York: Oxford University Press, 1995, p.