Haven in Africa

Mehr zum Buch

In the late 1930s, when almost all countries closed their doors to Jewish refugees from Germany, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) was one of the few countries which retained an open door policy for refugees. The few Jewish refugees lucky enough to learn of the existence of this haven were granted entry without any hardship. However, all the mass settlement projects to accommodate Jewish refugees, from the Mwinilunga Plan (July 1938) to the 440 Families Plan (summer 1939), were rejected by the colonial authorities. Although they provided economic reasons for their refusal to support the settlement plans, one of the main reasons was the existence of anti-alien and antisemitic sentiments among some of the Rhodesian settlers. Only 250 Jewish immigrants entered the country on an individual basis in 1938-39. The Anglo-Jewish leadership, in particular the Emigration (Planning) Committee in Great Britain, failed to inform Jews in Germany and elsewhere in Europe of the possible refuge in Northern Rhodesia and did not support the 440 Families Plan. During the war, Rhodesia accommodated tens of thousands of Polish non-Jewish refugees.