What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution

277 Pages·2006·1.08 MB·English

by  Gerhard Sonnert, Gerald Holton (auth.)

What Happened to the Children
Who Fled Nazi Persecution
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What Happened to the
Children Who Fled Nazi
Persecution
GERHARD SONNERT
GERALD HOLTON
WHATHAPPENEDTOTHECHILDRENWHOFLEDNAZIPERSECUTION
© Gerhard Sonnert,Gerald Holton,2006.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7625-3
All rights reserved.No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2006 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom
and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European
Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-0-230-60907-5 ISBN 978-0-230-60179-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230601796
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the
Library of Congress.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd.,Chennai,India.
First edition:December 2006
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To all those who persevered despite great odds.
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Contents
List of Tables ix
List of Figures xi
Preface by Bernard Bailyn xii
Introduction 1
1 Exodus 13
Who Left and Why 13
Through the Eyes of Children 19
Destinations 27
2 Advent 31
Situation in the United States and Official Policy 31
Organizations and Individuals Who Helped 34
Arriving in America 39
3 Settling In 47
From Refugees to Americans 48
The Children’s Experience 52
4 Socioeconomic Achievements 65
The Success of Former Refugees:
An Analysis using Who’s Who 65
The Big Picture: Representative Data About Our
Immigrant Cohort From the United States Census 71
Refugees From Central Europe and American-Born
Jews: A National Jewish Population Survey Analysis 82
Socioeconomic Status: Our Sample 88
viii Contents
5 Partial Assimilation—Complex Identities 93
Language Acquisition 94
Elements of Distinctiveness 98
Collective Identities: Ethnic Option vs. Universalism 120
6 Ingredients of Success 141
General Conditions 141
Distinctiveness Advantage and
Cultural Capital 144
Career Choice and Career Success 149
Transmission of Social Status 155
Other Effects: Family and Community
Circumstances, Age at Arrival, and Gender 165
Success out of Adversity 174
7 Anguish—Privatized Costs, Socialized Benefits 181
Enduring Trauma 181
Anguish and Achievement 186
Syndromes 187
8 Epilogue: Lessons for Current Refugees 191
Appendix: Samples and Methods 195
Notes 205
Bibliography 245
Index 257
List of Tables
1.1 Jewish Emigrants From Germany (To All Other Countries) 15
1.2 Refugee Destinations (Other Than United States) 29
2.1 Immigrant Arrivals in the United States, 1933–44 41
2.2 Percent Distribution, by Socioeconomic Groups, of the
Estimated (Adult) Refugee Arrivals, Fiscal Years Ended
June 30, 1933–44, Who had Gainful Occupations,
Compared with that of Persons in the United States
Labor Force in 1940 44
3.1 Admissions of Unaccompanied Children, by Year of Arrival 56
4.1 Former Young Refugees’ Relative Representation
Factors in Who’s Who(Compared with All
Americans of the Same Age) by Field 68
4.2 Educational Attainment (in Percentage) as
Reported in the 1970 U.S. Census 76
4.3 1970 Census Occupational Groups (in Percentage) 78
4.4 1970 Census Subgroups of Professionals and Managers
(in Percentage) 79
5.1 Percentage of Former Refugees Mentioning
Retention of European Ways in Various Areas 103
5.2 Self-Rated Traits among Former Refugees—for the
Whole Cohort, and by Gender 112
5.3 Self-Rated Traits of Listees in Who’s Who, Who’s
Who in American Jewry, and American Men and
Women of Science, Comparing Former
Refugees and American-Born 115
5.4 Self-Rated Traits of Listees in American Men and
Women of Science, Comparing Former Refugees
and Other, Later Immigrants from Germany and Austria 117
5.5 Two-By-Two Table of American and Jewish Identities 137
A1 Survey Participants 199