Existing comment:
The Challenges of Escape
It was very difficult to immigrate to the United States. In 1924, the US Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Act in order to set limits on the maximum number of immigrant visas that could be issued per year to people born in each country.
These quotas were designed to limit the immigration of people considered "racially undesirable," including southern and eastern European Jews. After 1938, only 27,370 people born in Germany could immigrate to the United States each year.
Potential immigrants to the United States had to collect many types of documents, including proof of identity, police certificates, medical clearances, tax documents, a ship ticket, and exit permits prior to obtaining a visa. Most also had to find an American financial sponsor who had the resources to guarantee they would never become a burden on the United States.
The US government made no exceptions for refugees escaping persecution, and did not adjust the immigration laws in the 1930s or 1940s. The waiting lists for US immigrant visas grew as hundreds of thousands of Jews attempted to flee Europe. |