LEADER 03706ctm a2200397Ia 4500001 149798 005 20240621183656.0 008 090311s2003 xx b 000 0 eng d 035 (OCoLC)ocn609694794 035 149798 049 LHMA 040 LHM |beng |erda |cLHM 090 F2119 |b.S54 2003 100 1 Siegel, Alisa. 245 13 An unintended haven : |bthe Jews of Trinidad 1937 to 2003 / |cby Alisa Siegel. 264 0 |c2003. 300 ix, 375 pages 336 text |btxt |2rdacontent 337 unmediated |bn |2rdamedia 338 volume |bnc |2rdacarrier 504 Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-375). 502 Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2003. 520 This is a study of the Jewish community of Trinidad. While Trinidad had brushing contacts with Jews throughout its long history, there were almost no practicing Jews in twentieth century Trinidad until the mid-1930s. At that time anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe and Nazism in Germany drove many of Europe's Jews to seek shelter in any corner of the world willing to take them. Often the search was in vain; around the world doors were closing to Jews. In an atmosphere of increasingly panicked migration, about a thousand Jewish refugees found asylum in Trinidad. This is their story. If Trinidad was entirely foreign to the Jews from Poland, Roumania, Germany and Austria who landed apprehensively on its shores, it turned out to be a relatively comfortable and welcoming haven. This thesis explores the pre-war policies that enabled Jews to enter Trinidad even after most of the world, including the British colonial world, was closed off to them. It goes on to discuss the impact of the war on these Jews, especially Trinidad's internment of German and Austrian Jews along with other enemy aliens. The thesis also explores the nature of Jewish life, organization and identity formation on the island, including intra-Jewish community divisiveness and how Jews responded to and interacted with local Trinidadians, and conversely, how an ethnically and racially diverse Trinidad responded to the arrival of the Jews. Among issues considered are the extent to which Jews adopted local habits and sensibilities and the extent to which they retained a clear sense of themselves as Europeans and more importantly as Jews. When the war ended, Jews began an exodus out of Trinidad, an exodus that would eventually empty the island of almost all of its Jews. This study reviews the reasons Trinidad turned out to be a temporary rather than permanent diaspora and what became of their former community. While this is primarily a study of the Trinidad Jewish community, it also speaks to broader issues of two-step migration, British colonial policy, international refugee movements before and during World War II, Jewish identity, and Holocaust studies. 530 Electronic version(s) |bavailable internally at USHMM. 533 Photocopy. |bAnn Arbor, Mich. : |cUMI Dissertation Services. |e22 cm. 590 Dissertations and Theses 591 Record updated by Marcive processing 21 June 2024 650 0 Jews |zTrinidad and Tobago |xHistory. 650 0 Jews |zTrinidad and Tobago |xSocial life and customs. 650 0 Jews |zTrinidad and Tobago |xIdentity. 650 0 Jewish refugees |zTrinidad and Tobago |xHistory. 651 0 Trinidad and Tobago |xEthnic relations. 856 41 |uhttp://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1192175531&sid=52&Fmt=6&clientId=54617&RQT=309&VName=PQD |zElectronic version from ProQuest 956 41 |u http://dc.ushmm.org/library/bib149798/NR15981.pdf |z Hosted by USHMM. 852 0 |bstacks |hF2119 |i.S54 2003 852 |bebook