Between Relief and Politics: Refugee Humanitarianism in Occupied Germany 1945—1946

Abstract

In this article, I argue that international relief operations carried out between 1943 and 1947 under the umbrella of UNRRA went beyond their stated goal of civilian 'rehabilitation': relief efforts also contributed to the rise of a new internationalism in the aftermath of the second world war. I start my discussion with a comparison between relief operations in Europe after the first and second world wars. In contrast to 1918, humanitarian efforts in 1945 pertained to displaced persons and refugees found outside their countries of origin: an unprecedented instance of mass displacement on the European continent. Although narrowly framed in 1943 in terms of 'Relief and Rehabilitation', Western humanitarianism was tied to the broader issues of forced migration and genocide. In a second section I examine how relief operations can be seen as an illustration of the Anglo-Saxon 'human rights talk' during the wartime period. UNRRA and private welfare organizations fed, housed and clothed refugees at a time when Roosevelt's call for 'freedom from want' was translated into a new set of basic human rights. Western humanitarianism was implementing on the ground some of the general principles proclaimed by the 'human rights revolution' of the 1940s. In a third section I focus on some of the political aspects of relief operations. I discuss the place of Jewish refugees in humanitarian politics and argue that relief operations did much to recognize Jewish Holocaust survivors as a specific national entity, with important consequences for their access to self-determination. I also show how relief efforts rapidly evolved into a commitment to protect political asylum: in this way, postwar humanitarianism was part and parcel of the emergence of the 'West' in the context of the Cold War.

The Impact of War on Welfare State Development in Germany

“…The task of reintegrating all these different groups into society was enormous. Social policy change first took place under the auspices of the Allied Control Council and also partly under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) (Cohen 2008). It is important to note that the (p.59) Allied authorities intended to introduce an entirely new system of social security based substantially on the Beveridge Report.…”

What Was the Impact of Zionism on Displaced Jewish Refugees in Germany in the Aftermath of the Second World War?

“…30 Cohen argues that ‗the acceptance of these Jewish refugees coming from Eastern Europe in the American and British areas under what the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) calls ‗‗internal displacement'', was not due to their displaced status or their country of origins, but rather as an acknowledged national entity with precise migratory claims' which were added to the already vibrant Zionist politics in the camps. 31 Cohen's analysis brought him to argue that the nationalization of the Jewish people which took place in Germany, and that spread across the camps and became a pivotal movement towards the Zionist ideology, was caused by the creation of large mono-ethnic communities that included Jewish people of multiple backgrounds and nationalities who saw in the Zionist movement the only chance to escape their ineluctable destiny of ‗being Jewish'. Their individual experiences became collectivized in these DPs camps, and in this respect Ouzan argues that ‗the cultural and social life of the Jewish groups integrated both aspects of the traditional Jewish culture and the Zionist-nationalistic aspects.…”

“…32 In this communal life were posed the basis for ‗the general reaffirmation of the primacy of the nation-state as well as repatriation policies redefined the bonds of citizenship in liberated Europe'. 33 This transformation toward nationalization, in connection with the general willingness for Jewish 'self-determination, became the pivotal element for their ‗identity renewal'. In this context, the Zionist movement was able to ‗convert' these displaced people and refugees to its cause through the development of a capable program ‗that seemed to make sense after the catastrophe… Without Palestine there seemed to be no future for the Jewish people'.…”

Refugees, Development, Debt, Austerity: A Selected History

“…11 For an exploration of the transformation of assistance from charity-to welfare-based, see e.g., Bortgwardt (2005) and Cohen (2008). 12 For an overview of the Marshall Plan, including its progressive and statist orientation, see e.g., Judt (2006).…”