Page Six

THE JEWISH

NEWS

Friday, April 28, 1944

Migrations
Spell Progress

A Famous Historian Traces Origin and Character
of the Modern Migration Movements

By PROF. SALO W. BARON

EDITOR'S NOTE: This highly
interesting study of the origin
and character of modern migra-
tion movement formed the text
of an address delivered by Dr.
Salo W. Baron of Columbia
University at the HIAS-ICA
Training Course on Migration
Problems. It is published he-re
by special arrangements with

Rescue—the information bulle-
tin of the Hebrew Sheltering
and Hebrew _Immigrant Aid
Society (HIAS).

E ARE now in a
period of economic
nationalism, in a
period in which nations like to close
their gates to migrations. We are still
under the pressure, not only of the
quota laws of the United States, but
of the tremendous difficulties which
Jewish and non-Jewish migrants have
encountered in recent years, especial-.
ly in the 1930's.

W

It is very worth while to recall,
however, that human history from its
inception has been full of migrations.
To conceive of any period- in the des-
tiny of mankind as static is just as
unhistorical as it will prove unwork-
able in practice, if statesmen and na-
tions should insist upon it. The dyna-
mism of history has always been so
powerful as to overcome any obstacle
erected by law, by the cbnscious will
of any nation and its leaders. •

When we look back in history
throughout the ages, we find that the
economic motive proved for the most
part to be the decisive incentive to
migrations. Whether one is a Marx-
ist or not, whether one believes in
the economic interpretation of history
in all phases or not, one must admit
that when it comes to the area of mi-
grations the main impetus and stim-
ulus to migratory 'movements in all
ages was the economic need. A coun-
try became overpopulated because its
production did not keep pace with its
population increase; it had a surplus
of population. That surplus had to
move away. That is as true of those
nomadic peoples who left one area for
another because the first area was
exhausted, and looked for some new
pastures elsewhere where they could
find some new economic opportun-
ities, as it is true in the Middle Ages
or in modern times, as it is true .today.

The Religious Aspects

. Only in a secondary way may we
consider the political element, the po-
litical power complex, the ambition
for reign and ruleand conquest,
which is also responsible for the en-
croachment of some nations upon the
territories of other nations, first oc-
cupying them and then moving in on
them, not because they were too poor
in their own land, but in order to
exercise dominion over their neighbor.

A third element, though it is less
important than the political, is the
cultural and religious element.

There were religious reasons for
migration. Missionaries, for example,
in all ages moved to other countries,
in order to propagandize their relig-
ion. Sometimes they lived and died in
the country of settlement. They raised
their children there, and lived there
for generations.

On the other hand, the religious
element was often negative. For ex-
ample, if there was intolerance and
persecution in a certain country, the
persecuted minority often moved out,
had to leave the country of origin and
move into another area where it could
profess its religion freely. The case
of the Jews is a good illustration of

that.

The Expulsion From Spain

Time and again the Jews were ex-
pelled from one country or another, or
they were issued a decree of conver-
sion and had to move from the coun-
try. One example is the famous ex-
pulsion of the Jews from Spain in
1492. If our estimates are at all cor-
rect, at that time there still lived in
Spain 225,000 Jews. There had once
been 900,000 and they declined to a
quarter of their former number; but
there were still 225,000 Jews when
the King and Queen issued a decree
that all the Jews would have to leave
the country within three months, un-
less they wanted to become converted
to Christianity. Well, our estimates
go further, and say that about 50,000
of the 225,000 accepted that decree,
remained in Spain and accepted Chris-
tianity. The balance, about 175,000,
moved out under terrific difficulties
of migration which we cannot today
envisage. We have reason to believe
that fully 20,000 of those 175,000 died
during their migra-
tions, b e f or e they
succeeded in settling
in any other country.
You can see how
much religion meant
to these people. They
could have remained
in the country. T h e
economic reason was
not present. There
was no political ele-
ment of conquest
there. It was merely
a religious and cul-
tural attitude which
forced these Jews to
start migrating into
other lands.

The Edict
of Nantes

really Greeks, descendants of any
Greeks, perhaps at any time in his-
tory; but they were sent to Greece.

The 19th Century Migrations

Some 260,000 Moslems inhabiting
Greece were moved to Turkey. That
was one of the great experiments of
modern history in settling national
problems, national controversies, by a
mass movement of one minority into
the country of its majority, and mu-
tually exchanging the other minority
to return to its majority.

WhetOr that should be regarded as
a precedent for the settlement of fu-
ture national controversies, I am not
prepared to state. On the contrary,
from the point of- view of justice that
is certainly not the best way; but that,
at least, is a way.

The greatest period of migration in
human history was, undoubtedly, the
Nineteenth Century. To be sure, there
are other great periods of migration.
There were especially two areas in
human history which
had 'always supplied
migrants in large
numbers. One such
area was the Arabian
Peninsula, Arabi a,
which happened to be
a healthy country but
an arid one, one not
having enough water.
It had a healthy, pro-
filic population, but
had no opportunities
of getting food for
that growing popula-
tion.

European
Population

The other great
area , which sent out
migrants throughout
DR. SALO W: BARON
Similarly, another
the ages, is Central
1 a m o u s instance in
Dr. Baron, professor of Jewish his-
tory, literature and institutions at Co-
history is the Revo-
Asia,
Turkestan and
lumbia University. is the author of the
cation of the Edict
three-volume study "The Jewish Com-
the environs. Time
munity." published recently by the
of Nantes in France,
and again in human
Jewish Publication Society of America.
in 1685, whereupon
history the peoples of
some 250,000 or 300,000 Huguenots,
Turkestan found the room too narrow,
French Protestants, left France and
too confined, and they had to move.
Moved into all neighboring countries.
Some of them moved eastward onto
Again, the economic motive was not
China, Korea, Iran. Some of Them
present because in France itself these
moved westward across the Urals, into
people were very prosperous. There
Europe, deep into Central Europe.
was no political motive. They merely
The Nineteenth Century seems to be
wanted to adhere to their religion, and
a century of great migrations on a
they couldn't after the Edict of Nantes
voluntary basis. We estimate that
had been revoked. They were con-
from 1800 to 1924, 60,000,000 Europeans
fronted with the choice of either
left Europe and went out into inter-
adopting Catholicism or continuing to
continental migrations. Europe in 1800
profess Protestantism abroad.
had no more population than 180,000,-
Both in Spain after 1492 and in
000. By 1900 it had 480,000,000. At the
France after 1685, laws were actually
same time it had such a surplus that
issued prohibiting emigration. Never-
it had to send out 60,000,000 outside of
theless, these people succeeded in
European territory.
moving out their prep onder ant
Fifty-seven millions of those found
majority.
their way into the Western Hemis-
Another type of deportation, if you
phere alone—the United States, Can-
want to call it that—involuntary mi-
ada, Argentina, Brazil, and the other
gration—is perhaps a little more re-
countries.
cent, the exchange of population. After
the war, the subject of the exchange
Accelerated Immigration
of population may be under debate
As you know, the development of
again.
this country is largely due to that
tremendous immigration which was
Mass Transfer of Peoples
accelerated as time went on. Up to
After the last war, there appeared
1920 the immigration movement was
to be an insoluble problem. Turkey
small. Between 1820 and 1870 it in-
and Greece, Greece and Bulgaria could
creased rapidly. In 1822 it reached a
never come to peace. They never
peak in one type of immigration,
agreed. Finally, somebody struck upon
namely, from northern and western
the idea that the best way of settling
Europe. Fully 87 per cent of all the
that insoluble problem was to move
immigrants who came into the United
out the Turks, or at least the Mos-
States in 1822 were westerners—Eng-
lems, from Greece, and move out the
lishmen, Germans, Scandinavians, and
Greek Orthodox from Turkey, a n d
so forth.
move them into Greece, a somewhat
lesser number in Bulgaria.
However, the trend was soon re-
Fully 1,225,000 Greek Orthodox
versed. More and more immigrants
were thus removed under the auspices
began coming in from Italy, from
of the League of Nations from the
Austro-Hungary, from Russia. By
Turkish Republic and sent to Greece,
1907, 25 years exactly from that peak
to a country which they, and perhaps
of western migratjAm-87 per cent—
their ancestors, had never seen. They
by 1907 the vast -"majority of immi-
happened to be professing the Greek
grants who came into this country—
Orthodox creed, but they were not
were from southern and eastern Eur-

ope, not from the North. Only 12.1 per
cent in that year came from the
northern and western sections. More
than 82 per cent, or so, came from
Italy, Austro-Hungary and Russia.

1 00-Per-Centers'

Opposition

Some of the 100-per-centers in
America did not quite like that. If
you recall the quota laws, they are
artificially based on the year 1890.
What type of immigrants were then
living in the United States? You re-
member that in. 1882 we had the peak
of the northern and western immigra-
tion, which means that the bulk of the
national quotas was given to those
countries from which the 100-per-
centers came—chiefly England, but
also France, Germany and the Scan-
dinavian countries.

This immigration into the United
States was by far the largest known
in voluntary migrations throughout
history. Of the 60,000,000 Europeans
who left Europe in that century and a
quarter from 1800 to 1924, some 36,-
000,000 found their way into the
United States. What is most interest-
ing is that almost 30,000,000 remained
in the United States, only some six or
eight millions going back sooner or
later and becoming repatriated.

Peak of Migrations

There are a few interesting aspects
throughout that whole population
movement. Among the Europeans
who left for the United States in the
largest proportionate numbers were
the Irish and the Jews, proportionate-.
ly to their total strength in their
original habitat.

The Irish migrated probably even
more than the Jews, so much more
indeed that in the six decades from
1840 to 1900, the population of Ireland
actually declined. Irelarid dropped
from some 8,200,000 in 1840 to 4,400,000
in 1900—nearly half its population in
the two generations between 1840 and
1900. That is unrivaled. Even the Jews
did not suffer such a fate at that time.

As for the Jews, they reached their
peak of migrations between 1890 and
1914. In those 24 years before the
First World War, about 30 per cent of
the entire Jewish people then living,
moved their residence from one con-
tinent to another and many more
moved from one country to another
on the same continent.

However, at the same time: the Jews
did not lose in population strength in
any of those countries of emigration.
In Poland, in Russia, in Galicia, in
Romania, and so on, the Jews still in-
creased in number, despite the fact
that they sent out so many of their
members into other lands.

Between the two wars the trends
have changed. At least since 1924, the
United States has ceased to be a major
country of immigration, where we
speak of European migration; but we
don't realize that between 1921 and
1930, in that one decade, something
like 930,000—nearly a million Cana-
dians, let us say, from British North
America, moved into the United
States; 450,000 Mexicans moved into
the United States in that one decade.
However, in the 1930's even that
stopped.

Jews Stay in U. S.

In fact, in the four years from 1931
to 1934, for the first time in American
history we had the phenomenon of
loss through migrations. There was
actually a negative balance, more ex-
patriates than immigrants, in those
four years. In 1932 the figure reached
67,000-67,000 more Americans left
the United States than the people who
came into the United States. That is
something that was unheard of.

The Jews were the only group
among all the groups listed in the emi-
gration figures who did not emigrate
in larger numbers than those immi-
grated. The Jews are the only major
group who stayed. When they came
to the United States, they remained
here.

Between the two wars the rhythm
of migration never stopped. We are
acting under a delusion if we believe
that people stopped moving. Few of
us, for example, recall that in one
decade, from 1921 to 1930, France alone
admitted nearly two million immi-
grants, a million and a quarter, or so,
of industrial labor, 700,000 of agricul-
tural labor. They moved into France,
into that one country which needed.
manpower to rebuild the ravages of
war. Poles, Italians, Spaniards, and
others, made use of it and sent their
population into France.

(Continued on Page 15).

