Description
This paper will examine the parallels between securitising refugees today and in the 1930s and 40s. The expansion of the National Socialist dictatorship in Central Europe led to an increasing number of Continental citizens seeking to flee and seek sanctuary. I will discuss the government’s response and the debate in the media at the time. Interesting parallels can be drawn to more contemporary debates on admitting refugees: Similar to today, the discussions started to be dominated by fear and narratives on the danger these refugees might pose and the financial support they might need. Male refugees, and especially male Jewish refugees, as well as left-wing political opponents of the National Socialist regime were seen as a security risk, and the discussion about ‘good refugees’ was widespread, leading eventually to the policy change to only admit children and not their parents without a visa in November 1938. This paper will conclude with an analysis of the use of historic parallels in the debates on refugees both in the political arena and the media since 2015 and how refugees from National Socialism are retrospectively seen as compared to how they were seen in the 1930s and 40s.
