Hubs of Resettlement: the case of the Philippines
Between Exile and Resettlement: Transnational Journeys of Jewish and “White” Russian Refugees through the Philippines (1945–1953)
This dissertation project examines displaced persons (DP) who found refuge in and transited through the Philippines within the broader context of the post-World War II refugee regime. It focuses on two key groups: approximately 1,300 Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi Germany before the war, and a group of around 5,500 “White” Russians who had escaped Communism in Russia and subsequently in China. Tracing their complex lives and transnational trajectories, the project investigates how these refugees navigated displacement, migration restrictions, and resettlement in the postwar period. By focusing on different actors – from state authorities, welfare officers, refugee elites and the displaced persons themselves -, the thesis asks to what extent DPs were caught between various powerful players and to what extend they were able to exert agency in shaping their futures. Moving beyond the European theatre and adopting a global history perspective, the thesis engages with the mechanisms of the post-war refugee regime in Asia.
Lena Clara Christoph, BA MA