Irish Government Policy and Public Opinion towards German-Speaking Refugees, 1933-1943

Book excerpt: This book investigates the first time Ireland, with an autonomous legislative parliament, met with large inward migration in the modern era. In 1933, Ireland was a young state in its turbulent teens attempting to establish itself on the international stage. The people were scarred by recent memories of revolution, a War of Independence and a civil war, but they had lived through 10 years of relative peace. Two influential statesmen came to power in their respective countries: de Valera in Ireland and Hitler in Germany. Due to the latter, a large scale movement of people began. Ireland, under the leadership of de Valera, with the civil service established before him and a diverse population living there, had an unprecedented inward migratory issue to address. This book looks at the role of the civil service at home and abroad, its development and implementation of government policy and its involvement with international efforts to address the movement of German-speaking exiles fleeing the expanding National Socialist territory. It also explores the experiences of people around Ireland as they learn about the people fleeing and their responses to them. This study lays bare the foundation stone in the history of Ireland’s policy and public opinion toward inward migration, and allows us to understand the treatment of and reaction towards migration today. The impact of that fledgling refugee policy as examined here continues to echo in the current experiences of those fleeing persecution and war and those set to receive them.