In the 1930s, thousands of persecuted people fled Europe. Our own press ignominiously reported these as “Stateless Jews pouring into this country” and various records exist from that time of public officials reassuring readers that no such thing would be allowed under their watch.
With the benefit of historical hindsight we now know what fate awaited many of those Jews who were turned away from sanctuary. Quite rightly, we now express horror about the Holocaust, an iconic example of the most shocking event of human history, and pledge ourselves to stop anything like it happening again.
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