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The classic, comprehensive history of European refugees in the twentieth century
The Unwanted
European Refugees from the First World War Through the Cold War
Michael R. Marrus, foreword by Aristide R. Zolberg
"Marrus manages to offer an even-handed, superbly documented, and clearly written analysis of each episode [of European refugee flows], while simultaneously unraveling the web of another story: the evolution of international procedures and institutions that would act as occasional buffers, but more frequently as impartial but concerned middlemen, in refugee-generating crises."
—Demetrios G. Papademetriou, American Political Science Review
There have always been homeless people, but only in the twentieth century have refugees become an important part of international politics, seriously affecting relations between states. Since the 1880s, the number of displaced persons has climbed astronomically, with people scattered over vaster distances and for longer periods of time than ever before. Tracing the emergence of this new variety of collective alienation, The Unwanted covers everything from the late nineteenth century to the present, encompassing the Armenian refugees, the Jews, the Spanish Civil War émigrés, the Cold War refugees in flight from Soviet states, and much more. Marrus shows not only the astounding dimensions of the subject but also depicts the shocking apathy and antipathy of the international community toward the homeless. He also examines the impact of refugee movements on Great Power diplomacy and considers the evolution of agencies designed to assist refugees, noting outstanding successes and failures.
Excerpt
Reviews
"It is usually the most extreme aspect of calamity that attracts our attention.... Somehow, human suffering on an aggregate level seems best understood when presented in the category of death. Michael Marrus's impressive study implicitly challenges this wide-ranging epistemology of human misery and destruction by making not the millions of killed but rather an even greater mass of refugees the subject of his meticulous study. The argument is simple, yet convincing. For Marrus, the phenomenon of refugees on a massive scale is inextricably linked to the development of modern politics and society.... [W]e should be grateful to Marrus for having provided us with a fine study of a topic that should command the constant attention of all decent human beings in the world."
—Andrei S. Markovits, The Journal of Modern History
"Heinrich Böll has called this 'the century of prisoners and refugees.' Michael Marrus's carefully crafted book helps to explain why this is so."
—Peter I. Rose, The Christian Science Monitor
"The most comprehensive description of the European refugee problem...Well written and rich in references."
—The American Journal of International Law
Contents
List of Maps
Foreword – Aristide R. Zolberg
Preface to the New Edition
Preface
Introduction
Part I: Toward a Mass Movement
1. The Nineteenth Century
2. The Jewish Exodus from Eastern Europe
3. The Balkans and the "Unmixing of Peoples"
Part II: Thenansenera
4. The Great War and Upheaval in Eastern Europe
5. Refugees and the Collapse of the Tsarist Empire
Jewish Refugees in Eastern Europe
Forcible Repatriation to the Soviet Union
UNRRA
6. Refugees on the Move
Germans
Jews
7. The IRO and the "Last Million"
Epilogue Contemporary Europe
Refugees and the Origins of the Cold War
Shapinga UN Agency: UNHCR
Cold War Refugees
Diminished Importance of Europe
Settling Old Business
New Refugees
Notes
Index
About the Author(s)
 | Michael R. Marrus is Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies and Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the author of five books, including, most recently, The Nuremberg War Crimes Trial 1945-46: A Documentary History. |
Aristide R. Zolberg is University-in-Exile Professor at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City and Director of the International Center for Migration, Ethnicity, and Citizenship. He is the author or editor of many books, including Escape from Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the Developing World.
Subject Categories
History
Political Science and Public Policy
Sociology
In the series
Politics, History, and Social Change, edited by John C. Torpey.
This series will disseminate serious works that analyze the social changes that have transformed our world during the twentieth century and beyond. The main topics to be addressed include international migration; human rights; the political uses of history; the past and future of the nation-state; decolonization and the legacy of imperialism; and global inequality. The series will also translate into English outstanding works by scholars writing in other languages.