Paris – Capitale de Refuge
Chapters 6
Journeys from the Abyss: Constructing the Migrant as Illegal
From the 20th Century as ‘the Century of the nation-States’ to the 21st Century as ‘the Century of Cities’
The Expulsion Policy of the Nazi State
Rethinking and Thinking Beyond Arendt: On the Lost Right to Have Rights
The Local Turn in the Migration Debate
Archive
6
Max Diamant in Emigration
The pictures from his daughter’s private archive show Max Diamant (1906-1992) with family and friends in Paris, Mexico and Germany.
“Then I started off on this magnificent barge from Ludwigshafen, armed with a toothbrush and a towel.”
Max Diamant on His Flight
In an audio contribution from 1983, Max Diamant tells how he was able to cross the Rhine to France unnoticed by ship.
“In May ’36, at the time of the strikes, I found myself a member of the strike committee along with two other women.”
Worker Solidarity and Discrimination in Paris 1936
Fé Garcia Petit tells of workers resistance, solidarity and sexism.
“I wanted to sit by the side of the road, to die rather than walk. It was hopeless after all”
Hertha Pauli’s “Journal of an Escape” from France
From October to November 1940, writer Hertha Pauli published a three-part account of her escape through German-occupied France via Spain and Portugal to the…
“In 1936, I had great difficulty finding work, because I had Spanish nationality, I could not get a work permit.”
Job search, paperwork and an economic crisis
Angelines Koulikoff reports about the difficulties as a Spanish citizen to find work.
“In August 1933 I emigrated to Paris, where I broke off all scientific work in the first years in order to gain a practical overview of the Jewish question.”
Hannah Arendt: Curriculum Vitae
Even great political theorists sometimes have to write CVs. Also Hannah Arendt. It proves how crucially her experiences and work in Paris influenced her…
“WIZO-ALIAH would like to bring to France about 50 Jewish children from Czechoslovakia, about 13 years old.”
Hannah Arendt organizes a Kindertransport from Czechoslovakia
The Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), the largest international charitable women’s organization in the world, in cooperation with other organizations and under the leadership…
3
Czech and German refugees in Paris, 1938-1939
These pictures show arrival and support structures for refugees from the Czech Republic and Germany in Paris in 1938 and 1939.
“He told me that the people at the station looked at them like Martians and almost tried to touch them.”
Spanish refugees arrive in Paris
Fé Garcia Petit tells about her uncle’s arrival experience in Paris in the early 1920s.
“With that Leica and the small enlarger we had bought in Paris, we had the audacity to open in our room ‘Studio Stein’.”
Fred Stein’s letter to friends and relatives
In a letter from 1946, Fred Stein describes the flight story of his family in detail to his friends and relatives. After Fred and…
“Paris was so beautiful. I had found friends and now I had to leave. My head told me how fortunate I was, but my heart rebelled.”
George Edel about the stay in Paris
George Edel, a Jewish doctor from Vienna (who converted to Christianity), tells of his flight from Zagreb to Paris and of his stay in…
“The unfortunate is that when I came here, Corona came and I didn’t have a lot of chances to be a normal Berliner.”
Nazeeha Saeed about settling in in Paris and Berlin
Nazeeha Saeed was harassed by state authorities because of her journalistic activities in Bahrain. In this interview excerpt she speaks about how she settled…
“I never wanted to leave Budapest forever.”
Paul-Adolphe Löffler on the Hungarian Emigrant Community
In diary entries, the writer and journalist Paul-Adolphe Löffler (1901-1979) describes his relationship with the Hungarian community in Paris, which is shaped by longing…
“The Jews are not the only ones they are out to get. […] The onslaught this time is against European civilization, against humanity, whose proud champion you are.”
Joseph Roth on Identity
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894-1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
Refugee children at the de Monbrison Chateau in the vicinity of Paris
Count Hubert Conquere de Monbrison and Princess Irena Paley (a niece of the last Russian Tsar, who later became Monbrison’s wife) used their castle…
“In particular, she pointed out that 224 children had been granted permission to enter France thanks to the COMITÉ and had actually arrived”
Activities of the Comité Israélite pour les Enfants venant d’Allemagne et de l’Europe Centrale
In 1938, Baroness Germaine de Rothschild (née Germaine Alice Halphen, 1884–1975) founded the Comité Israélite pour les Enfants venant d’Allemagne et de l’Europe Centrale…
“It was a unique chance, but it meant that one had to leave with nothing but a toothbrush since there existed no means of transportation.”
Hannah Arendt on fleeing from the internment camp
Hannah Arendt describes the circumstances of her escape from the internment camp Gurs.
“I also love the banks of the Seine, I like to walk along its course. It reminds me of the Danube.”
Paul-Adolphe Löffler on Paris and Antisemitism
In undated diary entries, the writer and journalist Paul-Adolphe Löffler (1901-1979) writes about his favorite places in Paris – mostly places of the French…
Max Diamant’s Certificate of Identity for Refugees from Germany
In August 1938, Max Diamant receives an identity card that allowes him to stay in France as a refugee.
“The first months absorbed all our strengths to build a new life.”
Elsbeth Weichmann: Paris, a New Beginning
Social Democratic politician Elsbeth Weichmann (1900-1988) describes her arrival and the first months in the French capital in 1933, after she had to flee…
“The population is wonderful, seriously, and understands our situation very well.”
Hannah Arendt on the situation before internment
Shortly before her internment in camp Gurs, Hannah Arendt reports in a letter to the German-Austrian philosopher, poet and writer Günther Anders about the…
“I said one sentence over and over again at that time, which I remember: “If you are attacked as a Jew, you must defend yourself as a Jew.'”
Hannah Arendt on her practical work in France
In her famous interview with Günter Gaus, Hannah Arendt talks about her time in Paris, where she had fled from Nazi Germany in 1933…
“Through his name he becomes conspicuous.”
“Through his name he becomes conspicuous.”
Ilija Trojanow, who fled with his parents from Bulgaria to Germany in 1971 and whose life is marked by experiences of migration, deals in…
“There is, so to speak, a politics of the literary emigration.”
Joseph Roth on the “Politics of Literary Emigration”
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894-1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
“We are expellees, banished.”
Bertolt Brecht: On the Term Emigrants (1937)
Bertolt Brecht’s poem on the difference between emigration and exile
“The French dealers learned Spanish to be able to satisfy their customers.”
French or Spanish?
Raymonde, Marceline and Bonifacia Sanchez talk about the role of Spanish and French in their lives, their role as mediators between and facilitators for…
“The Association’s mission is to unite the Israelite refugees from Germany”
International Conference of German Emigrants on 19-20 June [1936], Paris
On June 19 and 20 [1936], an international conference of German emigrants was held in Paris, where the statutes of the Association des Emigrés…
“You know what time feels like, an hour is a lake, a day is a sea, the night is an eternity, waking up is a thunderclap of dread, getting up a struggle for clarity against fevered nightmares.”
Joseph Roth: Sleepless in Paris
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894-1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
“I really don’t want to be an émigré.”
Jospeh Roth’s Fear for the Future
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894–1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
“They are so hard there with those poor wretches that I need to pull myself together if I am not to burst out crying—and they have to be hard, otherwise there wouldn’t be something for everyone.”
Joseph Roth on the Deutsches Hilfskomitee
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894–1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
Asile de Nuit, Asile de Jour et Créche Israelites
The history of the Asile de Nuit, Asile de Jour et Créche Israelites (Jewish night asylum, day asylum and day nursery) dates back to…
4
Lili Rilik-Andrieux encounters Spanish Refugees
The German-Jewish artist Lili Rilik-Andrieux fled to Paris in 1938 and was interned in several camps after the German invasion of France. There she…
“Everyone had different powers of self-preservation or self-destruction, everyone lived through an individual human tragedy.”
Elsbeth Weichmann on German emigrants in Paris
Social Democratic politician Elsbeth Weichmann (1900-1988) describes the network of refugees in Paris in the 1930s and 1940s.
11
Fred Stein’s view on Paris in the 1930s
Fred Stein (1909-1967) began to make photography his profession after his escape from Nazi Germany to Paris in 1933. With a sensitive eye and…
“Max kept writing that we should by all means come to Paris – the rest would take care of itself.”
George Edel about the Flight from Vienna via Zagreb to Paris
George Edel, a Jewish doctor from Vienna (who converted to Christianity), tells of the flight preparations in the wake of the annexation of Austria…
“Still, still, still we experienced Paris.”
Mascha Kaléko about her flight from Germany
In a diary entry of 27 January 1939, the poet Mascha Kaléko (1907-1975) traces her escape from Germany to New York in the autumn…
“I was arrested, had to leave the country illegally – I’ll tell you about it in a moment – I had an immediate satisfaction. I thought, at least I did something!”
Hannah Arendt about her 1933 and the circumstances of her escape
In her interview with Günter Gaus, Arendt talks about the reasons that led her to flee to Paris.
“I liked a bit of peace and quiet, but the political situation is not like that. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Hannah Arendt on arriving in New York
Hannah Arendt tells her ex-husband Günther Anders about the circumstances of her escape from Lisbon and her arrival in New York.
5
Jewish Quarters in Paris and Antwerp, photographed by Fred Stein
Fred Stein (1909-1967) began to make photography his profession after his escape from Nazi Germany to Paris in 1933. On his photographic wanderings he…
“I expected the sun, light, splendid colors from Paris. I was betrayed!”
Paul-Adolphe Löffler’s Arrival in Paris
The writer and journalist Paul-Adolphe Löffler (1901-1979) writes in his diary about his escape from Budapest to Paris and the immediate disappointment after his…
“NY is like a very big Berlin – that’s fine with me, even though I had become a die-hard Parisian in the last few years.”
Hannah Arendt on Paris, New York and Berlin in comparison
In this letter to her ex-husband Günther Anders from May 1941, Hannah Arendt gives an overview of her arrival experience in New York.
“This immigration was not simply an immigration. It actually became one over the course of time”
Hannah Arendt About the Difference Between Immigrants and Refugees
In a radio interview from 1959, Arendt speaks about the political and legal situation of refugees in the 1930s and the differences between immigration…
“For the trip, my father had recommended that if we were addressed in French, we should answer: ‘No compro pan.’ Literally: ‘I don’t buy bread,’ which sounds like: ‘I don’t understand.'”
An epic journey to France
Isabel Alonso Martin tells of her arduous journey to France – transit into a new life.
“I don’t want to fit in any of these boxes.”
Nazeeha Saeed about the Attribution “Refugee,” “Asylum,” and “Exile”
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in Paris and Berlin since 2016, talks about how she came to call herself a “journalist…
“What are you going to do next? Are you going to arrest me?”
Nazeeha Saeed’s persecution as a critical journalist in Bahrain
Nazeeha Saeed was harassed by state authorities because of her journalistic activities in Bahrain. In this excerpt she describes how she arrived at the…
“They were emigrants first and only second, what they really were”
Lion Feuchtwanger: Gloomy guests
In his novel Exile, Lion Feuchtwanger describes the grim situation of the German refugee community living in Paris.
“There is life after the flight. But the flight acts upon
oneself for a lifetime.”
oneself for a lifetime.”
“There is life after the flight. But the flight acts upon oneself for a lifetime.”
Ilija Trojanow, who fled with his parents from Bulgaria to Germany in 1971 and whose life is marked by experiences of migration, deals in…
“I received my diploma at the age of eleven and a half and left immediately at twelve to look for work.”
Child Labor in Paris
Fé Garcia Petit talks about how she started working when she was twelve to support her parents financially.
“Still out of work. We eat very insufficiently.”
Paul-Adolphe Löffler on the Precarious Living Conditions of Foreign Workers
In diary entries from 1929 and 1934, the writer and journalist Paul-Adolphe Löffler (1901-1979) described his living conditions, characterized by precariousness and unemployment, which…
6
Exiled Intellectuals potrayed by Fred Stein
Fred Stein (1909-1967) began to make photography his profession after his escape from Nazi Germany to Paris in 1933. Besides street photography, portraiture became…
12
Spanish Civil War refugee children in France, photographed by Fred Stein
Between 1936 and 1939, more than 35,000 children who had fled the Spanish Civil War were accommodated and cared for in France. Fred Stein…
“No mazes baker in Schepetowka or Berdichev ever suspected that his descendants would carry on the same trade in Paris and have the proud words ‘Fabrique du pain azymé’ above their baking kitchen.”
Erwin Kisch on the Parisian “Ghetto”
The Austrian-Jewish (later Czechoslovakian) writer, journalist and reporter Egon Erwin Kisch (1885-1948), with his literary reportage “Notizen aus dem Pariser Ghetto” (Notes from the…
“The undersigned committee is instructed to prepare the foundation of an association of all German emigrants”
Founding Committee of the Association des Emigrés Allemands en France
On June 10, 1933, refugees from Germany decided to found the Association des Emigrés Allemands en France (Association of German Emigrants in France) in…
“The barbarians have taken over. Do not deceive yourself. Hell reigns.”
Joseph Roth’s grim prophecy in mid-February 1933, Paris
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894–1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s rise to power. By February 1933, he was…
“Hate is even more magically powerful than love.”
Joseph Roth: Money Issues
The Austrian writer Joseph Roth (1894–1939) did not wait long and left Berlin shortly after Hitler’s seizure of power. By February 1933, he was…
“We really had the desire to get to the USA as soon as possible.”
Fred Stein’s letter to friends and relatives II
In a letter from 1946, Fred Stein describes in detail the story of his family’s escape to his friends and relatives via Paris and…
“We exist darkly in the city of light. We and other thousands.”
Fight against Loneliness
The writer and journalist Paul-Adolphe Löffler (1901-1979) writes about the initial loneliness he suffered during his first period in Paris without his family, as…