IV: Perspective: Race Restrictions (3)

Perspective: Race Restrictions

In fact, when the Canadian Jewish community volunteered to sponsor 1,000 of the 10,000 Jewish orphans who survived the post-war purges in the Ukraine, the Canadian government eventually allowed entrance to only 150 of these children. In the 1920s, Canada implemented the exclusionary practices towards Jews that would leave many unable to escape Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Based on the false premise that Jews would not farm, railways were discouraged from bringing Jews to Canada. Higher literacy requirements were demanded of Jews under the permit system (whereby all members of a family, including children, had to demonstrate a proficiency in English). The cash requirements of Jewish immigrants were also increased. In 1938, the financial requirement for Jews to enter the country was increased from $5,000 to $20,000-far beyond the means of the thousands of German Jewish refugees who had fled their country with little or none of their property.

Ottawa Citizen, 20 June 1939.

St. Louis, 1939.

Countries in South and Central America denied entry to the passengers aboard the St. Louis, most of whom were German-Jewish emigrants fleeing the oppressive racial policies of Nazi Germany. The Canadian government also rejected the emigrants, a decision that reflected a deep-seated bias against Jews and other groups listed among the "prohibited classes." The St. Louis and its passengers eventually had to return to Germany.