“As Mr. Schwarz is not Jewish, we are unable to handle this case.” Elements of (Un)Success in Overseas Emigration from Post-war Czechoslovakia
“As Mr. Schwarz is not Jewish, we are unable to handle this case.” Elements of (Un)Success in Overseas Emigration from Post-war Czechoslovakia

Summary/Abstract: Through the case study of the Schwarz family, this paper illustrates the complex relationship between an individual and institutions as well as the question of mutual trust-and mistrust-in the emigration process. The Schwarz family’s attempt to emigrate from Czechoslovakia with the assistance of intermediary organizations provides a wealth of insight into the (dis)function of a state and its administration after the war and during a time of defining the country’s approach to specific minority groups. This case provides a description of the chain of interlinked events and shifting loyalties which often occurred between the individual, intermediaries, donors or sponsors and the state. It concerns a group of Holocaust survivors who failed to regain Czechoslovak citizenship after World War II based on a specific ethnic definition of eligibility and found themselves “stateless”.

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