Jewish Refugees and the International Community between the Two World Wars

This book utilizes extensive documentary research from the archives of the League of Nations and the Joint Distribution Committee to analyze the displacement of the Jewish population in East-Central Europe and how this issue influenced the development of international law and institutions.

By focusing specifically on Jewish refugees from the end of World War I until the rise of Nazism and the Evian Conference in 1938, the book aims for a deeper understanding of the significant changes the international community underwent during the interwar years, as well as the complex relationship between the evolution of international humanitarian law and the notion of national sovereignty amid newly drawn borders. Jewish refugees, caught in a system where modernity manifested as Bolshevism, Zionism, and nationalism, invested considerable energy and creativity, ultimately finding renewed faith in the framework of international law. While this era may feel distant, the issues that emerged during that time remain central to today's debates and are vital for the future of international politics.

This volume is intended for scholars and readers interested in the history of international institutions, particularly the impact that the refugee and Jewish questions after World War I had on contemporary international politics.

Giuseppe Motta is Associate Professor of the History of International Relations at La Sapienza University in Rome. His research focuses on the history of minorities, ethnic conflicts, and human rights during the twentieth century, with a particular emphasis on East-Central Europe. Among his other publications are Less than Nations: Central-Eastern European Minorities after WWI, 2 vols. (2013), The Great War against Eastern European Jewry, 1914-1920, (2017), and La comunità internazionale e i rifugiati ebraici fra le due guerre mondiali (2022).