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Jewish refugees in the Dominican Republic

Film | Digitized | Accession Number: 2013.130.1 | RG Number: RG-60.1430 | Film ID: 2984

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    Jewish refugees in the Dominican Republic
    Transcript
    [MUSIC PLAYING]
    The Dominican Republic, about the size of Holland and Belgium
    with a population of about 1 and 1/2 million,
    has opened its heart to the homeless people of a troubled
    Europe.
    Number one settlement is at Sosua Bay
    on the estate of 26,000 acres contributed
    by Generalissimo Trujillo.
    The plan was promulgated before the Intergovernmental Committee
    of 32 Nations at the Evian Conference called
    by President Roosevelt in 1938.
    Forward looking Generalissimo Trujillo,
    then president of the Dominican Republic,
    recognized the opportunity presented
    to his sparsely settled country in giving welcome entry
    to European exiles.
    Land was broken and construction began at Sosua
    on the fertile green-swept acres in the spring
    after the signing of an agreement
    between the Dominican government and the Dominican Republic
    Settlement Association.
    Sealed on the 30th of January 1940,
    the pact was unique in history, a covenant
    between the government and the private humanitarian
    corporation providing for a settlement of 100,000 refugees.
    500 families were to comprise the first contingent
    to be admitted.
    The United States offered fullest cooperation.
    US transit visas made it possible for the ships
    bearing the carefully selected settlers to pass
    through American waters en route to the tropic isle
    in the blue Caribbean.
    Beautiful modern Trujillo City is the capital
    of the Dominican Republic.
    Here representatives from 32 nations
    met to witness the signing of the contract
    and again a year later to celebrate
    its first anniversary.
    From Generalissimo Trujillo came offer
    of 50,000 additional acres.
    The assembly heard new praise and endorsement
    for the humane project from Senor Troncoso, now
    president of the republic.
    Archbishop Pittini brought the message
    of the church, encouragement for the success of the nonsectarian
    venture.
    Spokesmen for the US State Department
    with the honorable Robert T. Pell.
    The government of the United States of America
    is proud to be associated on this first anniversary
    of the signing of an agreement between the Dominican
    government and the Dominican Republic Settlement
    Association in a tribute to President
    Troncoso to Generalissimo Trujillo
    and to the high officials of the Dominican government
    and Dominican people, whose generous attitude has made
    possible the realization of the project of settlement
    of many hundreds of European refugees
    on this hospitable soil.
    [APPLAUSE]
    And back at Sosua, life and industry
    had been speeding on with all the enthusiasm and ardor
    that typify a people charting a new beginning.
    Hundreds of virgin acres were cleared in the first months.
    The settlers were picked for health and fitness,
    and sturdy pioneers were not found wanting.
    Quickly mastering the native machete,
    the knifed through the dense growth by sweat and toil
    cleared a wilderness.
    Miles of roads were cut open through the tropical country
    and rapidly showed the way.
    On an isle discovered and loved by Christopher Columbus
    was a chance to find New World freedom,
    and with smiling courage, they bent to their tasks.
    And while these men worked on tirelessly,
    others were preparing their meals
    and attending to the endless chores that
    keep a cooperative job going full blast.
    Hard work alone could give the project
    a fighting chance for success.
    The richness of Sosua's soil is its bounty
    for those who labor on it.
    So the crops that awaited the pioneers
    were to repay for the long hours of preparation that
    went before.
    There was real joy and Thanksgiving in the first feel
    of this good earth.
    Modern machinery quickly supplemented manual labor.
    This was natural, for with mechanization
    of as many processes of the settlers work as possible
    would come increased production.
    So by a machine and hand, hundreds of acres
    were rapidly put under cultivation,
    and the agricultural development of Sosua
    was becoming a reality.
    Yes and out of these fields may well
    come to project the greatest achievements,
    for scientists are experimenting with new industries
    based on Sosua's agriculture.
    By the summer of 1941, more than 400 refugees
    had begun to prove that they could
    subsist on this land that was so generous with its responsive
    crops.
    Livestock at Sosua is of high quality.
    There were several horses and mules as well as poultry
    by the time the colony was little more than a year old.
    Cattle numbered nearly 1,000 head.
    Expert veterinary care was given from the outset.
    The first modern dairy barn to be completed
    was capable of handling 150 cows daily.
    Pride of the Sosua settlers is their own cheese dairy.
    Up-to-date, sanitary, and expertly operated,
    it sets a definite career for the settler
    who has given his hand to it.
    Working in this manner on a cooperative basis,
    the colony hopes one day to provide not alone
    for its own needs but to find outside markets
    for its surplus.
    Thus with cooperation the keynote, Sosua's name
    is gradually to increase its income
    through the use of better tools and better methods
    than are within the reach of the individual small farmer.
    And in the future lies the possibility
    of exporting Sosua products.
    Well-kept barracks shelter the settlers.
    They remain here for the preliminary training period.
    DORSA, the Dominican Republic Settlement Association
    supported by American donations, spends approximately $2,000
    for the settlement of a family and provides maintenance
    during training.
    Sosua's women folk play a major role.
    Home, husband, and children must receive their constant care
    and attention, and in addition to housework,
    it is the women's task to help conduct Sosua's schools.
    The entire family must learn Spanish,
    for when they are Dominican citizens,
    it will be their tongue.
    It can be easily seen that in the encouragement of education
    and in all of Sosua's endeavors, its women
    are writing heroic chapters.
    For the settlers, diligent effort in bringing its reward.
    Drawn as they are from Europe's heterogeneous stocks,
    they have proved they can perform a substantial amount
    of work under subtropical conditions
    and build the framework of a fine future.
    The village barber shop is universally a popular gathering
    place, And Sosua is no exception.
    Here, too, a craftsman has established himself
    with what may well be his life work on the island.
    The medical department is necessarily an important one
    in the colony where an immigrant people
    are going through the stages of acclimatization.
    Ails of all kinds have been kept down
    to a minimum due to special diets and specially
    scheduled work shifts.
    Self-government is practiced at Sosua.
    A settler's council elected by the settlers
    help solve their problems.
    After two years comes Dominican citizenship.
    Leisure hours are valuable for solidifying
    newfound friendships and rediscovering
    the joys and freedoms that were snatched away.
    Athletics are an important diversion,
    and it is the boast of the Sosuans
    that their football team trounced the best
    the island had to offer.
    But through the months of work and play,
    the Sosua settler strives toward one goal, his own homestead.
    At the end of the concentrated training period,
    it is the hope of each worker to claim his own property.
    Settlers receive a homestead on three acres of land,
    an additional three acres of garden land,
    furniture, fixtures, livestock, pastureland, and credit
    in a cooperative undertaking for cash earnings.
    A period of years is given to repay the association.
    With guaranteed freedom from discrimination, full rights,
    and opportunities, the refugees can here by their own hard work
    build a useful life.
    Were Christopher Columbus to sail into Dominican waters
    today, he would be proud to fund a dauntless people carving
    a new life out of the tropical isle
    he first saw in 1492, giving the mark of success
    to a great experiment.
    Sosua, new world shelter for refugees.
    Sosua, haven in the Caribbean.
    [MUSIC PLAYING]

    Overview

    Description
    Public information film about the immigration of Jewish refugees from Europe in the Dominican Republic. Jewish refugees work hard to create a prosperous home for themselves in Sosua. Everyone plays a part in the efficient and self-sustaining community that is mainly powered by physical labor. There are several scenes where settlers act as hairdressers and doctors, occupations the settlers most likely had before leaving Europe.

    The film opens with a pinpoint of San Domingo on a map. Scenes of a beautiful seascape. Mountains and houses dot the landscape, abundant wildlife. Houses under construction. 00:01:44 Refugees aboard a steamship. People smile and pose for the camera. Refugees organize their luggage on the boat dock. A ship departs from New York City. People wave from aboard the ship. 00:02:22 Footage of the Dominican flag waving. 00:02:28 Diplomatic meeting. Men in black suits stand for a speaker. CUs, speaker. CUs, a Jesuit (?) priest speaking. Men shaking hands. More speakers addressing crowd. 00:03:32 The ocean from a villa deck. Landscape. 00:03:45 Men talking to one another over work plans. Men clearing bush in front of cameraman. Men working on land. 00:04:19 CUs, men talking and drinking. Sosua and refugees working on the land. Camera focuses on the texture of the soil. Sosua is portrayed as an ideal, fertile land. Men plow fields and dig. Rows of crops. Horses in their stables and the cows being milked. A man and a woman process the milk and show the camera the final cheese that they can make. Rows of beds covered by mosquito nets. Women washing and cutting vegetables for cooking. Men pump water. 00:07:49 A barber gives a man a haircut, as more men wait for their turn. The barber gives a man an old-fashioned shave. A doctor gives a physical examination to a young man. The doctor wraps a man's knee with bandages. 00:08:21 Men and women gather for a social outing. Everyone salutes a man in the center of the crowd. 00:08:32 Two couples relax and watch the sunset. 00:08:34 Families have fun at the beach. The houses built in Sosua. Men and women work together to tend their family gardens. A child rides a tricycle. People happily working their land. 00:09:27 A monument in Santo Domingo. 00:09:29 Portraits and people talking to the camera. Jewish refugees living pleasant lives in Sosua.
    Duration
    00:09:49
    Date
    Event:  1938-1941
    Production:  1941
    Locale
    Sosua, Dominican Republic
    Credit
    Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of National Archives & Records Administration
    Contributor
    Producer: Dominican Republic Settlement Association, Inc.
    Subject: Rafael Trujillo
    Biography
    In 1940, the Dominican Republic's leader, Rafael Trujillo, agreed to accept up to 100,000 European Jewish immigrants, as long as the refugees would be able to contribute to the agricultural economy. With the aid of the American Jewish Distribution Committee (JDC), the Dominican Republic Resettlement Association (DORSA) was formed. DORSA bought land in the small village of Sosua, providing the Jewish refugees with 26,000 acres of land. Each family was given a small amount of land and farm animals. The agricultural community was not greatly successful. The land was difficult to farm and very few refugees arrived in Sosua in the first year of the resettlement act. DORSA director James N. Rosenberg brought several kibbutz workers from Palestine to Sosua to guide the settlers, resulting in the operation of meat and cheese processing plants in the village. Between 1940 and 1945, 5,000 visas were issued for refugees to enter the Dominican Republic. However, only 645 refugees made it to the Dominican Republic.

    Physical Details

    Language
    English
    Genre/Form
    Documentary.
    B&W / Color
    Black & White
    Image Quality
    Good
    Time Code
    00:00:06:00 to 00:09:55:00
    Film Format
    • Master
      • Master 2984 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - HD
      Master 2984 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - HD
      Master 2984 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - HD
      Master 2984 Digital: ProRes HD HQ 422 - HD

    Rights & Restrictions

    Conditions on Access
    You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
    Copyright
    Public Domain
    Conditions on Use
    To the best of the Museum's knowledge, this material is in the public domain. You do not require further permission from the Museum to reproduce or use this material.

    Keywords & Subjects

    Administrative Notes

    Legal Status
    Permanent Collection
    Film Provenance
    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of film footage from the National Archives and Records Administration in January 2013.
    Note
    The word "Jew" is never used in this film, although Jewish refugees from Europe are obviously the new emigres in question.
    Copied From
    35mm DNC
    Film Source
    United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Motion Picture Reference
    File Number
    Legacy Database File: 5652
    Source Archive Number: 200.180
    Record last modified:
    2024-02-21 08:05:13
    This page:
    https:​/​/collections.ushmm.org​/search​/catalog​/irn1004706

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