The Unwanted: European Refugees in the Twentieth Century - Softcover

Marrus, Michael R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0195051866 ISBN 13: 9780195051865

Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, 1987

Synopsis

There have always been homeless people, but only in this century have refugees become an important part of international politics, seriously affecting relations between states. This book traces the growth of this 20th-century phenomenon, and takes a stern view of the international community's apathy towards the vast homeless population. While a considerable portion of the book is devoted to the dislocations of the Nazi era, Professor Marrus also looks at the whole period from the late nineteenth century to the present, depicting the astounding dimensions of the problem. He also examines the impact of refugee movements on Great Power diplomacy, and considers the evolution of agencies designed to assist refugees, noting outstanding successes and failures. The book's thesis is that the huge refugee inundations of the twentieth century in Europe represented a terrible new page in human history, presaging what we see today in parts of the Third World. Readership: students and teachers of modern history and politics, especially European.

About this title

Review:

"The most comprehensive description of the European refugee problem...Well written and rich in references."-The American Journal of International Law "Heinrich Boell has called this 'the century of prisoners and refugees.' Michael Marrus's carefully crafted book helps to explain why this is so."-Peter I. Rose, The Christian Science Monitor "It is usually the most extreme aspect of calamity that attracts our attention.... Somehow, human suffering on an aggregate level seems best understood when presented in the category of death. Michael Marrus's impressive study implicitly challenges this wide-ranging epistemology of human misery and destruction by making not the millions of killed but rather an even greater mass of refugees the subject of his meticulous study. The argument is simple, yet convincing. For Marrus, the phenomenon of refugees on a massive scale is inextricably linked to the development of modern politics and society.... [W]e should be grateful to Marrus for having provided us with a fine study of a topic that should command the constant attention of all decent human beings in the world."-Andrei S. Markovits, The Journal of Modern History "Marrus manages to offer an even-handed, superbly documented, and clearly written analysis of each episode [of European refugee flows], while simultaneously unraveling the web of another story: the evolution of international procedures and institutions that would act as occasional buffers, but more frequently as impartial but concerned middlemen, in refugee-generating crises."-Demetrios G. Papademetriou, American Political Science Review

About the Author:

Michael R. Marrus is Professor of History at the University of Toronto and co-author(with Robert Paxton) of the acclaimed Vichy France and the Jews

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
• Publication date: 1987
• ISBN 10: 0195051866
• ISBN 13: 9780195051865
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432