So, in my story, my main character travels from Germany to the USA illegally in the early 1930s. But, I've been having trouble researching if there was even a way to get to the USA from Germany in that time period. Does anyone know anything about this that could help me?
I'd think a boat would suffice. Pretty easy to enter the US illegally in 2019, so I can't imagine they'd have too much trouble in the 30s.
Really? I never thought it could be that simple. Now that I think about it...wow I'm dumb Thank you, lul
After Hitler came to power in 1933 there were massive waves of emigres to the US. Not sure how many, but probably at least 50K to 100K. Look for census data and German-American societies for further research.
Far easier to enter illegally than legally. From the Wikipedia page: A more complex quota plan, the National Origins Formula, replaced this "emergency" system under the Immigration Act of 1924 (Johnson-Reed Act). The reference census used was changed to that of 1890, which greatly reduced the number of Southern and Eastern European immigrants. An annual ceiling of 154,227 was set for the Eastern Hemisphere. Each country had a quota proportional to its population in the U.S. as of the 1890 census. In 1932 President Hoover and the State Department essentially shut down immigration during the Great Depression as immigration went from 236,000 in 1929 to 23,000 in 1933. This was accompanied by voluntary repatriation to Europe and Mexico, and coerced repatriation and deportation of between 500,000 and 2 million Mexican Americans, mostly citizens, in the Mexican Repatriation. Total immigration in the decade of 1931 to 1940 was 528,000 averaging less than 53,000 a year. At worst, though, they could always stop off in Canada or Mexico first before making a push into the US.
Oh, yes. In the late 1970s, when I had my first real architecture job, my supervisor was this German dude married to an American woman. He was a real jerk and hard to get along with. Well, he got drunk and mawkish at the office Christmas party and admitted that his visa had expired and he hadn't reported in to Immigration for years. After that, whenever he would act particularly dickish, we'd threaten to turn him in. (Don't know about his green card, if any.) Less anecdotally, here's this from the Holocaust Museum website: https://exhibitions.ushmm.org/americans-and-the-holocaust/what-did-refugees-need-to-obtain-a-us-visa-in-the-1930s
I think "sneaking in" on a boat in the 1930s would be difficult. Stowing away on a passenger liner would be difficult, and on a freighter, one would have to be a crew member, or again a stowaway. All foreign passengers were quarantined at immigration ports of entry for protection against disease. The one option might be to be a crew member on a freighter, then go AWOL on landing in the US. That might work. Once in, one could probably blend in easily with the immigrant population, as there would be little checking of citizenship or other papers for employment. Until 1935, there was no social security number required for employment, they would be paid by cash. After 1935, if they were already in the population, they could probably get an SSAN with forged papers, or I suspect many employers just continued paying them cash, without having to match their contribution.
Prior to World War II, a number of Americans snuck out of the country via Canada to join the Canadian or British militaries. The most common example of this were Eagle Squadrons -- America pilots flying with the Royal Canadian Air Force -- however there's a book called Into Dust and Fire that profiles five Americans that joined with the British Army. I've not read most of it, but I believe it covers their journeys. I don't think it's a stretch to imagine someone traveling the opposite way along this route. Given that, I'd think it easier to arrive in Canada (or Mexico) and sneak into the US from there.
My wife @K McIntyre is writing about a fictional American doctor, Jake Boone from Roanoke, who joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in Dec 1939, and a friend Cap Parlier has published a series of books, To So Few, of Americans flying with the RAF. It was not necessary to sneak out of the US to go to the UK to join up. Just book a boat and go. For the first year, it was technically illegal, because of the neutrality act, but it was never enforced, and couldn't be enforced until you got back. A real local doctor, she found, Edward Raymond Stone of Arlington, did so a year behind her fictional doctor, also before the US entered (mid 41); he served as Capt with the 50th Division, and was killed at the battle of Second El Alamein in Oct 1942 (after the US in the war) in a rather heroic death treating wounded in the field under artillery fire. Of course, her fictional doctor will meet Edward, first as he is undergoing initial training at Keogh Barracks in Aldershot. RAMC will call Jake and other doctors down from Scotland, training with the resurrected 51st Highland, to brief the new class on combat medicine, as they have recent combat experience with the BEF in France. Edward will be pleased to meet someone who can talk right, and they will meet again the following year in Egypt and Bernie Montgomery's Operation Lightfoot against El Alamein. Jake will be distressed to hear of his friend's death, and Edward Stone will no doubt have a prominent place in dedication section of her book. When the US enters the war, Jake will get a draft notice, but the Royal Army will intervene to keep him, though that is only one of many opportunities he has had to forego his commissioning oath to His Majesty. Again, that was the case, though often the US would strenuously attempt to bring people with critical skills back, such as combat-experienced fighter pilots to help train their own. Jake's 51st Highland Division is truly a colorful division with a enviable combat record. They surrendered at St Valery after Dunkirk ( https://lyricstranslate.com/en/battlefield-band-beaches-st-valery-lyrics.html ), written by a friend of @jannert But they were quickly reconstituted around the 9th Highland and fragments and escapees that got back, and stood up again in Aug 1940, ready avenge that debacle.
I do need to insert one thing here, Lew. Davey Steele (who wrote that song) was not a personal friend of mine, although he did know my husband quite well. I saw Davey at The Star folk club in Glasgow, in the late 1980s, but I never actually met him personally.
That's interesting -- I didn't realize this wasn't enforced. There were, however, many Americans who did sneak out of the US via Canada, and they often changed their surnames. I wonder why... Was it only to prevent loss of citizenship, since they obviously wouldn't have known at the time that that Congress would ultimately issue a blanket pardon? EDIT: In fact, it appears the enforcement may not have been perfect, but certainly it wasn't completely unenforced. From the DoD archives: "Some individuals, such as Chesley G. Peterson, who tried to go to France through Canada, were turned backed due to the Neutrality Laws. However, Peterson tried again and later made his way to Britain where he joined the RAF."
Well, the thing is, my character made it into the US at a young age (around 5 or 6). And he lives in one of the states that border the Atlantic ocean. I don't think I'm going to have him sneak in from Canada or Mexico, because that's...wait Hang on, that might work. Wait, let me ponder.
