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Refuge in Jamaica

JDC arranged for transportation of Polish Jews from Lisbon to a British camp for refugees in Jamaica.

Research into our Archives continually yields up surprising facets of JDC’s part in events, big and small, around the globe. One such occurrence happened early in World War II. A group of Polish Jews, refugees stranded without papers in Portugal, faced imminent deportation. JDC assisted the group to reach out to the Polish Government-In-Exile.

Refuge in Jamaica

An agreement was reached with the British, who allowed this small group of refugees to enter Jamaica, then a British colony, and live there on a temporary basis. In early 1942, JDC arranged for transportation of 157 Polish Jews from Lisbon to Jamaica, to a British camp for refugees. They were joined later by about 30 Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia and Luxembourg. JDC covered the group’s living expenses for the years they remained in Jamaica. Click here for more information.