https://youtu.be/-cNzKsne-H0

1. Retracing the Jewish refugees who
obtained the Haitian Nationality
during the Shoah (1938-1942)
Joseph BERNARD, Jr
“Haiti and the Shoah”
Presentation Series

2. Outline
• The Context
– The Shoah and the Evian Conference
– The SS St Louis affair in Cuba
• Legal options for refuge in Haiti
– The Decree-law of May 29th, 1939
• Research questions
• Results:
– Characteristics and outcome of the Jewish refugees with
Haitian nationality
• End of the Naturalization Process
• Conclusions

3. Haiti and the Shoah
• The Evian Conference
– Held July 6-16, 1938
– Aim: find a solution to
the migration of Jews
from German-occupied
territories.
– Haiti welcomed Jewish
refugees.
• Number increased after
Kristallnacht (November
9-10, 1938).
Léon Robert Thébaud

4. The SS St Louis affair
Credit: USHMM, New York Times

5. Map of the Caribbean
● Florida
● Cuba
● Dominican
Republic
Haiti ●
Jamaica ●

6. JTA, June 2nd, 1939

7. Legal Options for Refuge in Haiti
• Changes to the Haitian
legislation
– Started under President
Sténio Vincent.
• Three options:
– Haitian visa;
– Naturalization (in
absentia):
• Decree-law of May 29th,
1939.
– Status of Refugee:
• Decree-law of July 31st,
1939. Sténio Vincent

8. The Decree-law of May 29th, 1939
(Amendment of July 22nd, 1939)
• Amendment of the Law of November 29th, 1937 on
Naturalization
• Period of Stay in Haiti reduced to 1 year or less for:
– Foreigners married to Haitian citizens;
– Foreigners willing to invest Capitals in Haitian Agriculture
and Industry:
• Deposit of 3000 USD at the National Bank of Haiti
• Proof within 3 months of a 10000 USD capital, or 300 USD
considered as donation
• Letter of naturalization: 1500 gdes (300 USD)
• Tax for naturalization: 1000 gdes (200 USD)
• Yearly registration tax: 25 USD

9. ● London
● Brussels
● Paris
● Le Havre
● Geneva
● Berlin
● Hamburg

10. ● Havana
● Kingston
● Ciudad Trujillo
Port-au-Prince ●
● New York

11. How many Jewish refugees were
naturalized ?
• 5 naturalized before the in-absentia law
(November 29th, 1937)
• 126 naturalized according to the in-absentia
Law (May 29th, 1939)
– List published on the Moniteur

12. In Haitian newspapers
Le Nouvelliste, May 31st, 1939
Le Nouvelliste, May 25th, 1939

13. Research Questions
• Did the Jewish refugees with Haitian
Nationality arrive in Haiti?
• If yes:
– Did they stay in Haiti ?
• If no:
– In which Country did they settle ?
– Did they keep the Haitian nationality?

14. Material and Methods
• Main archives consulted:
– Le Moniteur (1939-1942):
• Lists/Executive Orders
– Ancestry.com:
• Ship manifests
• Airplane manifests
• Naturalization documents (Petitions, declarations of
intent)

15. Results (Flow chart)

16. Gender of the Refugees (N=184)
54%
46%
Male Female

17. Country of origin (N=184)
33.7%
14.1%
6.0% 6.0% 5.4% 4.3% 3.8% 3.8% 3.3% 3.3%
1.6% 1.6% 0.5% 0.5%
12.0%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%

18. City of request (N=184)
36.5%
26.2%
7.9%
6.3% 5.6%
3.2% 3.2% 2.4% 2.4% 1.6%
4.8%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%

19. Jewish Refugees to the USA
Credit: Ancestry.com

20. Jewish Refugees to Brazil
Credit: Ancestry.com

21. Jewish Refugees to Chile
Credit: Ancestry.com
Credit: Juan Carlos Emden

22. Letter of Naturalization
Credit: Leo Baeck Institute

23. Letter of JRCH to JDC, September 20th,
1941
Credit: JDC archives

24. Letter of JRCH to JDC, October 31st,
1941
Credit: JDC archives

25. End of the Naturalization Process
• October 31st, 1941
– All request for naturalization
put on hold
• Decree of February 4th, 1942
– Orders all naturalized
foreigners to return to Haiti in
order to give their contribution
after Haiti declared war to
Germany and its allies.
• Decree-law of August 5th,
1942
– The Haitian nationality of those
who failed to do so was
revoked.
• December 3rd, 1942
– Publication of the list of
denaturalized Jews.
Elie Lescot

26. Revocation of the Haitian nationality
Source: Bulletin des Lois et Actes, 15 septembre 1942-15 septembre 1943

27. Conclusions
• Several changes were made in the Haitian legislation in
order to accept the Jewish refugees on Haitian soil.
– 184 refugees (57 families, 40 individuals) obtained it
according to the In-absentia Law
• Most of the Jewish refugees who obtained the Haitian
nationality never came to Haiti
– Only 4 settled in Haiti
– Most of them lost the Haitian Nationality in 1942
– They acquired another Nationality (US for most of them).
– 119/184 (64.7%) landed in the end to the USA

28. Credits/Acknowledgements
• Haiti Holocaust Survivors
• Ancestry.com
• JDC Archives
• Center for Jewish History
• New York Times Archives

29. For further Reading
• English version
launched on 1/27/21
• French version(Histoire
juive d’Haiti) launched
in June 2013.
• Both are available on
Amazon.