The arrival of the first refugees in 1933 had clear repercussions for the Jewish community in the Netherlands. Dutch Jews felt obliged to support their fellow-Jews financially and materially. But they also wanted to know for how long. Would it be only temporary or should pressure be put on the government to ease the immigration regulations? Could the arrival of Jewish refugees undermine the position of Dutch Jews and fuel antisemitism?

Jewish refugees at the Hof van Moerkerken, 1939-1940 (Collection Jewish Historical Museum, Amsterdam)

To find ways of supporting less well-off Jewish refugees the CBJB (Comité voor Bijzondere Joodse Belangen / Committee of Special Jewish Interests) was set up in March1933 with the CJV (Comité voor Joodse Vluchtelingen / Committee for Jewish Refugees) as a sub-committee. Whilst these organizations tried to raise money, attempts were made to limit the number of refugees wishing to settle permanently in the Netherlands. Hence, the Dutch Government pursued a tow-pronged policy: on the one hand, private charitable institutions were required to cater for the needs of the refugees, and on the other, the Netherlands was to be a transit country and not a country of settlement. The CBJB and the CJV are thought to have raised six million guilders between 1933 and 1940.

• D. Michman, ‘The committee for Jewish Refugees in Holland 1933-1940’, Yad Vashem Studies XIV (1981) 205-232.
• B. Moore, Slachtoffers en overlevenden. De nazi-vervolging van de joden in Nederland (Amsterdam 1998).
• J.C.H. Blom e.a., Geschiedenis van de Joden in Nederland (Amsterdam 1995).