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mule and a horse. When Trujillo later demanded ten times the amount originally paid in
1940 the JDC refused further payments. 52
Léon Laleau, the Foreign Minister of Haiti, made a similar offer in 1938 to
admit fifty thousand refugees but was turned down by Sumner Welles and the American
Government. Haitian diplomats, however, did provide entry visas during 1937 to several
hundred Jews before the onset of the war, saving the lives of approximately 100-300.
Haitian President Sténio Vincent issued an edict on May 29, 1939 granting Haitian
citizenship to refugees in abstentia (reminiscent of an earlier British proposal to grant
Palestinian citizenship to Jews in abstentia). One historic source had suggested that until
1938 the only requirement needed to enter Haiti was $100; later increased to $1,000-
5,000 plus a government permit. Others claim, however, that the cost was much higher
and the admittance of refuges was merely a scheme to generate foreign exchange for the
national government. 53
Latin-American countries faced pressure from Germany not to allow entry of
German and Austrian Jews or risk economic retaliation. Brazil was already having
domestic difficulties dealing with a large German minority in her territory. Profitable
52 “Proceedings,” July 11, 1938, 38-39; Yehuda Bauer, American Jewry and the Holocaust: the
American Joint Distribution Committee 1939-1945 (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), 200-
201; “Sosua’s Beginnings: A Haven for Jews Fleeing Hitler,” November 5, 2008 available from
http://popreport.com/edition/2008/11/sosua-a-dominican-haven-for-jews-fleeing-hitler/; Internet; accessed
May 28, 2010; Wischnitzer “Historical Background,” 47-48.
53 Daniel Smajovits, “Jews and Haitians: A Forgotten History,” March 16, 2010, Jewish Tribune
available from http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201003162781/Jews-and-Haitians-Aforgotten-history.html;
Internet; accessed June 26, 2010; Ariel Scheib, “The Virtual Jewish History Tour
Haiti” available from http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/haiti.html; Internet; accessed June
25, 2010; “Port-au-Prince—Haiti A Nation that Saved Jews during Nazi Era,” March 26, 2010 available
from http://www.vosizneias.com/52134/2010/03/26/port-au-prince-haiti-a-nation-that-saved-jews-duringnazi-era;
Internet; accessed June 26, 2010; Janice Arnold, “Exhibit Highlights Haiti’s Heroism in
Holocaust,” Canadian Jewish Congress, available from http://www.cjc.ca/2010/03/17/exhibit-highlightshaiti%E2%80%99s-heroism-in-holocaust/
; Internet; accessed June 26, 2010.
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