Figure 1.--This photograph has no accompnying information, but almost certainly shows Soviet war refguges during world War II. They look to be war refugees flleing the Germans probably during the closing phase of Barbarossa (about November 1941). The Soviet Union was the world's first totalitarian state. The preceeding Tsarist Empire made no major effort to restrict emigration. The Soviet Union did think it made for good prpaganda for workers and peasants to be seeing the soviet worker's paradice. Thus there were relative few refugees fron the Soviet Union. The population had to comply with Communist diktats or face either the Gulag or an NKVD bullet in the back of the head.

The largest numbers of refugees throughout most of history have been created by wars or other violent clashes such as the Tsarist pograms that drove Russian Jews to America. Refugees also flee when governments are overthrown and new standards of conduct or belief are imposed on a population. Other refugees are created when a Government begins to target specific groups such as the NAZI assault on Jews. This was often the case when Europe was dominated by imperial powers, but raised to a new level of intensity by the rise of the great totalitarian powers (Fascist and Communist) in the 20th century. While war and violence have been the major creatgors of refugees in history, this began to change in the late-20th century. This is not to say that war and violence no longer cause refugee flows, it is to say that a new cause of refugees has risen in importance. Many Europeans thought that capitalism had serious flaws and socialism could create a more just society. The optimism of the turn-of the 20th century was dashed by World War I and a resulting flow of refugees. This began the march toward the welfare state in already industrialized countries. Another socialist approach was totalitarian (Communist and Fascist) resulting in World War II and a massive refugee flow. After World War II the decolonization process began. The new Third World leaders even more than Europeans were embued with socialist idealism. Many were also impressed with the Soviet Union and thus not paricularly concerned with democracy, the rule of law, individual rights, in short the attributes of economic and political freedom. The result was chatisrtophic failure throughout the Third World. well developed industrial country can support a costly welfare system, but using socialism to develop a backward Third World country was a recipe for failure. The Asian Tigers showed what capitalism could accomplish as had China, but the damage had been done. And people by the millions are now fleeing failed countries gor the prosperity and freedom of the West. Ironically the same socialist ideal continues to have advocates in Europe and America despite the clear evidence that socialism means economic stagnation and that it is capitalism that can generate economic growth.

War Refugees

The largest numbers of refugees throughout history have been created by wars. This may be changing today as economic refugees have become increasingly important. War appears to be as old as humanity, although we note a recent idea that it is an artifact of civilization. Throughout much of history wars were either dynastic or imperial or a mix of the two. These dynasties and empires had religions, but the thet were not the driving force behind religion. This changed with the advent of Abrahamic relgions. Thias not the case for Judasm because the Jews were not a large group, but it was the case for Christianity and Islam. Christian crusades and Islamic jihad. And both religions have launched both wars afainst each othrr and against fellow relgionists. War did not, however, necesarily cause refugees. People were not always a mobile as they are today, at least since the advent of agriculture and civilization. And people were not always as receptive or as sympathetic to refugees as is the case today. Reliigious war stended to be more violent than dynastic and imperial wars which tended to set refugees in motion. In addition there were also coreligionists willing to take in refugees. Wars created refugees in many ways. Some refugees flee the violence. Some were fearfull of the advancing armies killing and raping. Some flee because the War and soldiers were making life untenable such as pillaging and destruction.

Minority Religious Group Refugeess

We note some refugee groups fleeing becaus of their religious groups. The Jews are the most obvious group. They were persecuted primarily for their religious beliefs. Persecution of the Jews began in ancient times even before the Roman driven Diaspora. Perscution of Jews continued into our modern era. As Western Europe was emancipating Jews, Tsar Alexander III launched an ugly program of reression including pogroms. This drove huge numbers of Jews to America. The NAZIs turned anti-Semitism into a racial matter, but for most of history it was primarily a religious matter. Jews are not the only religious group persecuted and thus turned into refugees. or other violent clashes such as the Tsarist pograms that drove Russian Jews to America. Many relgious groups have been persecuted, bit unable to flee such as the Christian gnostics and the Cathars. The ability to flee increased during the Reformation, so you see refugee groups like the Anabptists (Menanites), Puritans, Hugenoughts, Scotts-Irish, and others. Sunsequently in the United States. the Mormons were able to flee west to Utah.

National Group Refugeess

Throughout most of history few people recognized them selves as national groups. Multi-national empires were the dominant political entities. The first nation states began to appear in Europe during the late medival era , although Korea and Japan might also be seen as early nation states. Nationalist sentiment was intensified as a result of the French Revolution and ensuing Napoleonic Wars. The Germans began noving toward unificaton and smallr national groups in the great empires began demanding first autonomy and then their own independent states. This for the most part did not create refugees because these people wanted thir own state in the land they occupied. There was one complication here and that was emmigration, primrily to America. Here it is difficult to separate economic emmigration from political oppression.

Totalitarian Refugees

The idea of progress throuhh liberal democracy received a massive set back as a result of World War I. The rise of the great totalitarian movements of the 20th century powers (Communist, Fascist, and Japananese militarism) was one of the many outcomes of the tragedy of World War I. These regimes set in motion throughout the world. Refugees flee when governments are overthrown and new standards of conduct or belief are imposed on a population. Other refugees are created when a Government begins to target specific groups such as the NAZI assault on Jews. This was often the case when Europe was dominated by imperial powers, but raised to a new level of intensity by the rise of the totalitarian powers. This was the case because all of these powers abandoned the rule of law and increased the use of state coercive power to an unpprecedented levels. The totalitarian powers took a different role on emigration/refugeees that the imperial regimes they replaced. The imperial regimes allowed immigration seeing it as a kind of pressure valve reducing tension. The totalirarian powers, however, tended to restrict emigration, seeing it as an admission that the paradices that they claimed to be creating were in fact a propaganda fiction. Massive walls and border controls were needed by the Soviet to control their European empire. The sityuation was different in Asia. No country had the capacity to take in huge numbers of Chinese refugees. The could not even accomdate the Vietnamese refuee flow. The Fascists including the Japanese militarists were defeated in World War II, but only with the help of one of the totgalitarian powers--the Soviet Union. The Cold War would be the show down betwen Liberal Democracy anf totaltarian Communism. The result was the imposion of the Soviet Union. Economic reality had modified Chinese Communim.

Socialist Refugees

In the 20th century totalitarian powers (Fascist and Communists) and the wars and violence they fomented generated the greatest refugee flow in history, this began to change in the late-20th century. This is not to say that war and violence no longer cause refugee flows, it is to say that a new cause of refugees has risen in importance. Many Europeans thought that capitalism had serious flaws and socialism could create a more just society. The optimism of the turn-of the 20th century was dashed woth World war I and many refugees. This began the msrch toward the welfare state in already industrialized countries. Another socialist approach was totalitarian (Communist and Fascist) resulting in World War II and a massive refugee flow. After World War II the decolonization process began. The new Third World leaders even more than Europeans were embued with socialist idealism. Many were also impressed with the Soviet Union and thus not paricularly concerned with democracy, the rule of law, individual rights, in short the attributes of economic and political freedom. The result was catastrophic failure throughout the Third World. Well developed industrial country can support a costly welfare system, but using socialism to develop a backward Third World country was a recipe for failure. In sharp contrast, he Asian Tigers showed what capitalism could accomplish as had China, but the damage had been done. And people by the millions are now fleeing failed countries for the prosperity and freedom of the West. Ironically the same socialist ideal continues to have advocates in Europe and America despite the clear evidence that socialism means economic stagnation and that it is capitalism that can gentate economic growth.

Economic Refugees

Islamic Fundamentalist Generated Refugees

Created: 1:33 AM 1/11/2017
Last updated: 7:30 AM 4/30/2018