Figure 1.--The totalitarian nations of the 20th century created millions of desperate people. Some managed to flee while the revolutions were in process, but once in powe this becane more difficult. The NAZis at first permitted refugees to escape, at least in the early years. The Communist in contrast used theue security forces to prevent any flow of refugees. This would undermine their claims of building utopian socities. As a result, prople around the world even as the Soviet Union was collapsing continued to fervntly believe in Communism. Refugees as a result were generally regarded as conter-revolutionaries. A few desperate Chinese refuees managed to make it into Hoing Kong despite the efforts of Chinese and British authorities. The press caption here read. "Chinese lad eager to haul CARE package: Unable to lift the C.A.R.E. packages, a young Chinese lad in Hong Kong solves the problem by pushing it along the pavemnt. He os one of of thousands of youngsters, oddspring of refugees from Communism who are being helped through the C.A.R.E. (Cooperative American Remittance Everywhere) program. Every parcel contains rice, flour, sugar and other essential foods. C.A.R.E. has 150 outlets in Hong Kong." The photograph is datd July 10, 1957.

Some of the most tragic people in history are those unable to flee. When we discuss refugees we are often discussing groups that sucessfully fled drought, famine, climate change, economic exploitation and collapse, repression, persecution, and even murder in their home countries. Some of these disastes such as drougt and famine are as old as time. Persecution and economic collapse are more modern phenomenon. And they are especially notable with the rise of totalitarian societies in the 20th century. he NAZIs wereactually very proud of their persecution policies abddid not limit the feugee flow. As the persecution shited to murder, they restricted the refugee flow ad attempted to hide what they were doing. The Communists were somewhat different. They did not want to create a refugee flow as it would reflect badly on the utopian societies they claimed to be creating. And refugees coul be useful to create a Gulag of slave labor. Where there was a security threat, sich as the Ukrnian peasantry resisting both Communism and collectivization, Stalin decided in amore immediate sollution--starvation. And the NKVD prevented any refugee flow so the most deadly famine in European history occurred without most of Europe knowing about it. Mao's Communist regime in China proved even more deadly thn the Soviets. And again the Chinese security forces prevented any massive emigration flow. The geography of China and border with other Communist countries also prevented major refugee flows. Although some Chinese mananaged to make it into Hong Kong. The huge Chinese population also meant that the world could not provide for the masive problem the Chinese created. Trpped in their own couuntry, some 75 million people were even murdered or starved under Mao's rule. Only the Communists could coinsidr such a mn a nationl icon. There were massive refugee flows whereever the Communists seized power, but soon ended through murder and a hardening of borders by security forces.

Created: 8:45 PM 11/6/2015
Last updated: 8:45 PM 11/6/2015