Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees A World War II Dilemma

Subjects:

• History » World History (General)
• History » Holocaust Studies
• History » Asian History
• Multicultural Studies » Jewish Studies

Reviews:

• A fascinating and well-researched account of Jews fleeing Europe through Asia before and during the Holocaust.
  —The Jewish State
• Japanese Diplomats And Jewish Refugees is an important, informative, and seminal contribution to Jewish experience and history arising from the holocaust.
  —Wisconsin Bookwatch
• What is at stake in this issue of Jewish refugees in Shanghai is nothing less than our understanding of the character of Japan's behavior during World War II. Pamela Rotner Sakamoto's clear-headed new book helps settle this issue. Based on primary research in the Foreign Ministry archives, this dispassionate and meticulous work makes clear that the influx of large numbers of Jewish refugees to Shanghai via Japan on the eve of the Pacific War was the result, not of any "pro-Jewish policy" or "conspiracy of good," but rather of the rudimentary state of Japanese immigration policies, Japan's overestimation of Jewish influence in the United States, and poor coordination among various branches of the Japanese government....This may not be the most satisfying conclusion, but what makes Sakamoto's book so good is that it is probably very close to the truth.
  —The Journal of Asian Studies
• Mrs. Sakamoto's search through Japanese, Russian, Jewish, and other primary and secondary sources has been thorough and comprehensive, and her presentation of her findings is admirably done....The coverage of the subject provided in the text of Mrs. Sakamoto's book and the photographs it includes, together with its extensive bibliography and workable index, make the work an indispensable addition to the literature of the Holocaust for both the specialist and the lay reader.
  —Cpngress Monthly
• [W]hat makes Sakamoto's book so good is that it is probably very close to the truth.
  —Points East Newsletter
• "...a unique and important work dealing with a subject that has not adequately been addressed in Holocaust history."
  —Shofar

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Introduction
• Before Japan Had a Jewish Problem
• Japan's Jewish Problem in 1938
• Increasing Restrictions in 1939 and 1940
• Sugihara Chiune
• Jewish Refugees in Japan in 1941
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index