Final answer:
During the 1930s, the U.S. and many other countries enforced strict immigration quotas based on nationality, severely limiting the number of Jewish refugees who could escape Nazi persecution, with tragic incidents like the SS St. Louis highlighting the dire consequences.
Step-by-step explanation:
United States Immigration Quotas in the 1930s
During the 1930s, many countries, including the United States, set strict immigration quotas which limited the number of immigrants allowed entry. These quotas were based on the nationality of the immigrants and were influenced by the National Origins Act of 1924, which aimed to preserve American homogeneity by reducing the share of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe, areas from which many Jews originated. As a result, Jewish refugees seeking to escape the persecution of the Nazi regime found it exceedingly difficult to find countries willing to accept them. The quota system was based on a percentage of each nationality that was already present in the United States according to the 1890 census. This resulted in a greater number of entries for people from northern and western Europe and fewer entries for those from countries with high Jewish populations like Italy, Poland, and Russia.
Amidst rising anti-Semitism and the growing threat of Nazism, the plight of Jewish refugees became critical. The U.S. Congress, influenced by isolationist sentiments and nativist attitudes, largely refused to relax immigration restrictions to aid Jewish refugees, leaving many to face dire fates in Europe. This indifference was partly due to the broad support among Americans to continue the immigration status quo, coupled with international anti-Semitic attitudes that existed even in places like the United States where Jews faced discrimination in various aspects of life.
The SS St. Louis incident in 1939 tragically exemplifies the impact of these quotas. Jewish refugees aboard the ship were denied entry to Cuba and subsequently the United States due to these strict immigration laws, forcing them to return to Europe where many faced concentration camps. Such events underscore the severe consequences of the immigration policies of that era.