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The Door Slams Shut: Immigration from the YIVO Collections 1920-Today

The YIVO collections are one of the foremost resources for the study of Jewish immigration to America, and of Jewish migration in general. Among our 23 million unique items and over 400,000 volumes are the autobiographies and personal papers of Jewish writers, artists, scholars, and communal activists, whose life stories include experiences as refugees and immigrants.

Although over one thousand children were able to reach America and find asylum here during World War II, many Jews found their road to safety barred. Treated as criminals or political undesirables, Jews seeking a new life in the United States even before the Holocaust were met with immigration restrictions and quotas preventing them from finding refuge.

In the 1920s, Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge imposed new immigration restrictions, effectively slamming the doors shut on Jewish immigration. American Jews—the majority of whom were immigrants—opposed these discriminatory regulations. Taking aim with strong images and sharp words, Yiddish cartoonists used political, cultural, and traditional Jewish iconography to craft numerous cartoons that considered the situation, which was potentially a matter of life and death.

“The Search for Leaven – The Way It Should Be!” Referencing the burning of the remaining bread (khomets) before Passover, Uncle Sam holds the Haggadah and says the traditional prayer. Burning in the pyre are “corrupt politics,” “high taxes,” and “bribery scams.” His wife, Aunt Sam, holds more fodder for the fire, among them “Ku Klux Klanism,” “Anti-immigration laws,” and “Fordism” (a reference to the antisemitic Henry Ford), and says, “Nu, Sammy, burn this stuff with the rest of the leavened bread so we can have a kosher Passover.” Cartoonist: Zuni Maud. Der groyser kundes, April 18, 1924. YIVO Library.


These cartoons, from the perspective of the Jewish immigrant community, were originally published in the Yiddish newspaper Der groyser kundes. Located in the YIVO Library, they are a window into a period of national unrest that repeats itself today. In 2019, we are still confronting similar issues for immigrants escaping from persecution in different parts of the world.

Visit YIVO’s newest online exhibit, Stories from the Archives: Jewish Immigration to America, to view some of these political cartoons and much more from YIVO’s collections about the Jewish immigration experience.

With your friendship and support we will continue to safeguard our shared history. Please donate to YIVO during this Passover. Kindly make your most generous tax-deductible contribution today. Every gift is significant and very much appreciated.

 

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