“Unlike Her” (July 28, 1947)
by Paul R Carmack (1895-1977)
11 x 15 in., ink on board
Coppola Collection

Paul Carmack was a staff cartoonist for the Christian Science Monitor.

Resettlement of the displaced persons (DPs) outside continental Europe proved to be a huge political obstacle immediately after liberation. The Allies were prepared to help the people reclaim their homes, but no one was ready to open their gates and offer the DPs new homes. Sympathy was high, but there was a strong notion that the survivors would only hamper already war-weakened domestic environments, the Allies deliberated and procrastinated for years before resolving the emigration crisis.

President Truman said in his annual message, on January 6, that the United States was not doing its part in admitting displaced persons. He urged that Congress “turn its attention to this world problem, in an effort to find ways whereby we can fulfill our responsibilities to these thousands of homeless and suffering refugees of all faiths.”

The Exodus 1947 was carrying 4,515 Jewish DPs when it was stopped by British forces on July 17, 1947. The crew and passengers resisted surrender, prompting a British attack in which three men from the Exodus 1947 were killed and many others wounded.

Hearings were held in June on a bill [HR 2910] by Rep. Stratton (R., Ill.) to permit the entrance of 100,000 refugees a year for four years but the bill had not been acted upon by either house when the session came to a close.