Just before World War II, in response to the plight of Jewish refugees desperate to flee murderous persecution, U.S. Roosevelt convened the Evian Conference in 1938. Hopeful European Jews looked to the Evian Conference for “safe haven”. The world did NOT act. Following Britain’s and the United States lead, no attending country committed to accept a significant number of refugees; except one, the D
ominican Republic. The Dominican Republic offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees during World War II. In 1940, an agreement was signed and the first Jewish settlers came to Sosua, an abandoned banana plantation and small beach town on the northern coast of the island. Through this remarkable story of Holocaust survival, help us celebrate Sosua's past, present, and future. Please join us by raising public awareness of this scarcely known historic event to help teach future generations to stand up to intolerance and what the terrible results of NOT taking action can be.
