'Chifley liked them Blond': DP immigrants for Australia

Article


Persian, Jayne. 2015. "'Chifley liked them Blond': DP immigrants for Australia." History Australia. 12 (2), pp. 80-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2015.11668571
Article Title

'Chifley liked them Blond': DP immigrants for Australia

ERA Journal ID7212
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorPersian, Jayne
Journal TitleHistory Australia
Journal Citation12 (2), pp. 80-101
Number of Pages21
Year2015
Place of PublicationAustralia
ISSN1449-0854
1833-4881
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2015.11668571
Web Address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14490854.2015.11668571
Abstract

170,000 ‘displaced persons’ (DPs) – predominantly Central and Eastern Europeans – arrived in Australia between 1947 and 1952 as refugees sponsored by the International Refugee Organization (IRO). This article traces the political evolution of the decision by Arthur Calwell’s new Department of Immigration not only to accept, but to actively recruit, displaced persons, as well as examining the Department’s racial and political standards of acceptability in relation to this first mass non- British migration program to Australia. It argues that whiteness, potential as workers and, to a lesser extent, anti-communism were the main criteria applied in judging the suitability of DPs for settlement in Australia.

ANZSRC Field of Research 2020430302. Australian history
Public Notes

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.

Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Sydney
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
Funding source
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Grant ID
DP130101215
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