What can historians bring to the current discussion about refugee journeys? Building on the example of a group of 1,115 young Jewish survivors who went to Canada in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, this article addresses two essential questions: why did they leave and why did they go to Canada and not elsewhere? Drawing on Nicolas Mariot and Claire Zalc's notion of a ‘world of possibilities’ and taking into consideration age as a category of analysis, I argue that one can formulate hypotheses about these journeys by, first, mapping what was and was not available to the young survivors at different moments of their displacement and, second, by looking at how individuals navigated these possibilities and constraints. In so doing, this article aims to nuance approaches that uncritically emphasise agency, and therefore erase the specificity of young people's experiences of displacement.

La politique migratoire canadienne des années 1930 et 1940 est la plus restrictive et sélective de l’histoire du pays, notamment en raison de son hostilité envers les populations migrantes juives. La question de l’antisémitisme au Canada et au Québec ne peut donc se poser sans revenir sur la position d’Ottawa en matière migratoire. Dans cet article, nous souhaitons examiner non pas les manifestations de cette hostilité, mais la manière dont celle-ci fut perçue et combattue par le Congrès juif canadien (CJC), alors principale organisation de la communauté, entre 1945 et 1948. En effet, quelle image le CJC a-t-il vraiment de l’hostilité de l’opinion publique et des mécanismes discriminatoires de la politique migratoire canadienne ? Et comment cette perception façonne-t-elle durablement sa stratégie de lutte contre l’antisémitisme et l’hostilité à l’immigration juive ainsi que ses rapports avec le gouvernement King ? L’analyse fine du travail des principaux cadres du CJC sur cette question permet de jeter un éclairage nouveau sur la place de l’organisation au sein du judaïsme canadien, de mieux cerner ses relations avec la presse et, surtout, ses rapports avec un gouvernement et une administration pour le moins hostiles à l’entrée de migrants juifs au Canada.The anti-Semitic writings of Catholic French-Canadian intellectuals have received a lot of attention. From Lionel Groulx to Le Devoir, not to mention the Jeune-Canada movement, the 1930s have much to offer those interested in the issue of anti-Semitism in Catholic Quebec. A large number of relevant studies have focused on the period. However, although Catholicism has often been identified as a source of anti-Semitism, the role of the Catholic Church as an institution has yet to be examined. This article explores the views of the Catholic Church on anti-Semitism and its expressions, especially in relation to Adrien Arcand’s Christian National Socialist Party. Did the Church encourage anti-Semitism among its followers, did it condemn anti-Semitism, or did it largely ignore the issue ? Did the bishops themselves harbour prejudice against Jews, or even fear them ? The recently opened archives of the Archdioceses of Quebec and Montreal show that, on the one hand, the Church generally failed to reach out to the Jewish community or encourage Catholics to be more open and understanding. On the other hand, the Church was suspicious of Adrien Arcand’s party and had little appetite for his virulently anti-Jewish discourse. The article illustrates these findings by revisiting the 1930 debate on Jewish schools, the the relationship between the Quebec Church and the Christian National Socialist Party, as well as the anti-Semitic rhetoric of some priests in the Diocese of Quebec

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