Guatemala

Guatemala

Der Brockhaus-Atlas. Die Welt in Bild und Karte, Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus 1937

Der Brockhaus-Atlas. Die Welt in Bild und Karte, Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus 1937

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Der Brockhaus-Atlas. Die Welt in Bild und Karte, Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus 1937
Guatemala 1938
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Population ca. 2,300,000
Area (km²) ca. 110,000
Inhabitants per km² 21
Jewish population before 1938 Jewish pop. before 1938 500 (0.02 %)

 

Policy on Immigration and Refugees

Jorge Ubíco, who rises to power in Guatemala in 1931 after running unopposed, relies primarily on the secret police and informers to enforce and maintain his authoritarian government. There are severe restrictions on public criticism and the press.

On October 7, 1938, the government revises the liberal naturalization law of January 25, 1936, and seven months later bans all political activity by foreigners in Guatemala, aiming to thwart the activities of National Socialists who are suspected of wanting to split off into a German colony. In September 1939, Guatemala immediately declares its neutrality, although Ubíco nurtures sympathies for Hitler and fascism. Ultimately, Guatemala’s dependence on the US leads to the internment of Reich Germans still in the country and to the confiscation of their property.

In 1933 the first Jewish refugees from Germany arrive. Their life in exile proves to be quite difficult: In 1934, attacks on Jewish pupils increase so much that many parents withdraw their children from school. Only in November 1938, after the pan-Germanic anti-Jewish pogrom, do additional refugees arrive in Guatemala.

At the Évian conference, the Central-American states Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama explain their position in common statements.

 

Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938 Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938

Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

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Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938 Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938

Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938

Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

Regulations for obtaining a visa for Guatemala, from the Austrian Chancellery, 1938 Österreichisches Staatsarchiv, Wien

Delegation

José Gregorio Díaz Luarca

* 1892   † 1972

Guatemala’s delegate to the Évian Conference, José Gregorio Díaz Luarca, heads the Guatemalan Mission in Berlin from 1931 to 1938. In the summer of 1938, he moves to Paris to become Guatemala’s envoy to France.

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca) Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca)

Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca) Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca)

Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca)

Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Delegates of Central America (2nd from right: José G. Díaz Luarca) Jüdische Presszentrale Zürich, July 15, 1938 / Archiv für Zeitgeschichte / ETH Zürich

Conference Contributions

Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

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Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY

Statement by the delegations of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras for the Technical Sub-Committee, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY
Declaration for the Technical Sub-Committee by the delegate of Guatemala, July 11, 1938 Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY