Soviet repatriation efforts among ‘displaced persons’ resettled in Australia, 1950-1953

Journal article

Fitzpatrick, Sheila. (2017). Soviet repatriation efforts among ‘displaced persons’ resettled in Australia, 1950-1953. Australian Journal of Politics and History. 63(1), pp. 45 - 61. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajph/12322
AuthorsFitzpatrick, Sheila
Abstract

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union made great efforts to persuade its former citizens among the “displaced persons” (DPs) resettled in Australia after the war to repatriate. They sent two undercover military intelligence men to Canberra to identify DPs who might be interested in returning, offer them free passages, and organize the repatriation. The result was a paltry dozen repatriations, out of the estimated 50,000 eligible DPs resettled in Australia. This strange story — hitherto completely unknown and reconstructed on the basis of recently opened Soviet classified material in the State Archive of the Russian Federation and ASIO files in the National Archives of Australia — adds a new angle to our understanding of Soviet‐Australian (and, in general, Soviet‐Western) relations at the height of the Cold War.

Year2017
JournalAustralian Journal of Politics and History
Journal citation63 (1), pp. 45 - 61
PublisherWiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia
ISSN0004-9522
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/ajph/12322
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85017322406
Page range45 - 61
Research GroupInstitute for Humanities and Social Sciences
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationAustralia
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