To Truman Administration's Refugee Policy To Soviet And Eastern Europe

Using displaced person to push foreign policy was a new phenomenon in American post-war foreign policy, and the refugee policy Truman established was just the source of this phenomenon. With the appearance of Trumanism in 1947, containment policy comes to be the national strategy. While the refugee policy, which constituted the containment policy, finally became a long-term policy, existing throughout cold war.During its early period, American-Soviet relationship deteriorated. To push the strategy to contain Soviet, a long-term struggle happened between Truman executive authorities and congress. In the end, refugee policy was established and was embodied by the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 and the Amendment Act of 1950. Its aim was to provide protection for anti-Soviet refugees through drawing up constitution, to gather information and act secretly by means of refugees and to weaken the roles that Soviet played in Europe. As the first refugee act in America, it supplemented the margin of previous refugee-act, perfected American migration law and set up a good example for the later establishment of laws. Truman's government established its prestige in western world, weakened Soviet's influence and strength itself by virtue of displaced person. The implementation of the refugee policy affected, to a certain degree, the west-Europe, Soviet and east-Europe as well as international relationship.For many years, internal scholars made a great success in researching this problem, but most of scholars researched this problem as a part of migration policy, instead of as an external policy. The domestic scholars' research into this problem is not sufficient enough. A further research is needed because of it's realistic and technical values, which can, on the on hand, hint us the extent to which America and soviet struggle, and the relationship between refugee and containment policy, and widen our research further into cold-war. On the other hand, it can also provide some beneficial reference to the increasingly serious international refugee problem nowadays.The whole dissertation is composed of six parts:Preface: It focuses on the introduction of the topic, relevant research made home and abroad, the significance of the topic and the structure of the article.The first: It analyzes the background of Truman refugee policy on the basis of post-war international relationship. By means of its strong economic and military strength after the world war, America established its diplomatic strategy of aiming at world hegemony. Meanwhile, in order to contain Soviet's expansion, it established a strategy to weaken Soviet through non-military means, and the displaced policy became a tool to realize this goal.The second: This part deal with the process of establishment of the refugee policy and its content. In order to strengthen the benefits in cold war, making use of the solution of refugee problem, America wanted to establish it's prestige in the free world and weaken the influence from eastern Europe. After the long-term struggle between executive authorities and congress, two laws were drawn up in America, the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 and the Amendment Act of 1950.The third: It introduces the nature of displaced person. Through analyzing its content, the main topic and the Jewish refugee policy, It discloses the national discipline and anti-communism thought. Humanism, appearing in the Displaced Person, but, to a greater extent, is seen as a banner of striving for people's support.The fourth: It goes further to show its execution and influence. In order to contain Soviet's expansion and weaken eastern European influence, America accepted many a political emigrants from east Europe, making use of refugees to gather information and act secretly. These actions influenced west-Europe and east-soviet to some extent, as well as the international relationship.The fifth: It generalizes the whole view.