Kimberley Plan
Encyclopedia
The Kimberley Plan, or Kimberley Scheme, was a failed plan by the Freeland League to resettle Jewish refugees
from Europe before and during the Holocaust
.
The League, led by Isaac Nachman Steinberg
, selected the Kimberley region in Australia
in hope to buy an area of 7 million acre
s (28,000 km²) of agricultural land for 75,000 Jews fleeing Europe. Steinberg based his campaign on the officially declared need to populate northern Australia. On 23 May 1939 he arrived in Perth
and by early 1940 gained substantial public support, but also encountered opposition.
On 15 July 1944 the Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin
informed Steinberg that the Australian government would not "depart from the long-established policy in regard to alien settlement in Australia" and could not "entertain the proposal for a group settlement of the exclusive type contemplated by the Freeland League".
Jewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
from Europe before and during the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
The League, led by Isaac Nachman Steinberg
Isaac Nachman Steinberg
Isaac Nachman Steinberg was a lawyer, revolutionary, politician, a leader of the Jewish Territorialist movement and writer in Soviet Russia and in exile.-Early life and first exile:...
, selected the Kimberley region in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in hope to buy an area of 7 million acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s (28,000 km²) of agricultural land for 75,000 Jews fleeing Europe. Steinberg based his campaign on the officially declared need to populate northern Australia. On 23 May 1939 he arrived in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and by early 1940 gained substantial public support, but also encountered opposition.
On 15 July 1944 the Prime Minister of Australia John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
informed Steinberg that the Australian government would not "depart from the long-established policy in regard to alien settlement in Australia" and could not "entertain the proposal for a group settlement of the exclusive type contemplated by the Freeland League".