Ideal Immigrant: The Ministry of Justice and the Entry of Foreigners into Brazil (1941-1945)

Until the 1930s, immigration was considered essential to Brazil to fill its labor shortage and aid in the settlement of the continent-sized territory. However, after World War II, immigration policy changed, following the trend emerging from the United States to restrict the entry of foreigners, especially the elderly and disabled, under the argument that it was essential to promote the "eugenics of our people and the health of our people." The government adopted a nationalist policy of control, resulting in an authoritarian system rife with ethnic, religious, and cultural prejudices, allowing some of its high-ranking officials to become veritable "gatekeepers of the country." Koifmann, in this extensively documented and exemplary work, brings to light what happened in Brazil during the Vargas dictatorship, revealing details about the dark nature of the Estado Novo.