Dominican-Jewish Ironies

In 1937, Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo ordered the massacre of Haitians and black Dominicans as part of his Dominicanization process, which involved "whitening" the country. The next year, Trujillo was the only world leader to willingly accepted Jewish refugees, who were fleeing Nazi persecution, in hopes of continuing his process of Dominicanization. It's ironic that the Jews were wanted in the Dominican because they were considered white, while they were forced to flee their homelands precisely because they weren't considered white.

As part of the Jewish immigration to the Dominican Republic, an agricultural colony was formed in Sosua. The colony always enjoyed the support of the dictator until the day he died. Once Trujillo was assassinated, the Jewish settlers feared that their previous overt ties to Trujillo might cause them trouble. Ironically, the man who subsequently protected the colony was Antonio Imbert, one of only two members of the Trujillo assassination conspiracy to survive the wrath of the dictator's son in the weeks that followed the killing. (more at International Edition)