Sosua - History

For hundreds of Austrian and German Jews, the Dominican resort town of Sosua represents more than a sun-splashed paradise.

Like the mahogany hope chests that are now sold on its busy streets, the town of Sosua was carved out of dense jungle 54 years ago. But even the most intricate of wooden carvings can't compete with the remarkable history of this thriving beach resort on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast.

In 1940, a patch of oceanfront wilderness on the island that Christopher Columbus dubbed Hispaniola represented much more than a sun-bleached paradise for hundreds of Austrian and German Jews fleeing Nazi persecution. It was the only place in the world that opened its doors to them.

Amid the bustling markets and street-corner chaos are a few subtle signs that reveal just how different Sosua is from the country's other decidedly Latin American towns: streets with names like Calle David Stern and Calle Joseph Rosen; the sight of fair, blue-eyed residents speaking Spanish as rapidly and emotionally as any native Dominican; and, smack in the centre of town, a small wooden house with a bright blue Star of David above the door.

The establishment of Sosua as a safe haven for Jewish refugees during World War II is one of the few positive deeds anyone can associate with General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, the brutal dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic for 31 years before being assassinated in 1961. While other countries were reluctant to receive them, Trujillo offered to shelter up to 100,000 Jews, in an effort to improve the country's relationship with the United States and, some say, with the hope of "whitening" the nation.

Only about 700 refugees ended up making the rough ocean journey and settling in Sosua. But that was enough to create a community out of the wild, one that went on to develop its own school, sanitation system, hospital, synagogue, and library-as well as a successful dairy business that would become the chief supplier of dairy and meat products for the entire country.

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