ABSTRACT This article explores the case of ‘illegal’ immigration at the end of the Second World War and, specifically, the events that unfolded at the Italian port of La Spezia. In April 1946, 1014 visa-less Jewish refugees, who were attempting to reach the British Mandate of Palestine, were detained on a vessel by Italian authorities under the instruction of the British. Rather than conceding to Whitehall’s rejection of entry visas, the Spezia refugees remained defiant, threatening collective mass-suicide and staging hunger strikes until passage was finally granted. The Spezia narrative has, however, remained on the periphery of academic scholarship, with the case of the ship Exodus 1947, which set sail the following year, dominating historiographical accounts. This article demonstrates the impact of the La Spezia Affair on post-war migratory movements and, most notably, the importance of refugee agency within the context of forced migration. Analysing the events at La Spezia from the port itself recasts the narrative through a ‘local’ lens, recovering the role of the refugees which has been largely overshadowed by state-level responses. In so doing, traditional perspectives from ‘above’ are confronted with those from ‘below’, reconfiguring our historical understanding of refugees and transnational migration in the twentieth century.

中文翻译：

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穿越“锡安之门”的旅程：英国政策、犹太难民和拉斯佩齐亚事件，1946 年

摘要 本文探讨了第二次世界大战结束时“非法”移民的案例，特别是在意大利拉斯佩齐亚港口发生的事件。1946 年 4 月，1014 名无签证犹太难民试图抵达英国托管的巴勒斯坦，在英国人的指示下被意大利当局扣押在一艘船上。斯佩齐亚难民没有承认白厅拒绝入境签证，而是继续挑衅，威胁集体集体自杀并举行绝食抗议，直到最终获准通过。然而，斯佩齐亚的叙述一直处于学术研究的边缘，以次年启航的 1947 年出埃及记为例，在史学记载中占主导地位。本文展示了拉斯佩齐亚事件对战后移民运动的影响，尤其是难民机构在被迫移民背景下的重要性。从港口本身分析拉斯佩齐亚的事件，通过“本地”镜头重新叙述了故事，恢复了难民的作用，而难民的作用在很大程度上被州级的反应所掩盖。在这样做的过程中，来自“上方”的传统观点与来自“下方”的观点对峙，重新配置了我们对 20 世纪难民和跨国移民的历史理解。恢复难民的作用，这在很大程度上被州级的反应所掩盖。在这样做的过程中，来自“上方”的传统观点与来自“下方”的观点对峙，重新配置了我们对 20 世纪难民和跨国移民的历史理解。恢复难民的作用，这在很大程度上被州级的反应所掩盖。在这样做的过程中，来自“上方”的传统观点与来自“下方”的观点对峙，重新配置了我们对 20 世纪难民和跨国移民的历史理解。