Conditional Liberation: Immigration Past and Present in "The New Colossus" and The German Girl Fiona Byrd College

The liberation of immigrants from the chains of their home countries, and the welcoming integration of these individuals into American life is the main message expressed by Emma Lazarus in her poem “The New Colossus”. This theme of liberation of an afflicted and vulnerable group of individuals relates to the events in the novel The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa in the sense that the protagonist, Hannah, and her family were the victims of the racially-charged displacement implemented by the Nazi Party in World War II. The immigration of Hannah and her family into a welcoming country un-afflicted by the chains of oppression was necessary to their livelihood. In contrast to the idea of America existing as the “Mother of Exiles”(6) as described in “The New Colossus”, America has existed primarily as a contradiction to this title both historically and in the present, with the implementation of certain regulations that have, in turn, limited the rights of various groups of individuals.

The Nazi regime brought with it radical change and the chilling marginalization of the Jewish community within the regions affected by the regime’s influence. Many Jewish members of German society emigrated out of the country within the first few...