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Between March 1938 and November 1941, the NS-regime expelled more than 130,000 Austrians, the overwhelming majority of them being Jews according to the Nuremberg Laws. Organizations such as the JOINT (American Joint Distribution Committee), the Quakers, the Swedish Mission as well as Zionist associations provided important help in the acquisition of the required travel documents. Numerous countries tightened their refugee policies and made the holding of a visa compulsory such as Switzerland – which insisted that passports of Jews be marked with a »J« – or Great Britain. Refugees could enter Belgium only illegaly or were able to obtain only transit visa. The US had set up quotas for the various countries of origin and required an affidavit, a declaration of surety by a US-citizen. For Palestine, under British mandate at the time, a quota system was in place as well. Illegal refugee transports were led there by Zionist organizations mostly along dangerous ways. With the exception of Mexico, Latin American states granted entry permits only to agricultural workers. Shanghai had a special status since there was a possibility to enter if a certain amount of money or a work contract could be presented.
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