Humanitarian responses to and experiences of displacement in the aftermath of the Second World War have received considerable scholarly attention over the past two decades. The field has been particularly dynamic in recent years, from examinations of the everyday encounters between relief workers and displaced persons (DPs) to broader accounts of how the war cast a long shadow over individual lives and countries (see, for instance, the excellent monographs by Rebecca Clifford, by Peter Gatrell, and by Laure Humbert). Destination Elsewhere is a welcome addition to this historiography and to the already extensive contribution of Ruth Balint to migration and refugee history in Australian and global contexts.
Not surprisingly, the book's primary focus is on Europe in the immediate aftermath of the war, but Balint frequently expands the spatial and temporal boundaries of her analysis. Crucially, Australia is thoroughly examined throughout the monograph. The inclusion of Australia is a necessary...