As the oppression continued, more and more people were determined to leave home. At the same time, the free world's panicky fear of the mass of Jewish refugees grew. Thus, while those identified as Jews were gradually stripped of all civil rights and became targets of increasingly intense terror, the chances of obtaining visas to go abroad diminished.
Switzerland demanded that Jewish passports be marked with the letter J so that Jewish refugees could be easily distinguished from ordinary tourists at the border. The United States followed a strict national quota system. Many South American countries required proof of having received the sacrament of baptism, in infancy. International conferences devoted to the Jewish refugee crisis had one result: no country was willing to accept them.
One of the last chances was international cities like Tangier and Shanghai. Whoever managed to sail into the city and pay the hefty fees could stay. With the outbreak of war and the closure of the Mediterranean ports, there was only one way out. Through the territory of Nazi Germany's ally, the Soviet Union, to Kobe, Japan, and from there to Shanghai.
One of the many articles devoted to the possibilities of Jewish emigration.