Repatriation

Fridtjof Nansen, the League’s first High Commissioner for Refugees, was an important figure in its humanitarian work. His repatriation work returned about 427,000 prisoners of war to their home countries. Repatriation meant more than announcing that prisoners could leave: international cooperation was needed to arrange their return after the disruption of war.

His Union Movement campaign used the slogan ‘Keep Britain White’. He falsely blamed Black migrants for shortages of jobs and housing and portrayed Caribbean migrants as a source of crime. He promised repatriation, even though many Caribbean migrants were legally British citizens.