Moving barbed wire: Geographies of border crossing during world war II

Abstract

In their attempt to flee from fascism, Jenny Kehr and Walter Benjamin clandestinely crossed the border between Spain and France. A study of their route paths leads to three questions: (1) What do we learn about border crossing by studying specific experiences of refugees during World War II? (2) How do route paths of exiles fit with the memory of World War II in different national contexts? (3) How did individuals experience the locations that they crossed? Mapping the exile routes makes it possible to tackle these questions. These two instances of border crossing that turned deadly reveal common patterns that emerge when considering the borders that shape the lives of migrants far beyond the moment when they cross them by sea or by land.