Trial access to the digital archive Immigrations, Migrations and Refugees: Global Perspectives, 1941-1996 is available for March 2019 for members of the University of Cambridge.

From the beginning of World War II through the end of the twentieth century, the mass movement of peoples caused problems for governments around the world. Responses to legal immigration, illegal immigration, and refugee crises varied greatly, often depending on a country’s proximity to the crisis. These problems and responses helped shape the world we live in.

This database contains news reports, television transcripts, and radio transcripts from around the world. The reports were chosen by a U.S. government agency called the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS)—which became part of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1947–to be disseminated among government officials and decision makers. The reports begin with the refugee flows during World War II and cover all crises through 1996. The reports come from many nations and, where necessary, were translated into English. No U.S. newspapers or broadcasts are included in this database.