The “exiles of the numerus clausus” (1920) – Hungarian Jews, who between the two world wars became migrant students under the pressure of the numerus clausus law, were supported by Hungarian Jewry during their studies abroad in various forms of tzedakah. The emigration of numerus clausus exiles started as a spontaneous movement, but the Central Jewish Student Aid Committee rendered it more organized with the aim of preventing the anti-Semitic numerus clausus law’s goals: pushing out Jews from intelligentsia and reversing Jewish social mobility. As an impact of the well-organized tzedakah, Hungarian Jews of lower middle class origin, who were the first generation in their families to acquire higher education, were also able to graduate from universities abroad. This article presents the sources of tzedakah specifically aimed at numerus clausus exiles studying in Italy. In addition, a group of archival sources is presented that identifies a group of numerus clausus exiles.
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