There will be no mass emigration of scholars from the U.S. during the second Trump administration like there was from Europe during World War II. We need to work together to rescue ourselves.
Every couple of months, I see an argument about why the second Trump administration will be a boon for other countries. The argument is usually supported by the history of talented scholars who emigrated from Nazi Germany and the impact it had on the United States. People will mention the litany of names of Nobel laureate so-and-so and academic star what’s-his-face and the brilliant decision the United States or the United Kingdom made in granting them sanctuary (they were almost always men). This is such a dominant narrative that one of the most popular books on the topic of European scientists that fled Nazi rule is named Hitler’s Gift.
It makes sense that people would compare 2026 U.S. higher education to 1930s Germany. The 1933 German Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service created the pretext for universities to fire the vast majority of Jewish and politically undesirable scholars (“ousted … because of their political opinions or race”). These people could try to find other work within Germany but, over time, the persecution escalated to the point that those targeted by the government had good reason to fear for their lives.
