Researcher Carolina Henriques Pereira from the University of Coimbra wins the 2024 Victor de Sá Prize for Contemporary History with the work “Behind the Scenes of Hospitality: The Reception of Jewish Refugees in Central Portugal (1940-1946)”.
The research details how, during World War II, Portugal welcomed hundreds of Jewish refugees in spa towns and coastal resorts in the Central Region, which had lost many tourists during that period. Examples include Buçaco, Caldas da Rainha, Coimbra, Curia, Ericeira, Figueira da Foz, and Luso.
The award, granted by the Cultural Council of the University of Minho, is aimed at young researchers of Contemporary History in Portugal. Researchers Pedro Almeida Leitão, from the University of Porto, and André Carvalho, from the University of Lisbon, also received accolades, the latter earning an honorable mention.
About the award
The Victor de Sá Prize for Contemporary History was established 33 years ago through a donation from professor and historian Victor de Sá (1921-2004). It is recognized as being of manifest cultural interest by the State Secretariat for Culture and is supported by both public and private sponsors.
About the researcher
Carolina Henriques is also the co-author of the book “Refugees in Portugal in the 20th Century – Between Hospitality and Intransigence,” released in October. Together with historian Fábio Alexandre Faria, she examines the topic of European refugees who fled to Portugal, escaping the war and the persecution carried out by fascist and Nazi regimes against Jews and other ethnic and national groups.
