At the turn of the 20th century, thousands crossed the Atlantic fleeing Europe, a miserable, persecuted or uncertain existence for the wide avenues of New York, the lucrative gambling dens of Brooklyn or the lights of Hollywood.

More history documentaries http://bit.ly/3lqyFpY Subscribe!

They, like 12 million emigrants, landed on Ellis Island: an outpost of the American immigration services in New York Bay and the last stop before setting foot on American soil. During these decisive hours, when the fate of the emigrants does not belong to them, when the inspectors of the immigration services determine who can enter American territory and who must be turned back, the American melting pot is invented, fueled by the upheavals of the Old Continent.

By drawing the threads of a few exemplary destinies, which echo the anonymous and longforgotten voices of other immigrants, woven from the history of the place itself, we will bring into dialogue the European dramas of the first half of the 20th century, with an America ambivalent, welcoming in successive waves an immigration that will renew and embody the “American dream”.

00:00 Ellis Island, story of the American dream
04:00 Immigration boom
19:00 New York
30:33 The integration of Irish immigrants
42:28 The influence of cinema on immigration to Ellis Island
51:09 The end of the era of immigration in the United States

"Ellis Island, a story of the American dream Part 1"
Director: Michaël Prazan
© FILMS OF THE DAY ARTE

#history #documentary #ellisisland