S2 E6: What can Casablanca (1942) tell us about refugees fleeing Nazi Europe?

“Here’s looking at you kid.” “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” The film Casablanca has given cinema some of its most memorable lines, and in the case of “play it Sam” one of cinema’s most misquoted. Its critical and popular acclaim has endured throughout the eight decades since its release, still topping many best-film- ever-lists even today. Perhaps because of its seeming “timelessness”, it is often forgotten that Casablanca is a War film. And listeners may be surprised to know that, watched with a historial perspective, Casablanca can tell us a lot about: “Europe and North Africa under the Nazis and the consequent refugee crisis” - at least this the case that historian Dr Morris Brodie will be making in today’s episode.