Only a small proportion of European Jews were able to escape before persecution by the Nazi regime started. Many more would have been saved if other countries had granted them asylum. One consequence of this catastrophe was the UN Refugee Convention, which was adopted in 1951 and sets out the protection, aid and social rights that should be granted to refugees. The number of refugees is constantly increasing: at the end of 2019, almost 80 million people around the world were fleeing from war, expulsion and persecution, with 40% of them being children. The resulting, usually traumatic experiences – loss of the previous home country, obstacles and dangers on the way to the foreign country, and uncertainty and hostility in the countries they reach – bring with them physical and emotional injuries that are often passed on to future generations. The way we treat refugees shows the type of society we live in and want to live in.