Sosúa

{{main|History of the Jews in the Dominican Republic}}

The town of Sosúa was officially founded by Jewish refugees fleeing from Nazi Germany. At the 1938 Evian Conference, Rafael Trujillo offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees; about 800 German and Austrian Jewish refugees received visas issued by the Dominican government between 1940 and 1945 and settled in Sosúa.{{cite book| author=Crassweller RD |title=Trujillo. The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator. |publisher=The MacMillan Co, New York (1966)| pages=199–200}}{{Cite web |last=Reyes |first=José María |date=2022-01-11 |title=Sosúa: su historia como atractivo turístico cultural |url=https://suelocaribe.com/destinos/puerto-plata/sosua-su-historia-como-atractivo-turistico-cultural/ |access-date=2024-04-18 |website=Suelocaribe.com |language=es}} An agreement was made between Trujillo and Jewish businessmen in New York City. The government provided the settlers with land and resources with which they created a food factory and company named Productos SosúaHans-Ulrich Dillmann, Ein karibischer Ausweg. Die Siedlung Sosua in der Dominikanischen Republik, in: Heimat und Exil. Emigration der deutschen Juden nach 1933. Jüdischer Verlag, Frankfurt 2006 {{ISBN|3633542221}}, pp. 171 - 177, in German. E. g. Artur Kirchheimer. Cf. [http://www.sosuanews.com/index.php?id=1055&article=1 online], here max. 571 German refugees in total are counted for Sosúa still in existence today.

Descendants of the original Jewish settlers still live in Sosúa; among them is the former mayor Ilana Neumann. They remain an important segment of the community and maintain a synagogue and a museum.

Most of the descendants of the refugees have migrated to the United States. Some families remained and established inns and bed and breakfasts, which were first visited by former refugees.

File:City of Sosua, Dominican Republic, Aerial View.jpg

Sosúa Abajo, which translates roughly to "Lower Sosúa", is located on the western side of Sosúa in a valley nearby a river that flows into Sosúa Bay. Mainly a rural area of Sosúa, Sosúa Abajo houses many of the workers who commute to the El Batey area, nearby Cabarete Bay and Playa Dorada.

The Barrio of Los Charamicos, between El Batey and Abajo, is a densely-populated urban area known for its nightlife, dancing, and bar scene.

File:Marcos Díaz2.jpg off Sosúa beach]]

Sosúa Bay attracts many water sports enthusiasts, including snorkelers and divers because of its sheltered, calm waters, diverse species of fish and intricate reef structures. In the winter, whale watching is also a popular tourist activity in Sosúa Bay.

File:Sosúa - Playa Alicia 0413.JPG

Recently, naturally occurring beach replenishment has created a new beach just north of Sosúa Bay, depositing sand where there were previously only sheer rock cliffs. The beach is called Playa Alicia.

There are several other beaches, Sosua Beach, which is a crescent-shaped bay protected by coral formations. Sosúa's other beaches are Waterfront (Playa Alicia), Paradise beach (actually shifts on and off every several months), Playa Imbert and Playa Chiquita. Waterfront beach is just {{Age in years|2002}} years old, created after a storm around 2002.

File:Доминиканская Республика - panoramio (74).jpg

Sosua became a popular tourist destination with the rise of the tourism industry in the Puerto Plata area during the 1980s. In the late 1990s and 2000s Sosúa also became a favorite destination of sex tourists from Europe and North America. Starting in the late 2000s there was an effort to crack down on this industry, which caused a decline."Avalancha de rechazo al turismo sexual en Sosúa y Cabarete", Periódico El Faro, June 7, 2013, http://periodicoelfaro.com.do/2013/06/avalancha-de-rechazo-al-turismo-sexual-en-sosua-y-cabarete/Antonio Heredia, "Deportan norteamericano arrestado en Sosúa acusado de promover el turismo sexual hacia RD", Puerto Plata Digital, July 3, 2014, http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=15808"Apresan en Sosúa a alemán acusado de explotación sexual", Dominicano ahora, March 15, 2014, http://www.dominicanoahora.com/nacionales/region-norte/27513-apresan-en-sosua-a-aleman-acusado-de-explotacion-sexual.html

Sosua remains a destination for sex tourism, though with a poorer clientele.{{cite web|title=The Legal Status of Prostitution by Country|url=http://chartsbin.com/view/snb|website=Chartsbin|access-date=12 December 2017}}{{cite web|last1=Jennings|first1=Kathleen M.|last2=Nikolić-Ristanović|first2=Vesna|title=UN Peacekeeping Economies and Local Sex Industries: Connections and Implications|url=http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/RWP17_KJ_VNR.pdf|publisher=MicroCon|access-date=14 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100806213042/http://www.microconflict.eu/publications/RWP17_KJ_VNR.pdf|archive-date=6 August 2010|date=September 2009}} Local women turn to prostitution as the town has fewer economic opportunities compared to larger cities of the country.{{cite web|title=100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies|url=https://prostitution.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000772|website=Procon|access-date=12 December 2017}}{{cite web|url= https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/wha/119157.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090226174655/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/wha/119157.htm|url-status=dead |archive-date= 26 February 2009|title=2008 Human Rights Report: Dominican Republic|website=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=26 January 2017}} Haitian migrants also take part in the sex tourism business, with many of the prostitutes in some areas being of Haitian descent.{{cite web|author1=Gerardo Reyes |url=http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/10/24/102504/sex-tourism-thrives-on-dominican.html |title=Sex tourism thrives on Dominican streets with Haitian girls |website=McClatchydc.com |date=24 October 2010 |access-date=26 January 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=334777&CategoryId=14092 |title=Latin American Herald Tribune - Dominican Republic Deports 163 Haitians |website=Laht.com |access-date=26 January 2017}} At sex tourism sites the lighter Dominicans are favored over darker Haitians,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ibO-AAAAQBAJ&q=prostitution+haitians+lighter+dominicans&pg=PA124 |title=Sex Trafficking: A Global Perspective |page=124 |date= 12 April 2010|access-date=26 January 2017|isbn=9780739147283 |last1=McCabe |first1=Kimberly Ann |last2=Manian |first2=Sabita }} who are forced to work in the streets or local bars rather than the more lucrative up-scale areas.

File:Sosúa - El Batey 0403.jpg|Sosua street mural

File:Sosúa - Sinagoga 0388.jpg|Jewish museum

File:Доминиканская Республика - panoramio (75).jpg|Sosua resort area

File:Los-charamicos.jpg|Los Charamicos

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{{Wikivoyage|Sosúa}}

• [http://www.sosuamuseum.org Sosua Virtual Museum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090616082321/http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/a/awells/tropical-zion/ Tropical Zion: General Trujillo, FDR, and the Jews of Sosúa] by Allen Wells
• [http://www.mjhnyc.org/ Museum of Jewish Heritage]
• [https://www.sosuabeachdr.com/ Sosua Beach Web Portal]
• [http://www.sosua-villas.com/sosua/history-of-sosua History of Sosua]
• [http://archives.jdc.org/explore-the-archives/finding-aids/dorsa-collection/ Records of the Dominican Republic Settlement Association (DORSA) 1939-1977] American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives

{{Municipalities of the Dominican Republic}}

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Category:Historic Jewish communities

Category:Municipalities of the Dominican Republic

Category:Populated places in Puerto Plata Province