In 1933, many German Jews approached Swedish authorities with queries about moving to Sweden. Government officials responded by declaring that the immigration of large numbers of Jews to Sweden was impossible, referring to the country's high rate of unemployment, Sweden's restrtictive immigration laws and strong public opinion against the immigration of Jews. Despite the government's restrictive policy, when Nazi Germany's total ban on emigration was decreed in October 1941, 4,000 Jews had already escaped to Sweden