Although expressing satisfaction with the strides made in the last few months in settling the problem of the German refugees, High Commissioner James G. McDonald, League of Nations refugee head, struck a note of pessimism as to future prospects when he returned late Wednesday night on the liner Manhattan for a short stay in New York.
Mr. McDonald declared he had just finished a rapid tour of European capitals, including Berlin, Vienna, Paris and Rome, where he had discussed refugee work with government authorities. He said his visit to the United States is for the purpose of consulting with Jewish and Christian leaders interested in refugee work. He is sailing for Europe in time to be present at the Saar plebiscite election on January 13.
BARRIERS HEIGHTENED
“Under normal circumstances these few tens of thousands of industrious Germans could be easily placed,” Mr. McDonald declared. “Unfortunately, present world-wide conditions make the finding of these additional new homes particularly difficult. The economic crisis itself which still afflicts so many countries inevitably raises new barriers. But even worse, these natural barriers are now being heightened deliberately by politicians in several countries, who find that it is politically popular to charge that foreigners are responsible for the national economic crisis. Where such a mood of zeno-phobia prevails, the chances for a new life for the refugees tend to disappear. It is one of the most disheartening signs of the times that statesmen should be willing to make political capital out of the desperate needs of the defenseless refugees.”
The Saar plebiscite will aggravate the German refugee problem, it was contended by Miss Cecilia Razovsky, field counsellor of the National Council of Jewish Women and director of the National Coordinating Committee for Aid to Refugees in an address over radio station WEVD. The broadcast was under the auspices of the National Council of Jewish Women.
Miss Razovsky pointed out that the United States thus far has accepted only a handful of the 80,000 German refugees in proportion to its size. She outlined the work of the National Coordinating Committee in assisting James G. McDonald, League High Commissioner for Refugees.
Basilius Stern was granted the title of hereditary honorary citizen by Czar Nicholas I in recognition of his work in connection with improving the level of Jewish education.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
