His resignation as League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not mean the refugee problem is solved, Mr. James G. McDonald declared at a press conference yesterday in the Foreign Policy Association offices. The conferences was called in connection with Mr. McDonald’s resignation, which he made public here today.
His statement, amplifying the letter of resignation, follows:
“My resignation as High Commissioner does not mean that the refugee question is solved–quite the contrary. That problem resulting from the National Socialist oppression of Jews, Christians ‘non-Aryans’ and also those ‘Aryan’ Catholics and Protestants who for their conscience sake have resisted the totalitarian dogma of the Nazi State is graver today than at any other time since April 1933.
“I have resigned because the steady intensification of National Socialist intolerance has brought about a situation which tran-
scends consideration of relief or settlement. Only the League of Nations can deal adequately with the crisis for it alone can concern itself directly with the roots of the problem–those factors which are creating refugees.
“Though henceforth I shall have no official connection with this question I intend to do everything I can in a personal capacity to help in the work of caring for the refugees. My experiences during the past 26 months convince me that nothing less is involved in this tragedy than principles basic to civilization itself.”
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.
