Tens of thousands of Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria and former Czecho-Slovakia who have reached England and France will be interned in the Allied countries, the State Department heard today from abroad.
Robert Pell, in charge of the Department’s refugee activities, said many of those interned later may come to America under the German, Czech and Austrian quotas under plans now being worked out.
Immigration from Germany and Nazi-dominated countries has ended, Pell said, but the quotas still remain, and Jews and other refugees who have succeeded in leaving Germany can come to the United States when visas are available.
Many of the refugees in the Allied countries are now in camps. Thousands of them have volunteered for service with the Allied armies, and it is believed here that plans will be perfected by which their services can be accepted.
As for the remainder, Britain and France hope that the United States will take as many as the quotas will allow and those unable to reach America under the quotas will be interned for the duration of the war with small hope of finding a new homeland.
Meanwhile, it became certain today that the war situation has forced cancellation of the White House conference on refugees called by President Roosevelt for next month. Myron C. Taylor, American vice chairman of the Intergovernmental Refugee Committee, will come to Washington this week, probably on Wednesday, to confer with State Department officials.
The war had another echo in Washington when two bluecoats were seen pacing a beat in front of the German Embassy. Inspector Thompson, chief of detectives, said the detail was “the regular force guarding the embassy district.”
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.
