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Jews Fleeing Amsterdam; Refugees Besiege Consulates

May 16, 1940
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Amsterdam Jews are fleeing to the Dutch coast and German refugees are besieging foreign consulates trying to arrange transportation, the New York Herald Tribune reported today in an Amsterdam dispatch from its correspondent, Beach Conger. The dispatch said:

“Whole families in the Jewish section started to leave for the coast, hoping they might possibly find a ship for England. But there were so many of these refugees that the Mayor of near-by Ijmuiden stated on the radio that the town, being a naval base, was a dangerous spot, that there were no ships going to England and that all fleeing persons would be turned back.

Another indication was the fact that without warning to Belgian or French subjects, the staffs of the French and Belgian Consulates left suddenly either last night or this morning and asked the American Consulate General to take over their interests. All day long these three offices were besieged not only by Belgian, French and British but also by German refugees, both Jewish and “Aryan,” asking for help in getting out of the country.”

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