Calling attention to the “shameless, ungodly beastly persecution of the Jews being undertaken in Germany and the territories which the Nazis dominate,” Rep. James M. Curley, Mass. Dem., today demanded vigorous and determined action by the United States to rescue the Jews of Europe. He asked that this country “transform into reality the promise of relief which it has held “out.”
“We have started well by the creation of the War Refugee Board and by calling to the attention of the murderers the fact that their crimes will not go unavenged,” he told the House, “but more is needed, much more — and the time is now.
“The War Refugee Board and its executive have worked hard and well and they are deserving of the highest praise, but the undertaking ahead is still tremendous,” Curley continued. “We must act if we wish to accomplish results and we must act with vigor and determination. Our intentions are admirable enough but certainly we must be prepared to do more than enunciate these intentions.”
“The Greeks,” Curley said, “have not hesitated to do everything in their power to hide and help the Jews being sought after by the Nazi Gestapo. Similarly, Polish patriots fighting in the underground against the Nazi conqueror have held out the hand of brotherhood to the Jews. Nor did the Jews fail them,” he added, “for with the arms made available to them by the Poles they fought gallant battles in the ghettos of Warsaw and Bialystok that cost the Germans hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.”
“If the oppressed Greeks and Poles in the depths of their misery can reach out and befriend these sufferers,” Curley concluded, “certainly this nation with its wealth, resources and armed might can transform into reality the promise of relief which it has held out.”
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.
