Emphasizing that two years after the end of the war hundreds of thousands of Europe’s Jewish survivors are still homeless, hungry and sick, governors of states from coast to coast today called upon Americans of all faiths to support the nationwide $170,000,000 United Jewish Appeal campaign for relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Jews in Europe.
The governors warmly praised the objectives of the United Jewish Appeal campaign as “an integral part of any program designed to bring about a just and lasting peace to a tortured continent.” Several of the governors designated the month of May as United Jewish Appeal Month in their states.
Governors who joined in endorsing the United Jewish Appeal campaign included: Thomas E. Dewey, New York; Alfred E. Driscoll, New Jersey; Earl Warren, California; Ralph F. Gates, Indiana; Ernest W. Gibson, Vermont; Thomas J. Herbert, Ohio; J. Strom Thurmond, South Carolins; Frank Carlson, Kansas; Roy J. Turner, Oklahoma; Jim McCord, Tennessee; Dan E. Garvey, Acting Governor, Arizona; M.E. Thompson, Georgia; Millard F. Caldwell, Florida; Charles M. Dale, New Hampshire; George T. Mickelson, South Dakota; Ben Laney, Arkansas; Lester C. Hunt, Wyoming; R. Gregg Cherry, North Carolina; Earl Snell, Oregon; Oscar Rennebohm, Wisconsin; Beauford H. Jester, Texas; Horace Hildreth, Maine; and Mon C. Wallgren, Wishington.
Henry Morgenthau, Jr., former Secretary of the Treasury, and general chairman of the United Jewish Appeal campaign, hailed the statements of the governors as a gratifying demonstration of the American people’s deep concern for the welfare of the 1,500,000 men, women and children who were the first to suffer the lash of tyranny and the last to be restored to a life of peace and dignity.”
Pointing out that this is a time of heightening tragedy for the remaining Jews in Europe as a result of the scheduled total liquidation of UNRRA on June 30, 1947, Mr. Morgenthau warned that only the united efforts of the American people could stave off further mass suffering and despair among the already decimated ranks of the Jewish people of Europe.
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.
