Prime Minister Harold Macmillan told the House of Commons here today that he was glad of the opportunity to confirm that Britain and the British Government were not indifferent to the fate of the Jews.
Mr. Macmillan made his statement while replying to Laborite Arthur Henderson, who requested last week that the Government issue a White Paper on its actions when plans were proposed to help European Jews leave Nazi countries during the war years, from 1939 to 1945.
Stating that he sympathized with Mr. Henderson’s request, the Premier said the problem was “a complex matter.” He added that he had not as yet had time to consider the White Paper proposal fully, and said he would communicate with Mr. Henderson further as soon as he had done so.
Mr. Henderson told the Prime Minister that, in view of the fact that Britain’s position on the wartime Jewish evacuation plans had been given worldwide negative publicity through testimony at the Adolf Eichmann trial in Israel, he hoped Mr. Macmillan would place on the record the fact that Britain was not indifferent to the fate of the Jews.
Sidney Silverman, another Labor Member of Parliament, asked Mr. Macmillan whether he realized that there was “a great deal of bewilderment and anxiety about this whole tragic story. ” He said that this feeling might be reduced if the Government accepted the Henderson suggestion.
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