Tribute is paid by Jesse Silverman, writing in the “Review of Reviews” of London, to the approximately 2,500 German refugees who have been given permission to reside in Great Britain. Most of them are Jews.
“These refugees,” he says, “have not only brought capital here, and added it to the total of our British resources. They have brought their skill and business acumen, and they have brought, to our common advantage, talent, experience and personality.”
Describing these refugees as “of a class prudent enough to take care of themselves in times of trouble, and persistent and enterprising enough to overcome all the difficulties of getting here,” the article continues:
“They have knocked at the door and have been admitted as friends and neighbors. Some of them are constructive, ambitious and clever. Many have been owning or controlling businesses in Germany.
“It is not surprising therefore to learn that many of them have already taken steps to adopt England as their home and have started in Britain businesses with which they are familiar.”
This has resulted in complications, for official permission is required and is obtainable only when the Home Secretary is satisfied as to their financial standing and reputation.
Similar difficulties are encountered by the refugees, limited in number, who have wanted to go to work for employers. The Ministry of Labor enters in with its licensing power, calculated to assure that no Briton loses his job to an alien visitor.
Silverman, declaring that, on the whole, the presence of the refugee is a good thing for British prosperity, continues:
“We should welcome these German exiles as we welcomed the Huguenots and old persecuted folk who made Britain their home in past centuries, and brought new industries with them.”
Approximately 250 exiled business men from Germany, the article asserts, have started trades of businesses of various kinds in Britain. Estimating that they give employment to a minimum of fifty persons each, it reckons that more than 12,500 British workingmen and workingwomen previously unemployed have received jobs in consequence.
In addition, these refugees are spending an estimated £390,000 (about $1,950,000) annually on their personal living expenses.
Taking into account this sum, the wages of the persons who have been given jobs in the new enterprises, the value of their manufactures, rents and operating costs, the writer computes a figure of £4,567,500 (about 23,000,000) extra a year which is being spent in the country because the exiles are here.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
