Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, speaking in the House of Commons today assured the members that the British Government is doing its utmost to rescue Jews from Nazi-held countries. He added, however, that “the effort must have an international basis in order to be effective.”
The British Government, Eden said, is confident that it can count upon the assistance of all humanitarian and charitable organizations, including the British Red Cross, in the application of any measures agreed upon by the United Nations.
A private meeting of members of Parliament took place today to consider making a new appeal to the government for immediate action to save as many Jews in Nazi territories as possible. In the meantime Samuel Silverman, Laborite M.P., in a letter published today in the Manchester Guardian appeals to the United Nations to make a formal and direct request to the German Government to permit Jews to leave the Reich and Nazi-occupied countries. The request should ask Hitler to name conditions upon which he would be willing to permit the emigration of Jews to free countries, Silverman suggests, adding that “protests which are not accompanied by an offer of salvation and refuge are a mockery to the victims and to civilization.”
CHIEF RABBI ASKS GOVERNMENT TO ESTABLISH COUNCIL FOR SAVING JEWS
Chief Rabbi Hertz draws attention in the London Times today to the fact that six weeks have passed since Foreign Secretary Eden made his historic declaration in Parliament with regard to the extermination of the Jews in Nazi-occupied countries, but nothing has been done as yet on the actual task of human salvage. He suggests the creation by the British Government of “a special council to be in charge of the direction of human salvage” and demands speedy measures “to save those escaping from the Nazi inferno.”
Echoing the appeal to the British Government to act to save the Jewish refugees in Europe, which was issued on Saturday by the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales, Arthur Cardinal Hinsley, Catholic primate of England, and J.S. Whale, Moderator of the Free Churches, today added their voices to the growing clamor in religious and humanitarian circles for immediate steps to facilitate the emigration of the Jews in Axis-held countries.
In a letter published today in the London Times, Cardinal Hinsley quotes Cardinal Faulheber of Munich’s condemnation of “the blind, racial hatred which is the motive for the unparalleled barbarities.” He points out that Christian principles should be a stimulus for action by the Government. Rev. Whale expresses the hope that “the Government will shortly announce measures of practical assistance.”
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.
