The first meeting of the autonomous governing body created by the League of Nations to deal with the problem of caring for the refugees from Germany on an international basis will be held in Lausanne on December 5, it was announced today. Lord Robert Cecil, noted British statesman, who today was named as the British member of the governing body on which fifteen nations are represented, will be elected chairman at this meeting.
Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States have also nominated their representatives and the remaining countries are expected to name their delegates before the first meeting of the governing body.
Whether the Jewish welfare and relief organizations which will cooperate with the commission and its High Commissioner, James G. McDonald, of New York, will be invited to participate in the first session of the governing body is as yet unknown.
Professor Joseph P. Chamberlain, of the Department of Public and International Law at Columbia University, sailed for Geneva on the
S.S. Washington yesterday as the American delegates to the German refugee body named by the League of Nations to solve the difficult problem of finding a haven for the unwanted citizens of Nazi Germany. James G. McDonald, High Commissioner of the body, former president of the Foreign Policy Association, is directing the proceedings in Geneva.
Dr. Chamberlain received word of his appointment from President Roosevelt Tuesday and took leave from the University immediately. He plans to return in time for the Christmas holidays.
Dr. Chamberlain said before sailing that he has a keen interest in the work ahead of him, although his knowledge of the plight of the German refugees is not exhaustive. He plans to make a thorough study of the situation upon arrival in Europe.
“I realize the importance of my job,” said Professor Chamberlain. “This is not wholly a Jewish problem. Hard work and concentrated effort are essential in dealing with the question.”
Born in Cleveland sixty years ago, Dr. Chamberlain studied at Harvard and the University of Southern California. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1921, an LL.D. five years ago and held a chair in the School of Jurisprudence at the U. of Southern California. Since 1909 he has been a member of the legislative drafting fund at Columbia and a professor of public law since 1922.
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.
