France Extends Refugees’ Stay; Will Admit Several Thousand Children

Following the example set by Great Britain, the Netherlands and other nations, France is prepared to admit several thousand Jewish children from Germany, it was learned today. the task of organizing their arrival and settlement here will be entrusted to Jewish organizations.

At the same time, hundreds of German and Austrian refugees who had been ordered deported because their temporary residence permits had expired suddenly found today that their stay had been extended for another two months. It was strongly rumored that, as a result of premier Edouard Daladier’s personal interest in their plight, all refugees in France on temporary permits will shortly be granted permission to remain permanently on a legal basis. Such action would be along the lines of president Roosevelt’s recent six-month extension of visitors’ permits on which some 15,000 German and Austrian refugees are residing in the United States.

Meanwhile, however, a trend in the opposite direction has manifested itself in the case of Polish Jews who have been residing in France a long time and whose future status as Polish nations is menaced by Poland’s law permitting denationalization of persons who have lived outside of Poland for more than five years. The police authorities have begun deportation of many such persons since polish consulates here have begun to cancel the citizenship of those in that category.

An important conference on the refugee problem will be held here Wednesday, with the participation of representatives of the joint distribution committee, the HIAS-ICA Emigration Association and other organizations of a similar character in France, England, the nether-lands, Czechoslovakia and other countries. The meeting will be held in the offices of the J.D.C.