Rep. Emanuel Celler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said today he hoped to bring his bill amending the Displaced Persons Act of 1948 to the floor of the House on Monday. The measure was approved by the Committee last night and calls for the admission of 339,000 DP’s to the U.S. This represents an increase over the 205,000 authorized under the present legislation and extends the life of the Act by an additional year.
The measure moves up the disputed cut-off date from Dec. 22, 1945, to Jan. 1, 1949, and eliminates preferential treatment for Baltic nationals and farmers–two features to which Jewish organizations repeatedly voiced objections. Gen. Wladyslaw Anders’ Polish Army, which includes many allegedly violent anti-Semites and pre-war Polish fascists, would be admitted under the bill. Up to 50 percent of the German quota would be devoted to the Volkdeutsche (“Ethnic Germans”) who have been expelled from East European countries where they were accused of being the backbone of Hitler’s fifth-column.
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