The intergovernmental refugee conference concluded a two-day session this afternoon with the unanimous decision that Germany must be pressed to permit emigrating refugees to take with them portion of their capital.
Other decisions adopted by the conference were:
1) That the 32 participating governments share the costs of the permanent refugee bureau;
2) That contact with private relief organizations should be maintained through the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees from Germany;
3)That the participating governments communicate in writing to the permanent bureau the extent to which each is prepared to contribute to a solution of the refugee problem;
4)That the League High Commissioner (Sir Neill Malcolm) be invited to participate in the bureau’s meetings on questions dealing with private relief, and that the director of the International Labor Office be invited to its meetings on the question of migration.
Robert Pell, of the United States State Department, was appointed assistant to George Rublee, Washington attorney who yesterday was elected director of the permanent refugee bureau set up by the conference.
At this morning’s session, Myron C. Taylor, American vice-chairman of the intergovernmental committee, outlined the tasks to be undertaken by the bureau, including the financing of organized emigration from Germany. Speaking in camera, he presented the official American view regarding the scope of the bureau.
The United States believes that between five and six hundred thousand people must be saved from the Reich within five or six years through organized emigration, Mr. Taylor was reliably reported to have said. The entire American immigration quota for Germany and Austria will be devoted to this task, he declared.
The first and foremost duty of the refugee bureau, Mr. Taylor reportedly asserted, is to induce Germany to permit emigrants to take out capital. Later, the bureau will induce countries of refuge to facilitate the settlement of refugees they admit.
Lord Winterton of Britain, who presided, supported Mr. Taylor’s declaration of policy, and invited the participating governments to support the bureau to the utmost in all its plans. The conference then concluded after authorizing Lord Winterton to convoke the entire committee whenever he sees fit.
Mr. Pell, who is considered one of the State Department’s most energetic officials, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that immediately after Mr. Rublee’s arrival here on Aug. 15 the question of approaching Germany would be taken up by the new director, Mr. Taylor, Lord Winterton, Senator Henri Berenger of France and other members of the bureau.
Mr. Pell denied reports appearing in London newspapers of divergencies between the British and American delegations regarding an offer allegedly made by the German Government to permit Jews to take out part of their capital on condition that the committee refuse sanctuary to political refugees.
“No such offer was ever made or even intimated,” Mr. Pell said. “Thus, the report that Britain is for such an offer and America against is a sheer absurdity.”
News of the revocation of licenses of all Jewish physicians in Germany was widely commented upon among the conferees and was taken as proof that the Jewish problem in Germany Required urgent Action by the outside world. It was stated that the decree was one of the harshest since the Nuremberg racial laws of 1935.
Foreign Office officials praised as a “good choice” the appointment of Mr. Rublee, Washington attorney and close friend of President Roosevelt, as bureau director. According to Mr. Pell, Mr. Taylor will remain in Europe “for as long as he can be useful” to Mr. Rublee.
Jewish organizations were deeply pleased to learn that Mr. Taylor, while emphasizing the difficulties confronting the intergovernmental committee nevertheless believes that they are not insurmountable and is hopeful of finding a method of coping with them.
The Council for German Jewry addressed a memorandum to yesterday’s session assuring the committee of the fullest possible Jewish support. The memorandum urged intervention with the German Government on the reported scheduled expulsion of several thousand Jews from various Austrian cities and areas.
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.
