“It should not be difficult to work out a formula that would be fair to all countries concerned,” Congressman William B. Barry of New York wrote to President Roosevelt. “The available territory in the aforementioned areas is so vast that many times over the number of Jews still alive in Europe could be housed if each country assumed its fair share of responsibility without affecting to any noticeable extent the internal economy of any individual country. In fact, most of the war in countries could well use these newcomers to relieve labor shortages on farms and elsewhere.”
Rep. Barry further urged that when the United Nations’ representatives have decided on the percentage of refugees that each country should absorb as and when they are released, the President should request the heads of the neutral Irish and Swiss Nations to negotiate with Germany for their possible release from the Nazi occupied countries. “With the speed of modern methods of communication and air transportation this meeting could be called, held and its business concluded within a matter of days, or at the most of weeks,” his letter stated.
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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.
