Prime Minister Jan Christian Smuts today assured a Jewish labor delegation that Jewish refugees are being taken from neutral countries on neutral ships to overseas lands and that this work “is being carried out actively by the British and U.S. Governments,” without publicity.
Questioned as to the possibility of large numbers of refugees being admitted to South Africa, Gen. Smuts said that this country is already harboring many war refugees and evacuees. “The food situation and other pressing local problems make it difficult to admit more,” he declared. He emphasized that by moving refugees from neutral countries, the governments of the United States and Britain are enabling the neutrals to admit other refugees from Nazi-held territory and the Axis satellite countries.
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.