United Evacuation Committee in Paris Dissolves

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The United Evacuation Committee, the agency of the American Emergency Committee on Jewish Refugees, the Jewish Colonization Association and the Emigdirekt, created in July, 1925 for the purpose of dealing with the problem of Jewish refugees stranded in European ports, has been dissolved, a statement from the headquarters of the Committee here states.

In summing up its activities, the United Evacuation Committee issued the following statement:

“It will be remembered that the United Evacuation Committee was established last year for the following purposes: first, to direct toward other countries, emigrants whose destination was the United States, but who were detained in European ports; and second, to evacuate as far as it was possible, the Russian refugees in Roumania and Constantinople.

“The committee directing the activities of this institution held a meeting in Paris in the offices of the Jewish Colonization Association on November 12 and, after having established the fact that its task was completed, decided to close its offices. The following is an excerpt from the proceedings of this meeting, which gives a condensed resume of the work which has been done and of the actual situation in the ports, in Roumania and Constantinople:

“Of the 2,155 emigrants who were in the ports on August 1, 1925 about 1,300 persons were enabled to go overseas, up to October 15, 1926, through the assistance, material and otherwise, of the United Evacuation Committee. At the present date about 850 emigrants are still in various ports, all of them determined to wait for their chance to leave for the United States.

“The number of refugees in Oriental Europe in August, 1925 was 3,371 of whom 2,064 were in Roumania and 1,307 in Constantinople. In Roumania, thanks to the Evacuation Committee, the cases of 1,750 refugees were solved, 1,100 by emigration and 650 by helping them to establish themselves on the spot. There are in Roumania a little more than 300 refugees who will still be in a position to emigrate, 170 to the United States, 80 to Canada and 50 to other countries. The emigrants to Canada will proceed to their destination in January 1927, at the expense of the United Evacuation Committee. As far as emigrants to the United States are concerned, the Joint Distribution Committee will lend them material assistance.

“In Constantinople, of the 1,307 refugees registered in the lists of the Committee, almost 200 persons are not in need of any assistance from the Committee. The Committee, therefore, will only have to regulate the cases of 1,100 refugees. Seven hundred and fifty-nine among them have been evacuated and 71 have been established on the spot, which makes the number of cases which have been settled 830. About 280 persons await the moment when they will be able to leave for various destinations. Of this number about 40 persons will be sent to Canada in the near future, at the expense of the United Evacuation Committee.

“Thus, of the total number of 5,526 with whom the committee had to occupy itself, almost 3,900 have been sent overseas or have established on the spot under favorable conditions. The number of the cases which remain without solution at this date is about 1,600, of which 850 concerns refugees in the ports. Everything which is humanly possible has been undertaken in favor of these last and it can be said that only those have remained in the ports, with rare exceptions, who have refused the assistance which the Committee has offered them to proceed to South America, and who prefer to await their opportunity to go to the United States, without having recourse to philanthropic institutions. As far as the refugees are concerned, 580 persons who have remained in Roumania and Constantinople will be able to depart in the near future and dispositions have been made to facilitate their emigration. One can therefore consider the problem of the refugees entirely liquidated and the objective of the United Evacuation Committee attained.”

The United Evacuation Committee, constituted by the American Jewish Emergency Committee for Jewish Refugees, the Jewish Colonization Association and the Jewish United Emigration Committee of Berlin, was formed in Paris in July 1915 at a joint conference held with the participation of Louis Marshall, Dr. Stephen S. Wise, John L. Bernstein and representatives of the Ica and the United Jewish Emigration Committee.

A sum of $500,000 was made available for the necessary relief measures. Towards this sum the Emergency Committee contributed $340,000, the Ica $100,000 and the United Emigration Committee $60,000. The committee in charge of the work included Louis Oungre, representing the Ica, Dr. Bernard Kahn, representing the American Jewish Emergency Committee and Mr. Jefroykin, representing the United Jewish Emigration Committee. E. Oungre was the manager of the Paris office of the United Evacuation Committee.

The initiative for action to solve the problem of Jewish refugees was taken at a meeting held in New York in June 1924, under the chairmanship of Louis Marshall and Dr. Stephen S. Wise. Over 120 delegates, representing 45 American Jewish organizations, among which were the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Hias, the Jewish National Workers Alliance, the Independent Order B’nai Brith, the Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, the Zionist Organization of America, the Hadassah, the International Furriers’ Union and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, participated in the conference at which the American Emergency Committee for Jewish Refugees was formed.

An appeal for $500,000 for the purpose of relieving the situation of the Jewish refugee stranded in European ports was issued by the Emergency Committee on September 15, 1924. The campaign was directed by Louis Marshall, Dr. Stephen S. Wise and Nathan J. Miller, treasurer of the Committee.