Refugees to the United States from Germany and other European countries are becoming more rapidly adjusted to American life and ways than any other immigrant group since the Civil War, Dr. William Haber, executive director of the National Refugee Service, told the West Central States Regional Conference of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds meeting here today. More than 200 lay and professional leaders of Jewish communal affairs in the states are attending the gathering which is considering the problems involved in the integration of refugees in American life and the experience of local communities in coordinating civic-protective efforts.
The unusually rapid adjustment of refugees today, Dr. Haber declared, is due only in part to the fact “that present-day immigration is small and limited by quota. The real reason lies in the nature of present-day immigration, in the composition of the immigrant groups, and in the more intelligent approach to their problems by the agencies which befriend them upon arrival.”
“It may be fairly stated,” he added, “that the refugees are good immigrant material, highly adaptable, bringing with them special skills, training and capacities which this country has been able to utilize even in the present difficult period. Moreover, as surely as were the Pilgrim Fathers, these new arrivals are committed to their new home, accepting in advance, and with deep feelings of relief and gratitude, its principles of freedom and democracy.”
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.
