The three leading spokesmen of the Anglican Church – the Archbishops of Canterbury, York and Wales – yesterday appealed to the British Government to take immediate action to find sanctuary for all Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler, either in “the British Empire or elsewhere.”
The manifesto of the three Archbishops, who spoke for the entire Church, highlighted the uneasiness in religious and humanitarian circles here at what is felt to be a reluctance on the part of the Government to take definite steps to save the Jews in Nazi-held European territory.
Pointing out that the massacre of Jews by the Nazis is part of Hitler’s avowed plan to exterminate the 6,000,000 Jews of Europe, the manifesto said that “the Bishops of England and Wales declare that the sufferings of these millions of Jews and their condemnation, failing immediate rescue, to cruel and certain death constitute an appeal to humanity which it is impossible to resist. They believe it is the duty of civilized nations, whether neutral or Allied, to exert themselves to the utmost possible extent to provide sanctuary for these victims. They therefore urge the government of the United Kingdom to give a lead to the world by declaring their readiness, in consultation with the governments of united and neutral nations, in finding immediate refuge territories within the British Empire as well as elsewhere for all persons threatened with massacre and who can escape from Axis lands or for those who have already escaped to neighboring neutral countries and can make room for other fugitives to take their places.”
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.
