Special ceremonies were conducted today at Vevey, Switzerland, where the Berges du Leman, a home for the Jewish aged, was dedicated and where a particularly moving chapter in the story of Jewish rescue was highlighted.
James P. Rice, of New York, executive director of United Hias Service, and Otto Heim, president of the Swiss Refugee Aid Organization, who participated in the ceremonies, pointed out that some of the aged residents at the Berges du Leman are European Jewish refugees from China who would have been “lost souls” if it had not been for extraordinary efforts to care for them, made by Jewish and international organizations, aided by the Swiss Government and the Jewish community of Switzerland.
These aged men and women could not have qualified for help under normal emigration programs but were brought to Vevey through the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other intergovernmental agencies. Aiding the program, also, were the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
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