548.D1/217
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Atherton) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 13.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s instruction No. 687 of January 24, 1935, and to previous correspondence in regard to the High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany. The note for the Secretary General of the High Commission, forwarded with the Department’s instruction under reference, was immediately transmitted, and its receipt was acknowledged by the Secretary General under date of February 2.
The Embassy has now received from the Secretary General of the High Commission a copy in French of the Minutes of a meeting held on February 12 of the Permanent Committee of the High Commission,68 at which representatives of Belgium, France and the Netherlands were present and also Mr. McDonald, the High Commissioner.
[Page 419]It appears that the object of this meeting was an exchange of views, prior to the departure, which has now taken place, of Mr. McDonald for certain countries of South America, where he will explore the possibilities of immigration for groups of refugees whom it has not been possible to integrate in European countries or in Palestine. This trip of Mr. McDonald has been long planned, and was the subject of discussion at the meetings of the Governing Body in November of last year. The record of this meeting of the Permanent Committee does not seem to disclose any new facts of importance in the situation which had not already been developed by the November meeting of the Governing Body. It serves, however, to emphasize the patent fact that there will be no solution of the refugee problem which does not envisage it as a whole, nor any solution not based on the consent of foreign countries to receive these unfortunate people as immigrants. Mr. Helbronner, the representative of France, disclosed at this meeting that the French Government had been making inquiries independently of possible countries of immigration in South America, and had received from the French Ambassador in the Argentine a rather unfavorable reply with respect to that country. Unfavorable replies were also received concerning Uruguay, and Brazil. More encouraging reports were received from Venezuela, Colombia, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Paraguay.
In commenting on these observations of Mr. Helbronner, the High Commissioner said that he had recently visited at Washington the Ambassadors and Ministers of the countries in question, and that he had received information from them a little more favorable than that indicated by the French representative, particularly with respect to the Argentine. Mr. McDonald said that he would do everything possible to visit himself in the course of his forthcoming trip, the countries which Mr. Helbronner had indicated were unfavorable to immigration of the refugees.
Annexed to the Minutes is a copy of Mr. McDonald’s report.69 It will be noted on page two that, in reference to the various recommendations made to the interested Governments in November by the Governing Body, with regard to working and residence permits and identity papers, no reply has been received except from the Government of the United States.
Annexed to Mr. McDonald’s report, page 15, is a table giving the present distribution of the refugees, with the exception of the refugees from the Saar. The total of refugees already established in foreign countries is given as 28,200, of whom 20,000 are in Palestine. Six thousand have been integrated in other countries in Europe. Eighteen thousand have been repatriated into the countries of Eastern and [Page 420] Central Europe. Twenty-five thousand is the figure given of those who have not yet been established and for whom the High Commission is working. Of this figure, the enormous number of 13,500 are in France alone. Mr. McDonald has likewise annexed to his report a copy of the Aide-Mémoire of January 18, 1935, of the French Government to the League of Nations concerning the question of refugees coming from the Saar.70 As a final annex, Mr. McDonald included a confidential memorandum on the possibilities of emigration for the refugees.
The Secretary General of the High Commission informs the Embassy that a copy of the Minutes of this meeting of the Permanent Committee and of the annexes have been forwarded directly to Professor Chamberlain, the American representative on the Governing Body.
Respectfully yours,