Office of the Historian

840.48 Refugees/219a: Circular telegram

The Secretary of State to Certain American Diplomatic Representatives6

Washington, May 7, 1938—2 p.m.

Please inform the Government to which you are accredited that as over 30 Governments have now agreed to cooperate in setting up the special intergovernmental committee to facilitate the emigration from Austria and from Germany of political refugees, the President has appointed Mr. Myron C. Taylor with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary as the American representative on this committee. In addition, the President has appointed a national [Page 744] committee to coordinate in this country the work of private organizations in behalf of refugees.7

In order that the intergovernmental committee may meet with as little delay as possible, this Government suggests that it would be desirable that its first meeting be held on Wednesday July 6th at Evian, France. The French Government has already welcomed this suggestion.

Mr. Taylor will be accompanied by one or more technical assistants.

Please telegraph as soon as the Government to which you are accredited approves the suggested time and place of meeting, as well as the name and rank of the representative.

Hull
  1. The Missions in the 20 other American Republics and in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland; the text transmitted to the British Government (Department’s telegram No. 201), included Australia and New Zealand. A telegram, No. 33, May 1, 1 p.m., embodying the substance of the first two paragraphs was sent to the Consulate at Geneva for the information of the Secretariat of the League of Nations and the International Labor Office.↩
  2. American National Committee on Refugees; see Department of State, Press Releases, May 21, 1938, p. 586.↩