Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1938, General, Volume I

840.48 Refugees/872

Memorandum by the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee (Winterton)⁴⁵

October 26, 1938

Paragraph 8 of the Resolution adopted by the Evian meeting on July 14th defined the persons coming within the scope of the activity of the Inter-Governmental Committee as:—

(1) Persons who have not already left their country of origin (Germany including Austria), but who must emigrate on account of their political opinions, religious beliefs or racial origin, and

(2) Persons as defined in (1), who have already left their country of origin, but who have not yet established themselves permanently elsewhere.

The transfer of the Sudeten areas from Czechoslovakia to Germany has led to an extension of the problem of involuntary emigration from Germany. A number of persons are likely to wish to leave the transferred areas by reason of the treatment to which they are subjected on political, religious or racial grounds, while others have already taken temporary refuge in Czechoslovakia for a similar reason. Of these involuntary emigrants, those who are of German origin are in precisely the same position as involuntary emigrants from Germany and Austria.

It is desirable on grounds of equity that no individuals or groups should be placed either in a more or a less favourable position than other individuals or groups who are forced by the same causes to emigrate.

It is therefore proposed that the involuntary emigrants of German origin from the areas formerly included in the Czechoslovak State and now transferred to Germany, should be assimilated to other involuntary emigrants from Germany or Austria and should be regarded as coming within the scope of the activity of the Inter-Governmental Committee.

The Director will circulate to the members of the Committee such particulars as he is able to obtain of the number and type of involuntary emigrants who have been or may be created by the transfer of the Sudeten areas to Germany, as well as of the conditions in which these persons are able to emigrate.

45. Transmitted to the Department by the Assistant Director of the Intergovernmental Committee in his despatch of October 28 (received November 4), with statement that the memorandum was “circulated by the Secretary of the Intergovernmental Committee on October 26, 1938”.