840.48 Refugees/904: Telegram
The Chargé in the Netherlands (Benton) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 16—3:50 p.m.]
145. In the course of conversation this afternoon the Minister for Foreign Affairs informed me that a few days ago the Netherlands Government had approached the Governments of Great Britain, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Denmark in order to ascertain their views with regard to possible collective relief for Jewish refugees from Germany. He said Belgium and Denmark had already replied regretting their inability to admit further refugees of that category and a reply from Switzerland in a similar sense was expected; the remaining countries have not yet answered.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs also said that during the past few days the Dutch frontier authorities had upon instructions been especially lenient in their treatment of Jewish refugees from Germany, primarily from the border regions, and that as a result quite a number had been admitted into the Netherlands. At the same time he made it clear that the Jewish problem in this country was becoming a serious one and that unless some system of collective relief insuring that the Netherlands would not be permanently saddled with Jewish refugees could be agreed upon, his Government would have no alternative but to consider closing its doors entirely to Jewish refugees from Germany.