840.48 Refugees/1077a
Memorandum Elaborating the Points Referred to in President Roosevelt’s Letter to the Chief of the Italian Government (Mussolini), December 7, 193885
While the Intergovernmental Committee at London has achieved some measure of success in planning, in a practical way, for the resettlement of refugees, adequate results have not as yet been produced. The President of the United States believes that only by virtue of international collaboration involving coordinated policies, based on justice and humanity, on the part both of countries of emigration and countries of reception can the problem be settled in a manner which will not tend to engender further international bitterness and ill-will.
If a general plan can be found sufficiently ample in scope, and practical in character, which in his judgment holds out assurance that the problem which has arisen will be solved in consonance with justice and humanity, the President stands ready to request of the Congress of the United States that it agree to assume an appropriate share of the cost.
In searching the areas which would appear to lend themselves to resettlement, President Roosevelt has been particularly struck with the appropriateness of the Plateau, a small portion of which lies in the southwestern section of Ethiopia, and the greater portion in areas lying to the south of Ethiopia. It has occurred to him that the Chief of the Italian Government may believe that adequately financed colonization of refugee families in this area would be in accord with plans which the Italian Government may have formulated for the development and economic reconstruction of Ethiopia.
[Page 860]If the Chief of the Government should see merit in this plan, and should care to make it his own and urge other states holding sections of this Plateau to do likewise, the President of the United States would be prepared to give the proposal as a part of a general plan his public support.
Of great importance is the German attitude on this question. Mr. Rublee, the Director of the Intergovernmental Committee in London, has made as yet unsuccessful efforts to discuss these matters with authorized representatives of the German Government. If any coordinated plans are to be carried out, the German Government will necessarily have to furnish full information as to probable emigration, and furthermore, some method must be agreed upon through which emigrants will not be forced to leave Germany as paupers. In this connection, it is understood in the United States that the main obstacle from the German point of view to the elaboration of such a plan lies in the difficulty of procuring foreign exchange in sufficient quantities to allow the emigrants to have cash in hand. The President has suggested that this difficulty might be met at least in part by permitting refugee emigrants to spend their German marks within Germany to a sufficient extent to provide themselves with supplies indispensable for their resettlement, as for instance, farm implements, clothing, and other requisites. If the German Government would permit emigrants from Germany to take from that country such articles for their use, up to a sufficient per capita value, the exchange difficulty would, of course, be greatly lessened.
It is the earnest hope of the President of the United States that the Chief of the Italian Government will favor this suggestion, and, in such event, will further it in such manner as he may deem appropriate.