862.4016/1799: Telegram
The Ambassador in Germany (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 28—5:22 p.m.]
578. During the course of the day the German police authorities have rounded up a large number of Polish Jews and are issuing orders for their expulsion to Poland. This has taken place in Berlin and we understand in other big cities in the Reich. As far as we can ascertain only male Polish Jews have been arrested and none up to this time have actually been sent over the Polish border. We understand that [Page 394] the grounds for the action are a recent Polish decree to the effect that no Polish citizen may reenter Poland after October 30th unless his passport has previously been validated by a Polish Consulate or Diplomatic Mission.
The Polish Embassy states that it is negotiating with the Germans in an endeavor to get them to rescind the expulsion orders. American correspondents report the explanation of the German officials is that the Polish decree produced the probability of Germany having several thousand foreigners without nationality (staatenlos) who after October 30th could not be deported. The Polish Embassy sometime ago informally estimated that there were 50,000 Polish Jews in Germany proper and 5000 in Austria.
More specific information should be available tomorrow.
Repeated to Warsaw and London for Rublee.