Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1944, General, Volume I

840.48 Refugees/5841a: Circular airgram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Representatives in the American Republics ⁹⁰

Washington, April 15, 1944—7 p.m.

With further reference to the Department’s circular airgram of January 26, 7 p.m.,⁹¹ and to subsequent communications on refugee matters, you are informed that the Department has now authorized the American consular officers in Switzerland to issue up to 4,000 quota immigration visas to refugee children up to 16 years of age without regard to religion, nationality or stateless status, to close relatives residing in enemy, enemy-controlled or occupied territory, or to the availability of means of transportation to the United States. The purpose of this authorization is to facilitate the escape to Switzerland of orphaned or abandoned children by giving assurances to the Swiss Government that these children will not remain in Switzerland after the termination of hostilities in Europe.⁹² The authorization contains provisions for the continued renewal of the visas until such time as adequate transportation facilities to the United States become available. Private sources have posted bond with the Attorney General of the United States to assure this Government that the emigrating children will not become public charges.

If there are private agencies in the country to which you are accredited willing and able to undertake a program for the care of refugee children, the War Refugee Board is confident that it can make arrangements to provide those agencies with adequate funds for the maintenance, education and welfare of as many children as the Government of that country would be willing to admit. Should it prove necessary, funds would undoubtedly be available to meet transportation expenses from Switzerland to that country.

Kindly approach appropriate officials of the Government to which you are accredited, inform them of the foregoing and request them to give assurance to the Swiss Government through their diplomatic mission in Bern that they will accept up to a fixed number of refugee children in a manner similar to that of this Government. For the information of the Government to which you are accredited, it is conservatively estimated that there are in France alone 8 to 10 thousand abandoned or orphaned refugee children. Should that Government be willing to make this humanitarian offer, please request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to authorize its chief of mission in Bern to issue the appropriate number of immigration visas and to maintain their validity until suitable transportation facilities from Switzerland to its country become available. The Government may be informed that the special representative of the War Refugee Board attached to the American Legation in Bern will be glad to cooperate with the diplomatic and consular officers of the other American Republics in this as well as in all other refugee matters.

Please report by telegraph whether this suggestion has been favorably received by the Government to which you are accredited and, if so, the number of children it is prepared to admit.⁹³

Hull

90. To the diplomatic representatives in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay.

    Substantially the same telegram was sent to Australia (No. 40, April 12), Brazil (No. 1215, April 14), Canada (No. 29, April 15), and by circular airgram on April 20 to Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

91. See footnote 22, p. 987.
92. In an effort to encourage the Spanish and Portuguese Governments to give refuge to additional refugee children from France, special instructions were sent by the Secretary of State in telegram 1008, April 12, to Spain (repeated as 1017 to Lisbon), authorizing consular officers in those countries to issue up to 1,000 visas to such children arriving during the first six months of 1944. These visas were in addition to 4,000 made available to allow child refugees to reach Switzerland. In August these instructions were amended to permit the granting of visas to children arriving from Hungary as well as France. The Spanish Government in July authorized issuance of visas to 500 Jewish children in Hungary.
93. Favorable responses were received from Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.