840.48 Refugees/6226: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 7—4 p.m.]
4556. Department’s 2292, March 25, 5 p.m., and 3243, April 22, midnight.55 For the War Refugee Board. A letter has just been received from the Foreign Office stating that the British Government agree to the setting up of a refugee camp in Tripolitania.
Foreign Office letter goes on to suggest that it will be necessary to consider what practical measures will be needed for the working out of this scheme on the basis of joint maintenance, et cetera, to be shared between the British and American Governments.
Randall, head of the Refugee Department of the Foreign Office, has stated orally that it is his opinion that this camp in Tripolitania will be able to accommodate between 1,000 and 1,500 persons. The greatest difficulty will be in the obtaining of adequate administrative and medical personnel and the suggestions of the War Refugee Board with regard to this question are invited. Randall further stated confidentially [Page 1059] that the political problems involved in setting up a camp in Cyrenaica are so acute that the Foreign Office had reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is absolutely impossible to establish a camp there.
- Latter not printed.↩