Office of the Historian

840.48 Refugees/8–2545

Headquarters, United States Forces, European Theater, to the Commanding Generals, Western Military and Eastern Military Districts79

August 22, 1945.
1.
It is the established policy of this headquarters that stateless and non-repatriable persons shall be granted the same assistance as United Nations displaced persons. This includes ex-enemy nationals persecuted because of their race, religion or activities in favor of the United Nations. Persons discharged from concentration camps, if their loyalty to the Allied cause has been determined will receive all of the benefits granted United Nations displaced persons even if they were originally of enemy origin, such as German and Hungarian Jews, labor leaders or others put into concentration camps because of political activities or racial or religious persecution.
2.
While persons of Jewish faith who desire to be repatriated to the country of which they are nationals will be treated as citizens of that nationality and placed in the same centers as other displaced persons of that nationality, those Jews who are without nationality or those not Soviet citizens who do not desire to return to their country of origin will be treated as stateless and non-repatriable.
3.
In accordance with the policy of this headquarters, such persons will be segregated as rapidly as possible into special assembly centers. Those who are Jews will be cared for in special Jewish centers.
4.
In establishing these special centers, particular attention will be paid to a high standard of accommodation. Wherever necessary, suitable accommodation will be requisitioned from the German population. Military commanders’ powers of requisitioning will be fully utilized in order to insure that these persons are accorded priority of treatment over the German population.
5.
In accordance with the policy of this headquarters, special UNRRA teams will be requested for these special centers without delay and these teams will be given maximum operating responsibility and all necessary assistance by military commanders.
By Command of General Eisenhower:
H. H. Newman

Colonel, AGD Acting Adjutant General
  1. Copy transmitted to Department as enclosure to despatch 856, August 25, 1945, from Frankfurt; received September 13.↩