800.4016 DP/9–2445: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
9463. Urtel 7488, July 25, 1945, urtel 8072, Aug 10, 1945, urtel 9717, Sept 20, 1945, you’re A–1048, Sept 24, 1945.3 Kindly transmit to the FonOff following reply to FonOff letter Aug 34 re functions of UNRRA and IGC:
US Govt welcomes re-examination at any time of different functions of UNRRA and IGC with the object of preventing overlapping of services. This Govt believes, however, that this problem was clarified substantially by decision of the UNRRA Council in Aug that UNRRA be authorized to care for displaced persons awaiting repatriation in areas in which it is operating for a period of 6 months.
In this connection it is noted that UNRRA does not administer relief in France, Belgium and The Netherlands, and neutral countries to which the operations of IGC are at present confined. It is assumed that refugees receiving temporary IGC relief in these countries will either return to their home countries or be absorbed in countries of residence. No overlapping of UNRRA and IGC services is understood therefore to exist at present.
In Germany and Austria UNRRA clearly has sole responsibility for the relief of displaced persons for the next 6 months. It is agreed that during that period the military and UNRRA should exert every possible effort to secure the repatriation of as large numbers of displaced persons as possible. It is not understood that any steps which have been taken in Germany to date, including that of the housing of certain Jewish refugees in separate camps in the US zone, constitute in any manner a decision that any particular group of displaced persons is ultimately non-repatriable. Jews housed in separate camps are free to decide at any time to return to their home countries.
Notwithstanding the foregoing this Govt believes that the two Govts should explore as soon as possible the possibility of a more positive approach to the problem of those groups or individuals that have already expressed an unwillingness to return to their homes, with a view to devising some machinery for facilitating the repatriation of these groups or for setting in motion efforts to find some other disposition in cases in which repatriation is impossible. In the view of this Govt current efforts on the part of the military and UNRRA in this direction are not sufficient to avoid the development of a substantial relief problem which may continue indefinitely in Brit and US zones of occupation in Germany.
In the judgment of this Govt no question of duplication of services between UNRRA and IGC will arise until the IGC presents to the two Govts for approval projects of relief to persons previously in receipt of relief from UNRRA or qualified for such relief in areas in which UNRRA is operating.
[Page 1199]This Govt agrees that every effort should be made to secure contributions to the operational expenditures of the IGC from other govt members and particularly at forthcoming plenary session of IGC in November.