840.48 Refugees/10–445
The Department of State to the Swedish Legation
Memorandum
Reference is made to the Aide-mémoire of the Legation of Sweden of October 4, 1945 (No. 687)7 concerning the possibility that the Swedish Government may permit some 13,000 Polish citizens including 7,000 of Jewish descent, admitted to Sweden in 1945 from concentration camps in Germany, to remain in Sweden for the present provided this Government indicates a willingness to consider the admission into the United States of a considerable part of those of Jewish descent who express a desire to migrate to this country.
The United States Government commends the humanitarian action of the Swedish Government in admitting into Sweden the former inmates of German concentration camps for rest and recuperation. This action was a substantial contribution to the efforts of the occupying powers in Germany to extend sorely needed relief to the victims of Nazi oppression.
The United States Government will give sympathetic consideration to all applications for visas without reference to the religious beliefs of the applicants, but admission into the United States depends upon the ability of each applicant to qualify under the quota and general provisions of the immigration laws. Personal examinations of the individuals concerned are a necessary prerequisite to the determination of such qualifications.
- Not printed.↩