Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The British Commonwealth, Western and Central Europe, Volume V

840.48 Refugees/8–346: Telegram

The United States Political Adviser for Austria (Erhardt) to the Secretary of State

secret

Vienna, August 3, 1946—4 p.m.
[Received August 4—2:08 p.m.]

1071. Nearly 4,000 more Jewish refugees arrived Vienna from Poland last night suddenly unexpectedly. USFA has until now been making admirably successful efforts to cope with such movements by providing for orderly handling while in US areas Austria, but mass infiltrations from east are now assuming dangerous proportions threatening to get entirely out of hand. Facilities for care are already overtaxed, and such large numbers of hungry, homeless persons appearing unexpectedly in Vienna where they will congregate in US sector will present grave problems of maintaining law and order.

We hear indirectly from Praha that Czechoslovak Govt decided 48 hours ago to open Polish-Czechoslovak border to these movements; that possibly 15,000 or 20,000 more are now ready to entrain out of Poland, that in discussions with JDC representative Czechoslovak Govt expresses willingness to let trains traverse Czechoslovakia provided they exit, and would let some proceed Germany only if assured it would not interfere with Sudeten expulsions but do permit all proceed Austria where Soviet authorities permit entry.

These people then flow unexpectedly into Vienna and US zone Austria and become wards of USFA. On movement into Italy is hindered at border and into Bavaria by efforts to regulate movements to keep them orderly. Numbers thus pile up in US zone Austria where camp facilities already overtaxed and to leave refugees loose on countryside to take care of themselves would endanger order and security.

I recommend urgent representations to Czechoslovak Govt to regulate flow of these refugees in order to prevent concentration dangerous numbers in Austria and serious consideration of General Clark’s parallel telegram to AGWar for Assistant Secretary of War urging action to facilitiate on movement into Italy.

Sent Dept as 1071; repeated Paris as 165 for Delsec; and Praha as 55, and Bern. Bern please relay to Geneva for Fierst⁸⁸ as our unnumbered message.

Erhaedt

88. Herbert A. Fierst, adviser in the office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied Areas (Hilldring); adviser to the U.S. delegate, 5th session of the UNRRA Council, Geneva, August 5–17, 1946.