The Jewish Trail of Tears The Evian Conference of ... - Haruth.com

George Rublee, who would be later selected to direct the permanent committee on
refugees established in London, later expressed the opinion that Roosevelt’s primary
incentive was to express “some sort of gesture” that could “assuage the [moral]
indignation” that resulted from the German persecution of Jews. The conference had
minimal “hope of success” and primarily served as an “impressive protest.” 126
Foreign observers speculated on potential Presidential motivations in initiating the
Conference. It perhaps served as an indirect means of re-connecting the United States
with European affairs. “By returning to the tradition and the methods utilized by
President Wilson,” while America retained a status of neutrality during the Great War,
FDR could assume the mantle of “defender of the victims” of Nazi persecution by
involving America in the “humanitarian and juridical problems” of the Continent. 127
Collaboration between the United States, France and the United Kingdom represented “a
[form of] success” as it implied the future involvement of the American public with
European issues and events. 128
The formulation of the Evian Conference not only served
charitable purposes but it signaled American engagement in the refugee crisis and
demonstrated a commitment to battle for the “principles of law” in the entire world. 129
The initiation of such a conference demonstrated that the refugee problem was not an
“internal German problem” or primarily a benevolent concern but represented an
126 George Rublee, The Reminiscences of George Rublee (NY: Columbia University Press, 1972), 284,
285 cited in Marc Eric McClure, Earnest Endeavors: The Life and Public Work of George Rublee
(Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003), 249.
127 L’Europe Nouvelle (Paris), July 23, 1938 cited in Katz, “Public Opinion,” 117.
128 Le Populaire (Paris) July 17, 1938. Ibid., 117.
129 Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zurich) July 11, 1938. Ibid., 118.
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