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

y the Versailles Treaties. 155 The American Jewish Congress appealed to Secretary of
State Hull on July 12, 1937 to intercede with the Polish authorities on behalf of Polish
Jewry. The World Federation of Polish Jews and Rabbi Stephan S. Wise (on September
23, 1937) sent a request to the Warsaw Government via Count Jerzy Potocki, the
Ambassador to the United States, appealing for protection of Jewish Polish citizens
against domestic violence. On September 24, 1937 the Federation of Polish Jews
publicized a letter sent to Potocki criticizing renewed pogroms against its Jewish
population. The Federation also sent a petition to Pierrepont Moffat, Chief of the
Division of European Affairs in the State Department, calling for intercession by the
American Government. He replied on October 6, 1937 that, while sympathetic, the
United States Government could not interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign nation
unless American citizens or their interests were directly involved. Nonetheless, the
Jewish People’s Committee against Fascism and Anti-Semitism submitted a similar
155 The minority treaties aimed to resolve problems inherent in the redrawing of national boundaries and
the principle of self-determination. The social, cultural and linguistic character of minorities was to be
protected under the auspices of the League of Nations promoting “harmony and tranquility in the same
national community.” “A Re-Evaluation of the Versailles Peace,” William R. Keylor Relevance 5, no. 3
(Fall 1996) available from http://www.worldwar1.com/tgws/rel007.htm; Internet; accessed July 17, 2010.
The Little Treaty of Versailles, or the Polish Minority Treaty, served as the template for a number of
Minority Treaties signed between the lesser European Powers and the League of Nations. The Polish
Minority Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919 at Versailles and ratified by the Polish Parliament (Sejm) on
July 31, 1919 and came into effect on January 10, 1920. Article 2 called for the “total and complete
protection of life and freedom for all people regardless of their birth, nationality, language, race or
religion.” Article 7 asserted that “difference of religion, creed, or confession shall not prejudice any Polish
national in matters relating to the enjoyment of civil or political rights, as for instance the admission to
public employment, functions and honors, or the exercise of professions and industries.” Such guarantees
were regarded as “obligations of international importance” and were protected by the League to which
minorities could register complaints. The Little or Small Treaty of Versailles was subsequently renounced
by Poland in Geneva on September13, 1934. “Little Treaty of Versailles,” Elihu Lauterpacht, C.J.
Greenwood, A.G. Oppenheimer, International Law Reports, Cambridge University (2005) available from
http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/little-treaty-of-versailles/the-treaty.html ; Internet; accessed July 17,
2010. There was also an air of hypocrisy attached to the Minority Treaties in that they did not apply to the
Great Powers such as the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and Germany. The decline of the
influence of the League of Nations through the 1930’s led to increased tendencies to ignore or the
renouncement of the articles of these treaties which exacerbated the general refugee problem.
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