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

Some foreign circles regarded Roosevelt’s initiative as a symbol of American
responsibility or obligation to open its doors to would-be immigrants. The United States
should provide a “fitting welcome” for Austrian and German Jews as it is “clear” that the
geographic size and resources of America outstripped those of any Continental European
power. The solution of the Jewish Question posed “manifold and grave difficulties.” It
was unreasonable to expect that nations which did not participate in the persecution of its
Jewish minority should bear any financial, economic or social burdens or responsibilities
for the maintenance and support of stateless refugees. 79
Some opposed the idea of mass Jewish migration and relocation and supported a
policy of gradual infiltration or dispersal. It was preferable to place Jews “in equal
numbers everywhere” in order to avoid reaching a population threshold that threatened to
incite anti-Semitism in the native population of the receiving countries. Consequently,
Jews would remain a perpetual minority that would not generate fear within the dominant
majority. 80
“The troubles of the Jews” began when their “numbers or influence”
exceeded a certain ceiling resulting in a negative “impact” upon the local residents of the
country of resettlement. 81 It should be openly expressed, it was believed, that the mere
presence of large groups of Jews would precipitate “difficult problems within certain
countries” especially when their domestic influence was disproportionate to their group
size. 82
79 Le Temps (Paris), July 8, 1938. Ibid., 118.
80 Journal de Genève, July 8, 1938. Ibid., 118.
81 The Tablet (London), July 9, 1938. Ibid., 119.
82 The Times, July 6, 1938. Ibid., 120.
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