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

evacuated, not promises of investigation by commissions, or offices.” 11 Neumann denied
that he had been given concrete directives by the German Government to present to the
delegations. Rather, he would simply be following recommendations offered by Nazi
officials in Vienna. 12
Otto Hirsch of the National Representation of German Jews (Reichsvertretung
der Jüden in Deutschland), Michael Traub of the Palestine Office, Paul Eppstein, Zionist
Seigfried Moses and Dr. Werner Rosenberg, who led a mission from the Hilfsverein der
Jüden in Deutschland, attended the conference. 13 Lord Winterton, the head of the British
delegation and later chairman of the permanent Intergovernmental Committee based in
London, met privately with the German Jewish mission during the beginning of the
Conference. 14 Hirsch advised him of the importance of Jews being allowed to retain
sufficient financial assets to facilitate resettlement and estimated that approximately two
hundred thousand Jews sought to leave the Reich. Hirsch intimated that the Nazi
Government would negotiate with the Reichsvertretung upon the conclusion of the
11 “Public Sessions Tomorrow,” New York Times, July 8, 1938, 7. Heinrich Neumann von Hethars (June
10, 1873-November 6, 1939) was the premier ear, nose and throat specialist in Vienna prior to the onset of
the war and had served as a consultant to British King Edward during September 1936 and also the Duke of
Windsor.
12 “Taylor Made Head of Refugee Parley,” New York Times, July 8, 1938, 1.
13 The German Government allowed official Jewish delegations to attend the Evian Conference: the
Reichsvertretung der Jüden in Deutschland—National Representation of German Jews established on
September 29, 1933 and led by Rabbi Leo Baeck and Dr. Otto Hirsch (including Dr. Paul Eppstein and
Michael Traub of the Palestine Office) and Dr. Werner Rosenberg of the Aid Association of German Jews
or Hilfsverein der Jüden in Deutschland established in 1901 to aid Jews fleeing Eastern Europe. With the
advent of Hitler its focus changed to aiding Jews seeking to leave Germany). The Jewish Community in
Vienna (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien) was represented by Prof. Dr. Heinrich Neumann, Dr. Joseph
Loewenherz and a businessman, Bertold. J. Storfer. The two delegations jointly composed and submitted to
the Conference a detailed statement outlining a potential scheme for orderly emigration from Germany and
Austria. Storfer was later involved with the smuggling of illegal immigrants into Palestine.
14 Edward Turnour, the 6 th Earl Winterton (April 4, 1883-August 22, 1962). Winterton had been
appointed the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in March 1938 and was the Cabinet official dealing
with refugee matters.
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