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

working group. Consequently, they were dropped from consideration of formal
membership on the soon-to-be established committee. Winterton and Bérenger then
advised Taylor that he bore the primary responsibility to negotiate with the various
delegations due to his role of Chairman and the “American initiative” that prompted the
convening of the Conference. 19
U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Joseph Kennedy, was,
however, skeptical of Taylor’s diplomatic qualifications and believed that he “not only
[lacked] knowledge of the problem, but was making no attempt to get it up.” 20
Despite rather inauspicious beginnings the Evian Conference formally convened
on July 6, 1938 in the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Royal with 140 representatives from
thirty two countries. The meeting was scheduled to adjourn by July 17 to allow enough
time for the delegates to reach Paris by July 19 when the King of England paid an official
visit. The Conference would resume in Paris if necessary. 21
A telegram, read into the
official record, was sent on behalf of the members of the Evian Conference to the
American President by Myron Taylor. The committee offered FDR it’s “gratitude” for
his attempt to devise a “practical solution” to the problem of forced emigration and was
hopeful that a general “collaboration” of all parties would produce “successful results.” 22
19 “Report of Myron C. Taylor to the Secretary of State in Washington about the Evian Conference, July
20, 1938,” Mendelsohn, The Holocaust, 249-64.
20 Sherman, Island Refuge, 104.
21 Telegram from Ambassador Bullitt in France to Hull regarding discussions of Taylor with Bérenger.
840.48 Refugees/413, June 27, 1938, FRUS, vol. 1, 1938, 751. Beginning on May 30, 1938 a number of
police raids in Germany were carried out on restaurants, cafes and other locales frequented by Jews. 397
Jews were arrested in Berlin “on political grounds” facing accusations of illegally removing possessions
and finances out of the country. Similar raids occurred several weeks later in other cities in Germany as
well as within Vienna. Some sources postulated that 2,000 arrests were made, timed to influence the
upcoming proceedings at the Evian Conference. Schneiderman, ed., American Jewish Year Book Review of
the Year 5698, 200-201.
22 “Proceedings of the Intergovernmental Committee,” Second Meeting, July 7, 1938, 17.
161