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

already accepted hundreds of Jewish refugees but his country could do no more. It would
be unreasonable, he asserted, for a young nation such as his, with its majority roots
derived from England, to accept an influx “of non-British subjects” that would be
difficult to assimilate into the dominant culture. Significantly, he uttered a refrain that
resonated with many of the other delegations: It should be readily apparent that as
Australia does not have a “real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one” by
supporting “any scheme of large-scale foreign migration.” Entry would be limited to
asylum seekers who would work within certain restricted livelihoods and trades that
would not threaten the employment of Australian citizens. 63 Admission of large numbers
of Jews, it was feared, would produce “enclaves” that would not be “easily assimilable”
into the national body and risked creation of local anti-Semitism. 64 The Sydney Truth, an
anti-Jewish immigration Labor newspaper, regarded the entry of “unwanted and
unabsorbable Hebrews” as a threat to Australian “race, blood, and ideals.” 65 Alternatively,
one editorialist regarded such an “undue suggestion of racial intolerance” as a “betrayal
of our cherished traditions.” Acceptance of German and Austrian refugees would greatly
benefit Australia by the infusion of “some of the best stock and finest minds of
Europe.” 66
63 “Proceedings,” July 7, 1938, 19-20. Thomas W. White (1887-1957) had been awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross during the Great War and served as a Federal Parliamentarian and Australian
High Commissioner to Britain (1951-1956) and was knighted in 1952. He was the Australian Federal
Minister for Trade and Customs and was in London when the invitation for the Evian Conference was
issued. The Australian population in 1938 was approximately seven million. The nation occupied three
million square miles of land.
64 “Jews Seeking to Enter Australia: 4,000 Applications,” The Times, July 5, 1938, 13.
65 Sydney Truth, October 16, 1938 cited in Blakeney, Australia and the Jewish Refugees, 134.
66 Western Mail and South Wales News July 11, 1938 cited in Katz, “Public Opinion,” 108.
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