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

Many governments recognized early on that the “existing legislation”
acknowledged by Secretary of State Cordell Hull in the American invitation placed
stringent limitations on the numbers of Jews that would ultimately be allowed entry from
Germany and Austria. Taylor warned during his opening address that “some millions of
people….are actually or potentially without a country.” 4
The problem was greatly
compounded by the efforts of certain Eastern European nations that sought to rid
themselves of their own Jewish populations. In addition, the failure to formulate specific
details and proposals prior to the American announcement and official invitation imbued
the Evian Conference with an air of superficiality, haste and insincerity. Nations
bordering Germany and Austria feared inundation with refugees and claimed that they
had already become oversaturated with unwanted aliens. Some States granted transit
visas to refugees hoping to pass them on to another country while others used the local
police or military to seal the borders to prevent further migration. The sheer magnitude
of the European refugee problem may have overwhelmed the abilities of the delegates
and their respective governments to act in a positive and effectual manner. One
European expert observed that “every Jew east, north and south of Switzerland” was
potentially a refugee, numbering 5,000,000-6,000,000, exclusive of the USSR. The
League’s Nansen Office was still confronted with refugees stemming from the Great War
and had “500,000 homeless on its hands.” In addition, there was the problem of nonfascist
Italians and displaced Spaniards. 5
270.
4 Ruth Gay, The Jews of Germany: A Historical Portrait (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992),
5 “Refugee Parley at Evian,” St. Petersburg Times, July 13, 1938, 4.
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