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

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to pass on the burden to the other. <strong>The</strong> United States represented the “chief motive<br />

power” while the “chief brake” was provided by the United Kingdom. Consequently, an<br />

“air <strong>of</strong> inhospitality” pervaded the conference. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> was a call for democratic<br />

societies to stand up for and protect “the individual against being punished for his<br />

opinions or [the <strong>Jewish</strong> blood <strong>of</strong>] his parents.” It was obvious early on that the delegates<br />

“lost sight” <strong>of</strong> this purpose from the “start. <strong>The</strong>se poor people and these great principles<br />

seem so far away from the Hotel Royal tonight.” 104<br />

<strong>The</strong> New York Herald Tribune<br />

<strong>com</strong>mented that the <strong>Conference</strong> was “not exactly a pretty spectacle” that got “nowhere<br />

with great dignity but a high rate <strong>of</strong> speed.” 105<br />

<strong>The</strong> New Republic observed that the<br />

delegates were annoyed with the Nazis not only because <strong>of</strong> the humanitarian concerns but<br />

because their respective countries were faced with an “awkward problem <strong>of</strong><br />

absorption.” 106 <strong>The</strong> Richmond News Leader predicted that the American response to the<br />

refugee crisis would be muted with the Government content to issue “friendly gestures<br />

and kind words.” 107<br />

Deborah Lipstadt noted that while many American papers criticized<br />

the lack <strong>of</strong> an adequate response during the <strong>Conference</strong> (both from the U.S. and other<br />

nations) they favored the “idea <strong>of</strong> a conference because it guaranteed no increase in<br />

immigration.” Thus, the “failure <strong>of</strong> <strong>Evian</strong> was the failure <strong>of</strong> the rest <strong>of</strong> the world to<br />

104 Clarence K. Streit, “32 Nations Gather to Help Refugees,” New York Times, July 6, 1938, 1; Montreal<br />

Gazette, July 6, 1938, 1, 9.<br />

105 New York Herald Tribune, July 12, 1938 cited in Deborah E. Lipstadt, Beyond Belief: <strong>The</strong> American<br />

Press & the Coming <strong>of</strong> the Holocaust 1933-1945 (NY: <strong>The</strong> Free Press, 1986), 95.<br />

106 New Republic, July 20, 1938, 291-292. Ibid., 95.<br />

107 Richmond News Leader, July 13, 1938. Ibid., 96.<br />

283

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