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

determine a course of action than to confuse the vital problem of
refugee settlement with saccharine sentiment. 137
The futility and hypocrisy of the Evian Conference was, however, readily
recognized by the German Government and press and would play a significant role in
future events. Failure of the Evian Conference and the reluctance of countries of
potential refuge to accept increased numbers of refugees reinforced Germany’s belief that
international pressure would not be applied to force changes in Nazi policies. Dr. Alfred
Rosenberg warned that the Jewish Question was not limited to the confines of Greater
Germany “for what broke out in Germany stands before the doors of a few other
countries and whether the solution can be restrained as it was in Germany is very
questionable.” He believed that Madagascar represented a suitable destination due to its
size, climate and French suzerainty since it was France that had begun “the emancipation
of the Jews and still does everything for them today.” 138
The major result of the Evian
Conference, Rosenberg believed, was the creation of a “mammoth executive” based in
London that had “failed to make any positive proposition.” The supposedly sympathetic
democracies had “shed many tears over Jewish misery” in Greater Germany but had
failed to offer any “radical cure” for the problem. Consequently, an area large and
isolated enough to house all of the world’s Jewish population, subsidized by “Jewish
millionaires and billionaires” and placed under the authority of “administrators trained in
police work,” would provide a solution to the international dilemma rather than engaging
137 “Lament for the Dead,” The Southern Israelite, July 29, 1938, 2.
138 “Nazi Leader Warns Nation,” New York Times, July 8, 1938, 7.
292