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

negotiate but the British and French, fearful of the IGCR’s success, were “reluctant” for
him to hold discussions with the Germans. 2
The Conference did not get off to a “good start” due to the lack of the “fullest
and most adequate preparation.” To enter into an international congress with the “hope”
of achieving positive results represented the “best way of courting failure.” If the United
States had presented concrete proposals, rather than highlighting an already existing
immigration quota, then “some result might have been easily achieved.” It was the
economic concerns and the fear of creating “anti-Jewish centers” among their respective
populations that led the delegations and their governments to “hedge” their proposals
while seeking the “absolute minimum of practical measures.” 3
The British consideration
of Kenya and the establishment of the IGCR were viewed by some as insignificant
accomplishments when viewed in the context of an international conference in which the
“greater part of the non-Fascist world” was seated. Proper planning and consultation
might have led the various powers to ponder the issue with greater clarity creating the
potential for collective action. The Evian Conference was convened “too precipitously”
and demonstrated that “good intentions are no substitute for well-laid plans.” 4
R.A.
Butler, Parliamentary Undersecretary for the British Foreign Office, warned an
interdepartmental meeting prior to the Conference that the “whole scheme would fall
2 George Rublee to Hand, August 29, 1938, HLS-Hand, box 107, folder 6; Rublee, “Reminiscences of
George Rublee,” (NY: Columbia University Oral History Research Office, 1972) 284 cited in McClure,
Earnest Endeavors, 254; FRUS, vol.11, 796-798.
3 “Evian Refugee Conference: Proposed London Commission,” The Times, July 9, 1938, 11.
4 “Home for Refugees,” The Glasgow Herald, July 15, 1938, 32.
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