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

concluded, FDR was not a “man for all seasons.” 28
Herbert Druks observed that
Roosevelt had expressed his support for Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish State
within Palestine but did not actively proceed to achieve such a goal and failed to
adequately aid and abet the resettlement of Jewish refugees “in Palestine or anywhere
else.” His primary focus remained on “geopolitical” concerns rather than on
“humanity.” 29
William Lasser regarded the Evian Conference as a mere “gesture” on the part
of the Roosevelt Administration due to the nature of the terms framing the official
invitation. The exclusion of German attendance prevented the development of an
opportunity to conduct negotiations with the Nazi Government. 30
Debórah Dwork and
Robert Jan van Pelt contended the Evian Conference was a political and public relations
scheme designed to preserve America’s reputation as the refuge for the hopeless and
persecuted but without taking any constructive actions or bearing any cost. The refusal
of FDR to call for changes in global immigration laws and the allocation of adequate
funds to facilitate emigration and resettlement doomed the conference to becoming a
“dismal failure and a grave disappointment” that provided “tacit international approval”
to keep the gates closed. 31
Michael Marrus claimed that the sympathetic but empty
rhetoric expressed at the Evian Conference “simply underscored” the reluctance or
outright refusal of the Western democracies to accept stateless Jews. While delegate after
28 Patrick Maney, The Roosevelt Presence (New York: Twayne, 1992), 1, 139, 203.
29 Druks, The Uncertain Friendship, vii
30 William Lasser. Benjamin V. Cohen: Architect of the New Deal (New Haven, CT.: Yale University
Press, 2002), 203.
31 Debórah Dwork and Robert Jan van Pelt, Holocaust: A History, 124.
320