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

Germany who had been granted permanent resident alien status. Table 1 demonstrates
that the majority of Jews were of non-agricultural backgrounds; a deficiency that would
greatly hinder resettlement.
TABLE 1: Jewish Occupations in Germany in 1933 Census
Occupations
Percentage
Agriculture 1.0
Industry and handicraft 19.1
Trade, insurance, communications and
Transportation 52.5
Public service and professions 10.7
Domestic service 0.7
Independent; no occupation 16.7
Die Glaubensjuden im deutschen Reich, 25 cited in Tartakower, “The Jewish
Refugees,” 332-333.
Hitler’s rise to power led 37,000-38,000 Jews to move to neighboring European
countries, primarily France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and
Czechoslovakia. “Stabilization of the domestic political situation” and increasing
resistance of the United States and other nations to accept refugees, however, led to a
decline in the number of migrants seeking refuge. The passage of the 1935 Nuremberg
Racial Laws did not significantly accelerate the emigration process. 15,000-135,000
Jews left Germany between 1933 and 1937 of whom 42,000 entered Palestine, 48,000
migrated overseas and 25,000 returned to their countries of origin. 3
3 “Memorandum of the Jewish Agency, Palestine, to the Evian Conference” The Central Zionist Archive
S7/693 available from http://www.zupdom.com/iconsmultimedia/ClientsArea/HoH/LIBARC/ARCHIVE/Chapters/Terror/RefugeeP/Memoran1.html;
Internet;
accessed May 15, 2010; “Germany: Jewish Population in 1933,” Holocaust Encyclopedia available from
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005276; Internet; accessed June 12, 2010.
According to the 1922 Census 168,000 Jews or 4% of the total population lived in the capital Berlin with
26,000 in Frankfurt am Main, 20,000 in Breslau, 17,000 in Hamburg, 15,000 in Cologne, 13,000 in
Hanover and 12,000 in Leipzig. Approximately 10,000 lived in the Free City of Danzig. During 1933 20%
of Jews lived in smaller town. An estimated 178,000 Jews lived in the Austrian capital Vienna and 35,000
in Prague.
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