The Jewish Refugee

The Jewish Refugee By ARIEH TARTAKOWER AND KURT R. GROSSMANN NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF JEWISH AFFAIRS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS AND WORID JEWISH CONGRESS 1944 * S^JJ^^^JU^YV JU^ 1rc>iWj . American Jewish Committee The Jewish Refugee The Jewish Refugee By ARIEH TARTAKOWER AND KURT R. GROSSMANN NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF JEWISH AFFAIRS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS AND WOR£D JEWISH CONGRESS 1944 * COPYRIGHT, 1944 BY THE INSTITUTE OF JEWISH AFFAIRS OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS AND THE WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS Price: $5.00 PRINTED BY INTERNATIONAL PRESS NEW YORK 303 THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF J0CHANAN TARTAKOWER PFC., U.S. ARMY WHO AT THE AGE OF NINETEEN WAS KILLED IN ACTION IN FRANCE ON SEPTEMBER 29, 1944 AND WHOSE SACRIFICE IS TYPICAL OF THE MANY THOUSANDS OF JEWISH REFUGEES WHO HAVE GIVEN THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION TO THEIR PEOPLE AND TO THE COUNTRIES THAT GAVE THEM REFUGE *ד *K £ 4 ! ) A PREFACE Roughly speaking, the Jewish position in Europe during the Long Truce (1919-1939) was dominated by the following fac- tors: The functioning of international protection of minorities coupled with resurgent local economic nationalisms, the Pales- tinian colonization effort, the Soviet experiment in solving the Jewish problem within the framework of a specific ideology, racist neo-antisemitism of international scope, and, finally, the Jewish refugee problem as one of the consequences of modern racist theories. The Institute of Jewish Affairs, which by its frame of reference has to summarize Jewish experiences of the last quarter of a cen- tury, has so far published a special volume on the workings of the international arrangement for the protection of minority groups* and devoted much attention to other aspects of Jewish life and its various problems. Now we present this book on the Jewish refugees, embodying the results of long research in this field. In compiling this volume we were faced with many serious difficulties, some of them concerning the very sources available, and others of a methodological nature. There are special difficulties involved in writing a work on a subject with such vast international ramifications in time of war, when difficult communications and censorship render the supply of material very precarious. We were keenly conscious of this handicap because of our policy not to confine ourselves to printed material but to use unpublished, first-hand material, of which a great deal was utilized for the purposes of this book. We are quite aware that the files of governments, of governmental and inter- *Were the Minorities Treaties a Failure? New York: 1943. viii PREFACE governmental institutions, as well as of private organizations and individuals contain materials which, when the war is over and they become available, may throw new light on facts discussed in this volume. Methodologically, too, we were confronted with special difficulties. For one thing, the very definition of "refugee" as a special type of displaced person presents, not only in theory but even more so in practice, tremendous difficulties. It was not always easy to find the line of demarcation between an ordinary immigrant and a refugee. Many measures taken by governments in regard to immigrants affect mostly refugees. While we confined ourselves to a discussion of the Jewish refugee, we were once morfe faced with the realization that the Jewish refugee is not always identified as such and very often refugees are not classed as Jews when, in fact, it is Jewish refugees who are dealt with. Lastly, the Jewish racial refugee of peacetime should not be confused with the Jewish refugee of wartime. Each type has its specific elements, but our study, which covers a period of eleven years, embraces both types. Obviously our conclusions are of a tentative nature and we admit that under new light shed by new facts they may be subject to revision. However, our approach to the problem of the Jewish refugees is something that cannot be affected by any new evidence that may come to light. We regard this problem as one of the tragedies of Jewish existence in a Gentile world. While fully alive to the humanitarian aspect of the problem, we do not stop there, but consider it in the general framework of the possibilities of Jewish survival in the modern world. Hence we link the refugee movement with the migratory movement, the migratory movement with Jewish experiments in colonization, which in turn leads in- evitably to the problem of Jewish concentration in Palestine and the function of the Jewish refugee in the building of the Jewish National Home. PREFACE ix It may be argued that the period of the Jewish refugee movement under consideration is not yet over. This may be true, but only in part. With the war in Europe jiearing its end, some new migratory movement, possibly originating in the liberated areas, may arise; but this will be of a different character from that of the refugee problem created and accentuated by Nazi Germany and her satellites. While the book as a whole is the joint responsibility of the two authors, the chapter on France was written by Henri Sinder. Valuable aid in the preparation of the chapter on Great Britain was given by Mrs. Sophie Grinberg-Vinaver, who made a study of British laws and regulations pertaining to aliens and refugees. Miss Frieda Ramm, librarian of the Institute of Jewish Affairs, assisted greatly in the compilation of the bibliography. Maximilian Hurwitz, the Editor of the Institute of Jewish Affairs, is the editor of this volume. JACOB ROBINSON . Director, Institute of Jewish Affairs October, 1944 CONTENTS PAGE I. INTRODUCTORY 1 The Era of Refugees — Definition and Characteristics of the Refugee Movement — Jewish Migration II. JEWISH REFUGEES DURING AND AFTER WORLD WAR I 13 Introductory—Austrian Jewish Refugees — Russian Jewish Refu- gees and Deportees — War Refugees from Other Countries — Refu- gees from Russia after the October Revolution III. THE PRESENT JEWISH REFUGEE PROBLEM 26 Introductory — The German Jewish Refugees — The Austrian and Czechoslovakian Jewish Refugees — Jewish Refugees from Italy — The Jewish War Refugees IV. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. A—PALESTINE 52 Introductory — Characteristic Features — Immigration Laws and Policies — Character and Importance of the Refugee Immigration into Palestine V. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. B—THE UNITED STATES 80 Introductory — Characteristics of Refugee Settlement in the United States — Immigration Laws —Wartime Immigration Regulations — Alien Registration and Control — Refugees and the War Effort VI. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. C—FRANCE 130 Introductory — Outbreak of World War II — The German Occu- pation and the Vichy Regime — Deportation to "Unknown Destina• tions" — The Way Out of France — North Africa xii CONTENTS PAGE VII. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. D—GREAT BRITAIN 217 Prewar Period — Outbreak of War; Registration and Classification of Aliens — Restrictions — Reaction of Public Opinion — Legal Basis and Motives of the Government's Policy—Easement of the Alien Regulations — Financial Aid to Refugees by the Government — Participation in the War Effort VIII. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. E—U.S.S.R. : 262 Introductory — Influx of Polish War Refugees — Numbers. Distri- bution, and Categories of Polish Jewish Refugees — Controversy Over Citizenship of Jewish Refugees — Refugee-Aid Activities of the Polish Embassy in U.S.S.R. — Russo-Polish Diplomatic Break and End of Polish Government's Relief Work in Soviet Union IX. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. F—SWITZERLAND 285 Introductory — The Prewar Situation — Developments During the War — Attitude of Swiss Public Opinion — The Refugee Camps and Homes—Who Supports the Refugees — Conclusion X. COUNTRIES OF REFUGE AND SETTLEMENT. G—MINOR REFUGE CENTERS 302 Other European Countries — Latin America — The Far East — British Dominions and Possessions — Miscellaneous XI. THE REFUGEE IN FIGURES 333 Introductory — Distribution According to Country of Origin — Coun- tries of Immigration — Age Distribution and Sex Ratio — Marital Status — Occupational Distribution — Import of Capital by Refugees XII. FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE LIFE OF REFUGEES 388 Introductory — The Political and Social Aspects — The Struggle for Bread — The New Life — The Cultural Problem — Conclusion CONTENTS xiii PAGE XIII. INTERGOVERNMENTAL AID TO JEWISH REFUGEES 401 Introductory — The Nansen Organization and the Jewish Refugees — The High Commissioner for Refugees (Jewish and Other) Com- ing from Germany — The Evian Conference and the Intergovem- mental Committee — The Bermuda Conference — The Failure of the Intergovernmental Agencies and the Reasons Therefor XIV. THE JEWISH PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS 429 Political Aid — Organizational and Economic Aid — Transportation Aid — Aid in the Countries of Refuge and Settlement —Conclusions XV. THE SOLUTION 501 Introductory — Repatriation — Absorption in the Countries of Tem- porary Refuge — Emigration — International Cooperation in Solving the Jewish Refugee Problem — The Role of the Jewish People — From Refugees to Builders of a Jewish Future APPENDIXES I. THREE MEMORANDA SUBMITTED TO THE EVIAN CONFER- ENCE, JULY 6, 1938 529 II. MEMORDANDUM SUBMITTED TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES ON THE OCCASION OF ITS SESSION IN WASHINGTON, D. C. BY THE AMERICAN EMER- GENCY COMMITTEE AND THE UNITED PALESTINE APPEAL 556 III. MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED TO THE BERMUDA CONFERENCE BY THE WORLD JEWISH CONGRESS, APRIL 14, 1943 ...... 580 IV. TEXT OF FINAL COMMUNIQUE OF THE BERMUDA CONFER- ENCE ON REFUGEES - 590 V. LIST OF CAMPS AND HOMES FOR EMIGRANTS AND IN- TERNEES IN SWITZERLAND 591 BIBLIOGRAPHY 597 INDEX - 659 The Jewish Refugee CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY The Era of Refugees—Definition and Characteristics of the Refugee Movement—Jewish Migration I. THE ERA OF REFUGEES The history of international migration in the past thirty years has been largely a history of refugees. Other times and othei centuries witnessed groups of migrants, small or large, fleeing from persecution to seek liberty and a livelihood in new countries. Many, like the Huguenots, the Pilgrim Fathers, and the Boers played an honorable part in the history of their new homes.

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