840.48 Refugees/1735: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 13—1:30 p.m.]
985. From Pell. I was asked to come to Winterton’s office this morning to receive an important communication from the British Government to the American Government. Winterton explained that it had been the original intention to take the matter up through diplomatic channels but at the last moment it had been decided to stress the informality of the procedure by using the Director’s office.
Winterton, with whom were officials of the Foreign, Colonial and Home Offices and of the Treasury, also Emerson, first gave the sequence of events leading up to the decision of the Cabinet yesterday to agree, conditionally, to British participation in a scheme for pound per pound governmental and private assistance in the refugee situation. He said that at the end of May Lord Hailey64 and Sir Herbert Emerson both reported to the British Government that the financing and carrying out of refugee work was about to collapse and that the first result of this would be that countries of refuge including Great Britain would be saddled with multitudes of refugees. The Belgian and Dutch Governments had already been obliged to vote public funds for the support of refugees due to the failure of countries of settlement to take them off their hands and the British Government would shortly be faced with a similar decision. Immediately after Hailey and Emerson, Lionel de Rothschild, as head of the house of Rothschild, approached Sir John Simon,65 gave him much the same picture as Hailey and Emerson, and stressed that the work could not continue without governmental assistance. Sir John and the permanent officials of the Treasury were deeply impressed with the views which were thus expressed by those who in England were most responsible [Page 132] for the refugee work and suggested that both Mr. de Rothschild and Sir Herbert should formulate their views in writing and bring them before the Cabinet subcommittee. Sir Herbert then submitted his plan and Mr. de Rothschild his. Later they both appeared before the Cabinet subcommittee which was convinced by them of the seriousness of the situation and recommended to the full Cabinet acceptance of the principle of pound per pound governmental participation in the financing of refugee work. The Cabinet deliberated yesterday, accepted the principle recommended by the subcommittee and authorized Winterton to make a statement, which I shall give below, at the Intergovernmental meeting. Before the Intergovernmental meeting, however, Winterton was instructed to approach the American Government, to give it the text of the proposed statement and to invite the American Government to associate itself with the statement or at the very minimum not to register opposition to it at the meeting.
The proposed statement, in full text, is as follows:
“His Majesty’s Government have reached the conclusion, in face of these facts, that unless the work of the committee is to be abortive and the countries of refuge to be saddled with unabsorbed transmit-grants, it will be necessary to depart from the principle agreed unanimously at Evian, that no participating Government would give direct financial assistance to refugees. His Majesty’s Government are, for their part, examining the manner and extent to which private subscription to an international fund to assist in defraying the expenses of overseas emigration of refugees might be encouraged by Government participation, possibly on a basis proportionately to the amount of private subscription, and I would earnestly invite my colleagues to lay these considerations before their Governments and to communicate their views to me without delay. If other Governments are prepared to agree to this change of principle, and to cooperate in such participation, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom will take the initiative in proposing a scheme for the purpose, which I will circulate in the autumn.”
After reading the text Winterton continued that his instructions were to impress upon the American Government the seriousness of the situation, to state that time was of the essence, but to add that if the American Government would not accept even the principle of governmental participation the British Government would withdraw its statement, but would be obliged to reconsider its attitude entirely towards the Intergovernmental Committee and the work in behalf of refugees.
I said that I would report this conversation to the American Government. I did not wish to anticipate what Mr. Taylor might have to say upon his arrival next Monday but I felt that I should give [Page 133] Winterton my definite impression that the Foundation, which was now being set up in London, was an essential first step in the financing of the refugee work. I said that Mr. Taylor had gone back to America after conversations here and on the Continent where he was told that henceforth most if not all the money for assistance to and resettlement of refugees would have to come from the United States, that he had had innumerable conversations in New York with innumerable persons, Christian and Jewish alike, that he had concluded from these conversations that the Foundation was the gateway to the raising of funds in America and the first step in the direction of a practical solution of the refugee problem.
Nearly every one present then began to attack the Foundation. They said that in the form proposed it was completely worthless, that it would neither contribute to the financing of the refugee work nor justify the Germans in setting up their internal trust which would be set up only when it was clear that money was available or guaranteed for resettlement. As far as they could see it was a mere gesture or at most a strategical device to place the Germans in an awkward position. I remarked that this discussion seemed beside the point, since the Foundation was virtually set up. Only legal formalities remained and I hoped that an announcement could be made at the meeting of its establishment. I observed, moreover, that as far as the Germans were concerned it could be pointed out to them that not only was the Foundation set up, but a beginning had been made toward the financing of a small trial settlement in British Guiana. It was my understanding that the American private people had indicated to the British group that they were willing to advance a considerable amount of money for this purpose if the British private people would put up a corresponding amount. So far the British private group had not been able to find the money.
Emerson explained here that the reason the British private group had not put up the money was that they were now committed to the principle of pound per pound governmental and private participation. This was the only method which would stimulate adequate private contributions and he was informed that Baerwald, Linder, Proskauer and Strauss agreed wholeheartedly with this and had so stated to the British private group. Winterton said this was the case and added that they had said that the American Government was now the stumbling block. (Although the American Jewish leaders here have obviously been enthusiastic about the Emerson plan I doubt very much if they went so far as to say what Winterton attributed to them.)
[Page 134]Winterton at this point turned the conversation to British Guiana and repeated much of what McDonald had said to me at the recent meeting (see my 877, June 22, 7 p.m.66). Winterton added that it was Mr. Taylor who had urged upon the British Government the necessity of opening places for group settlement and had promised that American money would surely be forthcoming. Emerson here questioned the use of the words “group settlement” and said that he thought it was advisable to use the term “mass settlement”. Winterton lost his temper and said that he was using his term with care, that it was not the intention of the British Government to permit “mass settlement” in Guiana or anything resembling the situation in Palestine. He said at most it would agree to the establishment of a group of 50 here and 50 there interspersed throughout the territory arid not forming a homogenous mass of Jews. He said that the idea which seemed to be held in American circles that something akin to a Jewish state could be set up anywhere in the world was Utopian in the extreme, impossible of fulfillment and would be opposed by the British Government. He then referred specifically to Angola. He said that Mr. Taylor seemed to be haunted during his last visit by the dream of some vast scheme in Angola. He, Winterton, thought that it should be made absolutely plain that such a scheme was undesirable and out of the question and this was the considered view of the British Government.
Emerson said that the trouble in this whole refugee affair was the trouble of the Jews and most eastern people. There was always some other scheme in the background for which they were prepared to sacrifice schemes which were already in hand. He said that what should be realized was that the situation today is extremely urgent, that the work in behalf of refugees is threatened with an immediate breakdown and that the only scheme which is on the table and for which money and governmental assistance may be forthcoming in the immediate future is the British Guiana project.
In conclusion Winterton again stressed that it was the hope of the British Government that the American Government would associate itself with his proposed statement. Or if it could not do that, that it would agree not to object to his making the statement at the meeting and would abstain from opposing the principle included in his statement. He hoped that Mr. Taylor would be in a position to indicate the position of the American Government at his meeting with Winterton at 11 o’clock on Tuesday next because the time for preparation and agreement would be short. [Pell.]