840.48 Refugees/1874: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 29—2:30 p.m.]
1868. My 1820, September 25; and Berlin’s 59, September 28, noon. Wohlthat’s message was discussed today with Winterton, Emerson and Randall. Emerson had also received word from Berlin, through a private Netherlands source, to the effect that the German Government still desires to emigrate Jews, that pressure towards this end would be increased and that it was essential that the work of the Intergovernmental Committee, possibly under a director of neutral nationality such as Van Zeeland. While the message purported to come from Jewish leaders, Emerson was confident that it was officially inspired.
[Page 150]These two indications of the German position have strengthened the feeling here that further emigration from Germany would serve German ends and that continued British membership would be incompatible with continued efforts by the Committee to facilitate such emigration. The British Government, it was indicated, would gladly continue to cooperate in efforts to settle refugees already out of Germany but considers that further efforts to facilitate direct emigration should be undertaken only by an organization composed solely of neutrals.
The conditions of emigration specified in Wohlthat’s message are regarded incidentally as a negation of the whole program envisaged in the Rublee-Wohlthat conversations and a return to the policy of forcing out penniless refugees.
Emerson expects to lay Wohlthat’s communication before the Washington meeting but to take no other action concerning it.