Évian Conference

The Evian Conference was convened at initiative of the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July, 1938 to discuss the problem of Jewish refugees . However, not much was accomplished, since most western countries were reluctant to accept Jewish refugees. The conference failed to pass even a resolution condemning German treatment of the Jews, a fact that was widely used in Nazi propaganda . The lack of action further emboldened Hitler , proving to him that no country had the moral fortitude to oppose Nazism's assault on European Jewry.

The first batch of German Jewish refugee children of the Kindertransport arrive in the U.K. in December 1938 The Évian Conference was convened at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July 1938 to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. Twenty-four voluntary organizations also attended, as observers, many of whom presented plans orally and in writing. The fact that the conference did not pass a resolution condemning the German treatment of Jews was widely used in Nazi propaganda . It can be argued that the failure to agree on who should receive Jewish migrants from Germany further emboldened Hitler in his assault on European Jewry.

Royal Hotel [ fr ] in Évian-les-Bains , where the conference took place (pictured 2012) The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains , France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany . It was the initiative of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt who perhaps hoped to obtain commitments from some of the invited nations to accept more refugees, although he took pains to avoid stating that objective expressly. Historians have suggested that Roosevelt desired to deflect attention and criticism from American policy that severely limited the quota of Jewish refugees admitted to the United States. The conference was attended by representatives from 32 countries, and 24 voluntary organizations also attended as observers, presenting plans either orally or in writing. Golda Meir , the attendee from British Mandate Palestine, was not permitted to speak or to participate in the proceedings except as an observer. Some 200 international journalists gathered at Évian to observe and report on the meeting. Adolf Hitler responded to the news of the conference by saying essentially that if the other nations would agree to take the Jews, he would help them leave: I can only hope and expect that the other world, which has such deep sympathy for these criminals [Jews], will at least be generous enough to convert this sympathy into practical aid. We, on our part, are ready to put all these criminals at the disposal of these countries, for all I care, even on luxury ships. The conference was ultimately doomed, as aside from the Dominican Republic , delegations from the 32 participating nations failed to come to any agreement about accepting the Jewish refugees fleeing the Third Reich. The conference thus inadvertently proved to be a useful propaganda tool for the Nazis.

Conference addressing a refugee crisis Myron Taylor addresses the Évian Conference The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains , France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany . It was the initiative of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt who perhaps hoped to obtain commitments from some of the invited nations to accept more refugees, although he took pains to avoid stating that objective expressly. Historians have suggested that Roosevelt desired to deflect attention and criticism from American policy that severely limited the quota of refugees admitted to the United States. The conference was attended by representatives from 32 countries, and 24 voluntary organizations also attended as observers, presenting plans either orally or in writing. Golda Meir , the attendee from British Mandate Palestine , was not permitted to speak or to participate in the proceedings except as an observer. Some 200 international journalists gathered at Évian to observe and report on the meeting. The Soviet Union refused to take part in the conference, though direct talks on resettlement of Jews and Slavs between German and Soviet governments proceeded at the time of the conference and after it. In the end, the Soviet Union refused to accept refugees and a year later ordered its border guards to treat all refugees attempting to cross into Soviet territory as spies. The conference was ultimately doomed, as aside from the Dominican Republic , delegations from the 32 participating nations failed to come to any agreement about accepting the Jewish refugees fleeing the Third Reich. The conference thus inadvertently proved to be a useful tool for the Nazis. Adolf Hitler responded to the news of the conference by saying that if other nations agreed to take the Jews, he would help them leave.

Conference addressing a Jewish refugee crisis Myron Taylor addresses the Évian Conference The Évian Conference was convened 6–15 July 1938 at Évian-les-Bains , France, to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany . It was the initiative of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt who perhaps hoped to obtain commitments from some of the invited nations to accept more refugees, although he took pains to avoid stating that objective expressly. Historians have suggested that Roosevelt desired to deflect attention and criticism from American policy that severely limited the quota of refugees admitted to the United States. The conference was attended by representatives from 32 countries, and 24 voluntary organizations also attended as observers, presenting plans either orally or in writing. Golda Meir , the attendee from British Mandatory Palestine , was not permitted to speak or to participate in the proceedings except as an observer. Some 200 international journalists gathered at Évian to observe and report on the meeting. The Soviet Union refused to take part in the conference, though direct talks on resettlement of Jews and Slavs between German and Soviet governments proceeded at the time of the conference and after it. In the end, the Soviet Union refused to accept refugees and a year later ordered its border guards to treat all refugees attempting to cross into Soviet territory as spies. The conference was ultimately doomed, as aside from the Dominican Republic and later Costa Rica , delegations from the 32 participating nations failed to come to any agreement about accepting Jewish refugees fleeing the Third Reich. The conference thus inadvertently proved to be a useful tool for Nazi propaganda. Adolf Hitler responded to the news of the conference by saying that if other nations agreed to take the Jews, he would help them leave. Roots of Hate: Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust .