By January 30, 2018 Read More →

March 27, 1943 The Shame of Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Churchill“The meeting in Washington with Eden (e.g. Anthony Eden British Foreign Secretary) dealt a crushing blow to the American Jewish leadership, as is reflected in the following description of the reaction of the Joint Emergency Committee when Rabbi Steven Wise and Proskauer reported back to it:

“Over the entire meeting hung the pall of Mr. Eden’s attitude toward helping to save the Jews in occupied Europe. Without expressing it, the people at the meeting felt that there was little use in continuing to agitate for a demand [for action] on the part of the United Nations by the Jews of America.”

Incredible though it may sound, what lay behind Eden’s adamant opposition to the plea that the Allies call on Germany to release the Jews was the fear that such an effort might in fact succeed. Later during the same day on which Eden spoke with Proskauer and Wise, he met with Roosevelt, Hull, Welles, and the British ambassador to the United States, Lord Halifax. Also present were a British Foreign Office official and Harry Hopkins, Roosevelt’s special assistant. Hull raised the issue of the 60,000 to 70,000 Jews in Bulgaria who were threatened with extermination unless the British and Americans could get them out. He pressed Eden for a solution. According to Harry Hopkins’ notes,

EDEN REPLIED THAT THE WHOLE PROBLEM OF THE JEWS IN EUROPE IS VERY DIFFICULT AND THAT WE SHOULD MOVE VERY CAUTIOUSLY ABOUT OFFERING TO TAKE ALL JEWS OUT OF A COUNTRY LIKE BULGARIA. IF WE DO THAT, THEN THE JEWS OF THE WORLD WILL BE WANTING US TO MAKE SIMILAR OFFERS IN POLAND AND GERMANY. HITLER MIGHT WELL TAKE US UP ON ANY SUCH OFFER AND THERE SIMPLY ARE NOT ENOUGH SHIPS AND MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION IN THE WORLD TO HANDLE THEM.”

Source: Wyman, David. The Abandonment of the Jews. P 97.

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