[K. 6.32.]
Illegal Migration [by ship]
[July 1934: Illegal
emigration to Palestine: The ship "Velos" tries in vain]
The tragedy of Jewish emigration caused the appearance of
what was to become, for a whole decade, a phenomenon
identified with (p.285)
the plight of Jews: illegal migration. As early as July
1934 the first illegal immigrant ship to Palestine, the
[ship]
Velos,
made a successful run with 330 Hechalutz trainees from
Poland. In September of that year the
Velos tried a second
time, but the British prevented a landing; the 310
passengers
(End note 165: Yehuda Slutsky: Sefer Toldot Hahaganah; Tel
Aviv 1963, 2:528-29. There were 360 passengers, but 50
managed to land without being noticed by the British).
attempted to find a haven "at several ports" but nowhere
were they allowed to enter. Finally they returned to
Poland and obtained legal permits to enter Palestine.
HICEM requested that JDC support the passengers, but Kahn
refused. "We could not contribute to this cause as it was
a case of illegal smuggling of immigrants to Palestine."
(End note 166: R16, monthly bulletin, nos. 1 and 2, 3/6/35
[6 March 1935])
[Jan 1938: Histadruth
illegal immigration - Zionist are against this not to
bother Britain]
Efforts to start illegal immigration to Palestine began
again in January 1938.
(End note 167: Slutsky, op. cit. [Yehuda Slutsky: Sefer
Toldot Hahaganah; Tel Aviv 1963], 2:1036 ff.)
This was done partly by the Histadruth (the Palestine
General Jewish Federation of Labor), partly by the
Revisionists, the opponents of the official Zionist
movement, and partly by private persons and various
political groups. The official Zionist bodies were split
on the question; some of the American and British Zionists
were opposed to illegal efforts, at least as long as there
was the slightest hope of an accommodation with Britain.
[Early 1939: Emigration
negotiations about immigration to Palestine - help for
stranded illegal immigrants]
In early 1939 JDC was approached by the different groups
engaged in organizing the immigration movement to
Palestine. "JDC was ready to put up 5,000 pounds if the
Council (for German Jewry) and Simon Marks's group put up
a like amount each and if the Council would share in
the responsibility."
(End note 168: Kahn material, file 1939/40, 6/15/39 [15
June 1939])
This meant that JDC would participate only if the whole
matter became open, public, and, ipso facto, legal.
Naturally, this did not happen, and JDC help was not
forthcoming. Troper stated that "we must continue to take
the attitude that JDC can take no part in this
emigration." The local committees (who were not part of
JDC in any case), such as Mrs. van Tijn's group in Holland
or Mrs. Schmolka's group in Prague, "can do so if they
wish."
(End note 169: R55, Troper letter, 3/2/39 [2 March 1939])
This essentially was JDC's policy right up to the
[European] outbreak to the war.
With this position established in principle, there arose a
question that could not be easily answered. One could have
a set policy, yet not be able to close one's eyes to the
misery and the suffering of the people who could not
manage to get through to Palestine. JDC (p.286)
was committed to helping people regardless of the politics
involved. Moreover, even ICR [Intergovernmental Committee
on Refugees (ICR) (set up at Evian 1938)], through its
British director, Emerson, expressly allowed "giving
relief for humanitarian reasons to those who were stranded
through the rejection of the transports" while warning the
"responsible organizations not to give any direct help to
such transports."
(End note 170: 9-27, meeting of ICR directors
[Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR) (set up at
Evian 1938)] with JDC and HICEM, 7/25/39 [25 July 1939])
[Help for stranded Jews
on defect or caught emigration ships in Greece]
Some of the situations that arose were tragic indeed.
In early July 1939 the S.S.
Rim caught fire, and its 772 passengers
were landed on a Greek island. Other ships, mismanaged by
their organizers, ran out of fuel or food, or were caught
by the British and had to remain in Greek waters without
provisions.
By July 1939, $ 9,000 had been spent by JDC to help feed
these people, largely through the good offices of the
Athens Jewish community, which administered the relief.
JDC was watching the situation carefully. It received
reports and detailed information on boats filled with
people trying to save themselves by getting into
Palestine; if these efforts failed, JDC might have to step
in with food and clothes and blankets, while still
maintaining its noninvolvement in the political aspects of
the situation.
(End note 171:
-- R10, 5/29/39 [29 May 1939], Kahn note for Baerwald;
-- R55, 5/11/39 [11 May 1939] report;
-- 42-Palestine, emigration to Palestine, 1937-39)
Palestine was by no means the only goal of boats bearing
illegal immigrants.
[Illegal emigration to
Latin America: Cuba with bribed officials - other
countries]
At about the same time that attempts to reach Palestine
were being made, refugees without visas were trying to get
to the Latin American countries. This movement appears to
have started as early as September 1938, when 43
passengers on the S.S.
Iberia
vainly tried to enter Mexico and were finally allowed to
land at Havana.
A similar journey by the S.S.
Orinoco in October with 300 passengers
ended in the same way. All this of course cost money:
Cuban officials had to be bribed. Cuba remained one of the
main havens throughout the period, largely because of the
venality of its officials.
[There are no figures about the immigrnants and about an
eventual continuation of the journeys].
For various reasons, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Costa
Rica, and Bolivia also accepted visaless refugees from
time to time.
[Again there are no figures about the immigrnants and
about an eventual continuation of the journeys].
[Balance March 1939: 23
boats with 1,740 passengers]
A list prepared at JDC offices in March 1939 counted 23
boats with 1,740 passengers who somehow had to be squeezed
into Latin America without proper documents.
[Returning emigration
ships]
Not all these ships managed to land their human cargo. The
S.S.
General
(p.287)
Martin, for
instance, leaving Boulogne with 25 visaless passengers in
early February [1939], had to return to Europe with the
refugees aboard. The same happened to the 40 passengers on
the S.S.
Caparcona
in late March.
(End note 172: For a list of the ships see
-- 29-Germany: Panic Emigration, 1938-39, 3/30/39 [30
March 1939];
-- Executive Committee, meetings between December 1938 and
July 1939;
-- R9, Aid to Jews Overseas (pamphlet); also
-- R56, and
-- AC [Administration Committee files] meetings during
this period).
[JDC is financing the
bribes - play with visas during the trip]
JDC had to pay a high proportion of the bribes, thinly
disguised as landing money or living expenses for the
refugees. Often, too, the passengers held forged visas, or
the visas were genuine but the receiving country had
suddenly invalidated them - as happened with the
St. Louis.
To arrange matters, money had to change hands, and JDC
simply could not pay those sums.
On March 15 Baerwald sent a cable to Europe asking for a
meeting of the main emigrating agencies to consider what
should be done. It was, he said, "quite clear (that the)
resources (of) private philanthropic bodies (were)
strained (to the) utmost ... even (by the) more normal
(and) orderly emigration under (the) supervision (of)
responsible bureaus."
(End note 173: Cable of 3/15/39 [15 March 1939], quoted in
Hyman's report to the Executive Committee, 3/23/39 [23
March 1939])
[Criminal circumstances
around the illegal Jewish emigration - and JDC help]
The dumping of refugees was resulting in panic migration
and exploitation by unscrupulous steamship agencies,
lawyers, and venal officials. Alarming problems were
arising: indefinite maintenance of the refugees, huge
guarantees that were quite beyond the financial
capabilities of private bodies such as JDC, and the
specter of a more or less permanent threat of blackmail,
endangering the operations of different agencies. Both the
steamship companies and the Germans would know that the
Jewish organizations might protest but would pay in the
end.
[There is missing any figure which would be very
interesting].
The other agencies - HICEM, ICA, the Council for German
Jewry - were in the same quandary. There was no real
solution as long as the countries of immigration were
closed.
[Early 1939: Most of
Latin American countries close borders for Jewish
emigration]
Partly as a result of this panic emigration, most Latin
American countries did in fact close their borders in
early 1939. Opinions in JDC were divided.
[JDC: Discussion to help
or not]
Alexander Kahn was one of those who declared that JDC
simply "had to help them as far as our means can last,
because I do not think we will be forgiven if we take the
harsh (line of) policy that we will not help. When the
next batch of 100 comes we will have to do it anyway." The
other view was expressed by Rosenberg, who argued against
agreeing to the expulsion of Jews from Europe. If (p.288)
one allowed the Germans to "eliminate" their Jews, the
Poles and Romanians were going to follow suit. In the
minds of German officials, also "there is a notion that
American Jewry can meet all sorts of emergencies." One had
to say no to the refugees. "After all we are in a world
war and there are times when you have to sacrifice some of
your troops. And these unfortunates are some of our
troops."
(End note 174: AC [Administration Committee files],
3/15/39 [15 March 1939])
JDC did not follow Rosenberg's counsel. It accepted the
policy proposed by Alexander Kahn, but tried to pay as
little as possible in bribes; and except in the case of
the
St. Louis it
declined to offer ransom money.
[St. Louis affair: Boats
Flandre and Orduna also return to Europe]
During and after the
St.
Louis affair, illegal immigration into Latin
America continued. Besides the St. Louis, two small boats
arrived at Havana: the S.S.
Flandre, a French boat with 96 refugees,
and the S.S.
Orduna,
a British boat with about 40 people. Like the St. Louis
passengers, they were refused permission to land. They too
returned to Europe and were accepted by the four countries
that had received others.
[among others England, where the refugees were safe].
[American Jewish
diplomatic efforts for European Jewish emigration]
JDC had to support the Latin American Jewish communities
that were trying to care for the refugees from Europe. In
December 1938 it sent a former German Jewish social worker
to Latin America to establish contact with the communities
there. These contacts bore fruit in early 1939.The Havana
Refugee Committee was brought under the influence of the
New York National Coordinating Committee, later the
National Refugee Service. Other committees received direct
aid from JDC and dispensed it according to set rules to
those who needed it. In 1939, $ 600,000 was appropriated
for this work, which affected about 68,000 Jewish refugees
from Nazi Europe.
(End note 175: A detailed list of the countries and the
numbers of refugees in each was submitted to the Executive
Committee meeting on 7/20/39 [20 July 1939]).
[It's a pity that this list is missing in the text].
