Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. In my capacity on council. I have had been afforded the time and luxury to delve deeper into the history surrounding the Holocaust. and I have paid particular attention to the emigration of Jews from Germany in the 1930s. It strikes me that as we consider reforming our legal immigration policy. we should study this tragic period in history carefully. as there are many lessons to be learned. In July 1938. delegates from 32 countries Including the United States. France and Great Britain met at the Evian Hotel In Evian. France. for what has become known as the Evian Conference. The purpose of this conferenco was to determine what these countries should do in response to the thousands of Jewish refugees who were shunned both by their home country and abroad. Unfortunately. little was accomplished at the Evian Conference because no country was willing or had the fortitude to accept large numbers of Jews. including the U.S. Since the early 1930s. Jews had been fleeing Germany for a variety of reasons. Initially. the German government encouraged those who could flee to do so. and to take whatever possessions they could with them. Eventually. however. the Nazis made this increasingly more difficult. slapping emigration taxes on Jews and making it impossible for them to survive elsewhere because their funds were tied up in German banks. The antiJewish sentiment in Germany. as we all know. was oppressive. The Nazis wanted to make Germany a place devoid of Jews.
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refugees emigration immigration