Tragedy at Évian by Tony Matthews

Author:Tony Matthews
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781922387356
Publisher: Big Sky Publishing

The Gestapo was also instrumental in allowing Jewish refugees to flee into Lithuania with temporary ‘summer resort’ visas. On 13 October, 1938, the U.S. legation in Lithuania informed the State Department that one hundred and twenty Austrian and German Jews had been allowed to cross the border using such visas, and they had been told when receiving permission to leave Germany that despite their temporary visas, if they returned either to Germany or Austria they would be deported to concentration camps. Desperate measures were made by a number of Jewish organisations to have their Lithuanian temporary visas extended into permanent ones, but the intransigent Lithuanian authorities advised that, ‘...while the Lithuanian government was sympathetic to the plight of the Jewish refugees ... it was not prepared to grant these refugees a permanent haven’. The government added that Lithuanian resources were far too limited to provide food and shelter, even for such a small number of people, adding that the country did not want to establish a precedent that might attract other refugees.(48)

The Lithuanian cabinet finally agreed to issue temporary residency permits to those refugees who held the summer permits. Some received visas valid for two months, some for one month and several for only seven days. Those refugees who did not apply for these temporary visas were being hunted down by the Lithuanian police and faced immediate deportation. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society continued to make representations to other governments in efforts to gain access for them, and it seemed likely that most would eventually find homes in South American countries, although Paraguay continued to state categorically that it would take no more Jews.(49) This statement was backed by action. When a ship filled with Jewish refugees suddenly arrived at the river port of Asuncion soon afterwards, the intending immigrants were not allowed to land despite the fact that they all possessed visas. Under considerable pressure the government finally permitted them to land, but regulations concerning their employment as agriculturists were immediately enforced.

Jews who had arrived earlier and sent into agricultural areas to work had been subjected to considerable scrutiny; those who had ceased agricultural pursuits to become businessmen had immediately been rounded up and expelled.(50)

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