548.D1/198
The High Commissioner For Refugees (Jewish and Other) Coming From Germany (McDonald) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Carr)
My Dear Mr. Carr: I have your letter of December 28,60 and am glad to furnish you with further details concerning the request of the High Commission for a contribution from the United States Government to its administrative expenses.
As you of course know, the High Commission was constituted by a resolution of the Council of the League of Nations at its meeting in [Page 413] October, 1933.61 But although set up by the League, the Commission was made an autonomous body, and none of its expenses have been borne by League funds; nor, under the present circumstances (while Germany is still nominally a member of the League) can any League funds be made available to the High Commission. All of its expenses have thus far been borne by voluntary contributions from private sources, chiefly from the large Jewish organizations which are particularly interested in the problem of the German refugees.
Although no Government which accepted the invitation of the League to join the Governing Body of the High Commission assumed thereby any obligation to contribute to its administrative budget, it seems only just to point out that the work was undertaken in part for the benefit of the interested Governments, and that the private organizations which have borne the whole cost have also the larger task of raising the funds for the substantive work for the relief and settlement of the refugees. Toward this larger work already about $6,000,000 have been raised and expended; but the financial needs of the refugees, particularly for emigration purposes, are still very large, whereas the resources of the organizations are diminished after the drain of the past two years. Private charity both in this country and abroad has given generously to meet this situation, but it would be heartening to the organizations if the Governments could make at this time what we have called “symbolic” contributions to the budget of the High Commission.
The budget for 1935, which was authorized by the Governing Body at its meeting in November, totals £14,400, or about $60,000. The details of the proposed expenditures, and a copy of the statement which was submitted to the Governing Body covering the period from November 1, 1933, are enclosed.62
The Government of Sweden has already made a definite unconditional commitment to contribute to the 1935 budget of the High Commission. Czechoslovakia, Denmark and some of the other smaller countries have indicated their willingness to do so, but have not yet committed themselves as to amount. So far as the Great Powers on the Governing Body are concerned—France, Italy, and Great Britain—we have reason to feel that they would be willing to follow if the United States were to take the lead. As I said to you the other day, I am confident that American leadership in this matter would have a large and perhaps determining influence.
Sincerely yours,