A Missed Opportunity to Aid Jewish Refugees
The Évian Conference, held from July 6 to 15, 1938, in Évian-les-Bains, France, was a pivotal moment in the history of international responses to humanitarian crises. Convened by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the conference brought together delegates from 32 countries to discuss the growing refugee crisis caused by Nazi persecution of Jews in Germany and Austria. Despite high expectations, the conference failed to produce significant commitments from participating nations, leaving many Jewish refugees without a safe haven. This failure not only exposed the limitations of international diplomacy in addressing humanitarian crises but also underscored the widespread reluctance to challenge Nazi policies before the outbreak of World War II.
By 1938, Nazi policies of antisemitism had intensified, particularly following the annexation of Austria (Anschluss) in March of that year. Jews in both Germany and Austria faced increasing persecution, including restrictive laws and violence. Many wanted to flee, but immigration quotas, economic challenges, and xenophobic sentiments in other countries made resettlement difficult. Roosevelt’s call for the Évian Conference was partly a response to growing international pressure to address the refugee crisis while also seeking to avoid direct U.S. involvement beyond existing immigration quotas, which had been in effect since 1924.
The conference saw delegates express sympathy for Jewish refugees, but largely avoided making concrete commitments to accept them in large numbers. The United States, represented by Myron C. Taylor, a businessman and close friend of Roosevelt's, rather than a high-level official, such as the secretary of state, did not propose increasing its immigration quotas. Great Britain refused to open Palestine beyond the limited allowances it had already set. France and other European nations, already hosting significant numbers of refugees, claimed they could not take in more. Meanwhile, Latin American nations imposed restrictions on Jewish immigration, fearing economic and social instability.
One notable exception was the Dominican Republic, whose dictator Rafael Trujillo offered to accept up to 100,000 Jewish refugees, though only a fraction of that number (700-800) ultimately arrived. He viewed the European refugee crisis as an opportunity to increase the white population of the Dominican Republic. Trujillo's attitudes toward Black refugees was different. One year prior to the Conference, a massacre of thousands of Haitian immigrants occurred under Trujillo's direct orders. The conference also led to the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR), which aimed to negotiate with Germany for legal emigration but achieved little success before the war.
The Evian Conference demonstrated the international community’s unwillingness to confront Nazi persecution directly. Despite the failure of the Evian Conference, there was a significant increase in Jewish emigration from Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1940, so that more than 60% of German and Austrian Jews were able to flee.
The German government expressed satisfaction at the conference's outcome, highlighting the perceived hypocrisy of foreign nations that criticized Germany's treatment of Jews but were unwilling to accept them as refugees. A German commentary noted the "astounding" fact that while other countries condemned Germany's actions, they declined to open their doors to Jewish refugees when given the opportunity. The lack of action emboldened the Nazi regime, which saw the reluctance of other nations as tacit approval of its anti-Jewish policies, and intensified its persecution, leading to more aggressive antisemitic policies and actions. Just months after the conference, the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938 marked a dramatic escalation in Nazi violence against Jews.
Historians widely regard the Evian Conference as a missed opportunity to save lives. The reluctance of nations to adjust their immigration policies meant that many Jews who might have escaped were instead trapped in Europe, where they later became victims of the Holocaust. The conference stands as a historical lesson on the consequences of international inaction in the face of humanitarian crises.
