Evian and the Jews

Everyone knows the Evian name for its French spa and spring water. Few know of its dark role in the murder of Europe’s Jews. The year was 1938 and war clouds were beginning to gather over Europe.

President Franklin Roosevelt convened an international conference beginning July 6, 1938 at Evian in order to deal with the crisis of Jewish persecution in Germany and Austria and the Jews who were frantically searching for refuge in other countries.

Of Germany’s original population of 600,000 Jews, about a quarter had already fled since Hitler took power five years before. Some were admitted to the U.S. and others to European countries like France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia where many were later caught by the Germans and murdered.

There was an opportunity to save the Jews of Europe when Hitler stated that he would let Jews leave “at the disposal of these countries, for all I care, even on luxury ships.” On July 6, 1938, representatives of 32 countries gathered, along with 39 private organizations and 200 reporters.

Roosevelt appointed a businessman, Myron Taylor, to lead the American team, rather than a diplomat, indicating a low level of commitment. In fact, his vice-president, John Garner, had told Roosevelt that Congress would prefer no immigration at all. The meeting lasted for nine days in the lavish resort and the result sealed the fate of the Jews of Europe.

Most countries, including Australia, Britain, America and France, had no interest in taking in Jews. The only exception was the Dominican Republic and their motive was most likely not altruistic. The President of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo, had just had his soldiers kill thousands of Haitians at the border and was likely trying to burnish his image.

Every country had an excuse. Central American countries said they did not want traders or intellectuals, by which they meant Jews. Australia said it had no racial problems and didn’t want to create any. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King wrote in his diary that there was nothing to be gained “by creating an internal problem in an effort to meet an international one.” A poll in America in 1938 found that two-thirds of Americans believed that the persecution of German Jews was partly or entirely their own fault.

The Germans were delighted. Hitler’s government stated that it was “astounding that foreign countries criticized Germany for their treatment of the Jews, but none wanted to open the doors to the Jews.” They obviously considered it a green light to do whatever they wanted.

A few months later the Nazis, knowing no one would care, unleashed a pogrom that was later called “Kristallnacht,” which resulted in the murder of dozens of Jews and the destruction of synagogues and Jewish institutions. More than 230,000 German and Austrian Jews were later murdered by the Nazis. Just a few short years later, most Jews across the European continent were also murdered.

So, what is the upshot of this historic betrayal of the Jewish people by those in power all over the world who made the conscious choice to condemn countless Jews to certain death?

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote that Evian made Israel a moral necessity because “that was the moment when Jews discovered that on all the surface of the earth, there was not one square inch they could call home.” Evian is a lesson for our times. The belief that the danger of earlier times has passed, and that Jews finally have a long-term home outside of Israel is little more than a desirable and seductive fantasy.

Evian is a lesson for our times.

In the ancient past, when Babylon conquered Judea, the Jews were enslaved and carried off, far from their homeland. After the Roman conquest, Jews were dispersed. Losing sovereignty and the Temples, on both occasions, was catastrophic, but the Holocaust was unique in history. It was an attempt not to enslave or disperse the Jews but to murder each and every one, an entire people. That is what genocide really means.

If that event did not elicit compassion then, before the Holocaust, and now, when the world condemns Israel for fighting for its existence, eighty years after the Holocaust, how can the case be made for Jews as safe and secure outside of their ancestral homeland where they can defend themselves?

If the world did not care then and doesn’t care now, when will they care?

Jews must awaken to a harsh truth: To remain in the Diaspora, whether for one generation or more, whether assimilated or observant, will require a concerted effort. America, Canada, and Europe can no longer be taken for granted as home for Jews even if we have lived in these places for generations.

Evian speaks to us today. We thought the battle was over. We were wrong. Boca Raton is not the Holy Land. We must realize and accept that we are not as safe as we thought we were since the end of World War II. No one came to our rescue then, and we cannot expect to be rescued now. And so we must decide: Do we leave or do we stay and stand up resolutely for our rights?

Professor Paul Socken is Distinguished Professor Emeritus and founder of the Jewish Studies program at the University of Waterloo.