Frank Foley: Documents from the British Archives by FCDO Historians

FRANK

OLEY

Documents relating to the work of Frank Foley, Passport Control Officer and member of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1933-39 1. Minute from Frank Foley to Chancery, HM Embassy in Berlin, 29 March 1933. Foley notes that the Passport Control Office is 'overwhelmed' with applications from Jews to emigrate, and that he has received no special instructions on how to deal with those who wish to travel to England. Hitler had been Chancellor for less than two months, but his anti-Semitic views had long been a central feature of his and his Party's programme and he lost little time in introducing discriminatory measures. Foley had been in Berlin since 1920, and in his Secret Service role was a close observer of the rise of the National Socialist Party and of Hitler. (C 3405/319/18, FO 371116721, The National Archives (TNA), Kew) 2. Extract from Conclusions of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 12 April 1933. The Cabinet considered a report by a committee appointed to consider the 'influx' of Jews to England in the light of escalating persecution in Germany. At this stage, however, the numbers seeking refuge in the United Kingdom remained small, and while the Government remained uncertain as to how Hitler's new regime would develop they were reluctant to allow large numbers into the country (though willing to encourage 'prominent Jews' who 'had achieved distinction'). The Cabinet's caution at this date must be seen in the context of severe economic depression and high unemployment in the UK. (Cabinet Conclusions 27(33), CAB 23/75, TNA) 3. Memorandum by Frank Foley on 'The Situation of Jews in Germany', 7 May 1935. This long memorandum by Foley notes that some apparent lessening in the Nazi regime's anti-Semitic policies since late 1933 had now been reversed, with a series of harsh measures taking effect in early 1935. Jews wishing to emigrate were in a 'desperate' position, experiencing long delays in getting permission for the release of the necessary funds. Foley offers no personal judgement, but his survey left no doubt in the mind of MJ Creswell of the Foreign Office Central Department: 'Not only the status of the Jew, but the whole political outlook of present day Germany is pure mediaeval. ' (C 3853/232118, FO 371118861, TNA) 4. Statement by Mr TH Frame, Commercial Secretariat, HM Embassy in Berlin, 1 July 1935. Frame had served all over Gennany in the Consular Service since 1922, so like Foley had long experience of the rise of anti-Semitism. His account of the brutal treatment by members of the Sturmabteilung of Jews, playing skittles on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, is typical of many eye-witness accounts received by the British Foreign Office at this period. When the report was received in London, MJ Creswell of Central Department observed that 'This objectionable childishness seems to continue, thanks to the efforts of Dr Goebbels and other anti-Semitic extremists'. (C 5217/232/18, FO 371118861, TNA) 5. Minute from Frank Foley to Chancery, HM Embassy, Berlin, 17 January 1936. For many German Jews hoping to escape persecution, Palestine seemed to offer the prospect of a better life, and detailed plans for large-scale emigration .

were prepared by the Zionist Organisation. Foley considered that German Jews should be encouraged to emigrate to Palestine in preference to other countries where an influx of Jews might lead to anti-Semitism. For the British Government as Mandatory Power, however, the prospect of increased Jewish immigration into Palestine posed serious difficulties. 1936 saw mounting unrest and violence during investigations by a Royal Commission on Palestine; demands by the Palestine Arabs for the suspension of immigration had the support of powerful neighbours like Egypt and Saudi Arabia; and by the summer the Cabinet were seriously worried about the effect that any military action to restore order in Palestine might have on Moslem opinion generally, including in India. Despite his recommendation, Foley clearly realised that the matter was not straightforward. (C 467/16/18, FO 371119919, TNA)

6. Extract from an account by Sir Robert Vansittart, Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, of a visit to Germany in August 1936 ('A Busman's Holiday'). Although Vansittart's long memorandum contained only one paragraph relating to the position of Jews in Germany, this extract conveys some impression of the difficulties that British Ministers and officials encountered in dealing with the Nazi regime. Vansittart, known for his antiGerman sentiments, liked Goebbels, while believing him 'capable de tout'; he admired the 'stored energy' demonstrated at the Olympic Games, while deploring the nationalistic element; he noted the 'generous and universal hospitality' received, but also the 'reverse of the medal' revealed in an interview with a German Jew. Vansittart regretted that the only comfort he could offer this individual was the prospect of a European settlement that might deter further persecution or make it easier to 'put in a moderating word' on his behalf. (Vansittart Papers, Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge)

7. Letter from Rear Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, to Sir Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 3 January 1938, enclosing a memorandum by the Director of Passport Control. The growing numbers of refugees seeking entry into the UK in the late 1930s posed special problems for the British Intelligence Agencies, of which this letter gives some indication. SIS officers often operated abroad under Passport Control cover: the work done by Foley in Berlin is a good example of the strain put on this system by the huge increase in demand, particularly from Jewish refugees. In addition, the Intelligence Agencies were worried about the possible entry of undesirable aliens - who might be enemy spies - into Britain, in the guise of refugees. For both these reasons, Sinclair sought Foreign Office support in asking the Home Office to limit the numbers admitted to the UK. (PUSD papers: to be released in 2005 in class FO 1093, TNA)

8. Extract from Conclusions of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 13 March 1938. This short extract illustrates further the Government's difficulties in considering the admission of large numbers of Jewish refugees into the UK. Sir Samuel Hoare, Home Secretary, felt he had to mention a 'story' received from MIS, the British domestic security agency, suggesting that 'the Germans were anxious to inundate this country with Jews'. While this might seem far-fetched even for MIS, there is no doubt that the Home Office had genuine concerns about potential unrest and about 'undesirable aliens'. The Cabinet were

clearly agreed, however, on the importance of 'adopting as humane an attitude as possible' in dealing with the issue. (Cabinet Conclusions 14(38), CAB 23/93, TNA) 9. Extract from Berlin Consular Report, 8 June 1938. A graphic account of a 'recent recrudescence of Jewish persecution', including the breaking up of families by means of legislation and the activities of the police: 'Jews have been hunted like rats in their homes.' The author of this report found that the German public viewed these developments with sympathy and 'morbid interest'; though his comment that people were expressing 'regret and disgust' at the action or inaction of the Government indicates the ambivalence of many ordinary German people towards the Nazi regime. (C 7092/1667/62, FO 371121635, TNA) 10. Despatch No. 1224 from Sir G Ogilvie-Forbes, HM Minister in Berlin, 16 November 1938. This fierce but dispassionately worded despatch describes the terrible events of November 1938 that made Foley's role even more important to those desperately seeking escape from Germany. What Ogilvie-Forbes describes as 'national persecution' of Jews followed the murder in Paris of an official of the German Embassy, vom Rath, on 7 November. After an 'orgy of destruction and terror' on the night of 9/10 November 1938 (Kristallnacht) , hundreds of Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps; and on 12 November the first of a new set of anti-Jewish decrees were published. Ogilvie-Forbes had no doubt that vom Rath's murder 'only accelerated the process of elimination of the Jews which has for long been planned' . The Jews of Germany, he wrote were now 'not a national but a world problem which if neglected contains the seeds of a terrible vengeance' . (C 14108/ 1667/62, FO 371121637, TNA) 11. Facsimile reproduction of a notification issued by Frank Foley to the Ruppel family, 21 November 1938, informing them that the Home Office had granted them permission to travel to England. (Reproduced by kind permission of Michael Smith, whose account of the Ruppel family's fate can be found in Foley: The Spy who Saved 10,000 Jews, pp 127-30) 12. Extract from Conclusions of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 22 November 1938. Malcolm MacDonald's statement encapsulated the difficulties faced by the Government in deciding whether to increase the numbers of Jews that could enter Palestine. Humanitarian considerations had to be set against the priority of reaching a broader settlement on Palestine at forthcoming discussions in London, to be attended by Arab and Zionist representatives. Dr Chaim Weizmann, the Zionist leader, refused to attend the conference unless a demand from the Jewish Agency to admit 21,000 further Jews to Palestine were met; the Palestine Arabs refused to attend if they were admitted; and the British High Commissioner in India reported that the Indian Government (influential to Moslem opinion) believed the British Government would not have invited neighbouring Arab States to the conference unless they intended to suspend immigration. The British Government's decision not to take an early decision on further immigration must be seen against this dilemma. (Cabinet Conclusions 56(38), CAB 23/96, TNA)

13. Minute from Frank Foley to Sir G Ogilvie-Forbes, HM Minister in Berlin, on the emigration of Jews to Shanghai, January 1939. Many European Jews made the arduous journey in the 1930s to Shanghai, where there was an old-established Jewish community. Although the city was in a state of turmoil, surrounded by Japanese troops, with increasing levels of violence in the International Settlement, it still offered, as Foley said, 'infinitely better' conditions than a concentration camp in Germany. Despite the alliance between Germany and Japan, the latter did not implement Nazi policies against Jews stringently. (W 1017/519/48, FO 371124079, TNA) 14. Telegram CX 542 from Rear Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, to Frank Foley, Head of the SIS Station in Berlin, 9 March 1939. The question of whether Passport Control Officers should enjoy diplomatic status had been raised on many occasions in discussion between SIS and the Foreign Office. The FO maintained that they did not wish their representatives abroad to be concerned in any way with passport control matters (principally because SIS representatives often used the PCO role as cover). In December 1938 a meeting was held at which Sir Alexander Cadogan conceded that the international situation made it desirable to review the question. At the time this telegram was sent, however, 'C' had to resort to the somewhat spurious 路argument that since Foley was not actually employing any Germans (he employed British nationals for whom Germans worked) it could be said that he was 'not repeat not engaged in SIS activity'. (SIS documents are not released into the public domain; a copy of this telegram was made available to the Chief Historian of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for the purposes of the present collection) 15. Memorandum from the Director of Passport Control to the Inspector General, April 1939. This memorandum was sent by the Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service to Sir Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on 27 April 1939, with the request that the Foreign Secretary should raise again with the Home Office the problems caused by the large number of refugees entering the UK. 'It seems to me', wrote Admiral Sinclair, 'that this influx of aliens is a menace to our National interests'. The volume of refugees applying for visas to enter the UK continued to put a strain on the Passport Control service, as well as causing domestic security concerns. As the Director of Passport Control noted, however, the issue was one of Cabinet policy, and the figures show that that policy was interpreted generously: 45,566 VIsas were granted to German refugees between May 1938 and March 1939. (PUSD papers, to be released in 2005 in class FO 1093, TNA) 16. Letter from Frank Foley to Dr D Arian in Tel Aviv, 6 July 1939. Replying to a letter of thanks from one of the many thousands whose families he helped to leave Germany, Foley pays tribute to the 'courage and fortitude of the Jews'. Many of those he helped paid similar tribute to him. (Reproduced by kind permission of Michael Smith, who quotes part of the letter in Foley: the Spy Who Saved 10,000 Jews, p. 169)

Tiergartenstrasse 17, Berlin '1.35. March

29th, 1933.

The Chancery. This office is overwhelmed with applications from Jews to proceed to Palestine, to路 England, to anywhere in the British Empire. Professional men of the highest standing, including some whowere wounded on the German side during the war, have consulted me with regard to emigration. It is true they do not complain of having been mishandled, but they suffer under the moral persecution - seelicher Druck of the present system. The people who have been and are being beaten up are the common worker and his wife. I have received no special instructions with regard to England.

Applicants who do not require Visas, are given

a copy of the attached letter. (Sd) F.E.Foley.

Minute from Frank Foley to the Chancery, HM Embassy, Berlin, 29 March 1933; sent on to the Foreign Office Central Department on 31 March.

446 ALIENS RESTRI CTIONS: Admission O~ German Jewish Ref'ug,e es.

p .

The Cabinet had before them a Report

(Paper C.P. 96 (33Âť) by the Cabinet Committee \vhlch had been appointed in pursuance of the Cabinet Concl. us10n mentioned in the margin to examine the proposals made to the Home Secretary

(previous Refer ence: Cabinet 23 ( 3 3) Concl usion 5).

F..

on behalf of the Jewish Community, for dealing with the problem of the influx of Jews from Germany in consequence of recent events in that countr,y. After summarising the more important racta

~l~~ 1..

of ' the situation, and drawing attention to the grave

36(ss)r,

objections involved in the adoption at the moment,

/It-{~<{, )

Ie ,

etther of a policy of making the preaent restrictions more severe, or of a policy Qf relaxing those restrictions in the direction desired by the British Jew1sh Community, the Committee submitted the following recommendations to the Cabinet: (1) That the existing arrangements relative to the admission and exclusion of German Jewish refugees should be maintained for the time being until it is seen how the situation develops: (2) That the existing arrangements should be strengthened by the addition to the conditions regarding duration ef visit and non-emp1oyment already reqUired, of a further eondi tion that the refugee should in .every case reg1ster himself with the Po11ce immediately on reaching his destination in the Uni ted lt1ngdom& (3) That the answer to the British Jewish Authorities should be to the effect that there can be no question at the present time of relaxing the restriotions on the entr,y or aliens to the United Kingdom for the benefit o:f' German Jewish refugees. In cases where such refugees had been given permission to land for a temporary stay, and desired to extend it, the Government would be prepared to consider a ~rther extension provided that the Jewish Community were prepared to guarantee, eo far sa might be necessary, adequate means of maintenance for the refugees concerned: -15-

Extract from Conclusions of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 12 April 1933.

447 ( 4) That the Committee should

continue to watch the situation aad, if necessary, should r~I.ort further to the Cabinet after the Easter Recess.

Th~

Ho!'!)e Secreta.ry inf"ormed the Cabinet that he

would ha.ve to answer the following Question the

same afternoon:"Mr N.ander,- To ask the secretary o~ Sta t e ;f(\r the orne Department if the Gover~ment will be prepared to cons 1der the gra.nt.ing of a.sylum to Ge~::tn Je s in thts COtlntry on 8 self-~upporting financ1 ~ 1 bas1sw. T.

the

~u~~ested

dr8~t

a reply.

'ere made to the Oab1net that it would

Proposals

.e in the public interest to try and secure for this country prominent Je'''s who

ere being expelled from

an~

German~

who had ach1evr-d distinction 'whether in pure

science, applied science. such

technical industry. music or art. only obtain

me~icine

"his would not

this cotntry the advantnp-e of their

~o~

knowledge and exp rienc â&#x20AC;˘ but would also create a very favoural: Ie 1~

imp Y' e~sion

our hospitality

It was

sugge~tea

wer~

that

the Council might be and Members

in the ,\orld. partic\.llarly

offered 11th sane wsrmth.

perhap~ .illin~

the to

Lo~d

President of

con~ult

Officials

such bo ies as the Department

Scientific and

Research. the Medical

Tnnu~tri~l

Research Council and the Royal Society on these ma.tte s anr! ad.vise the to-orne Sec!'et ary and the Ca.binet Comr.ittee a

to ,,-he her anything could be

done. While

allowinp-

rea11e1nr the importance of not

~ully

country to be 'flooded ,r.ith foreign

thi~

re:f't'p,ees who v'oulQ 't;ef'oT'e long eith er be30me a burden to the community or repla.ce other rould become

avoid the in E

0 Âˇ he~

e Oa ine

'Irden. danger

were anxious to

or-eating an atmosphere

ope critical to this country. -16-

orkers

448 mhe Oabinet agreed -(a)

To approve genernlly the p~oposalB

of t~e Cabinet Comm~t.tee as eumna.rised a.bove: (b) mo l.nv~te the Cabinet Commit.tee to cons~der the suggestions summar~sed above ~o~ of~er1n the hospitality o~ t .18 country. with as much warmth ae; possible" to re~@ees from Germany who were eminent tn science. technology, . art, music, etc.: (c) To app~ove the ~ol10 in_ reply which the Fome ~ecret ary' propos ed to make to a Question that was bein~ put to him the same afternoon:"The question whether a ~o~ei~ner ~eek1nR admission to this country 1s in a position to support h~ el~ and his dependants 1s only one o~ the factors to be taken into account when decid1n~ whether leave to land can prope~ly be cranted to h~. A I stated in reply to a question on the 21st Febr1. 'ary. the intere8ts of this count~ must predominate over a 1 other considerations. but subject to this g~iding principle each case will be care~ully considered on its indiv1dDal rner~t~ and I can as. ure the l;lonourable Member that in accorda.nce "ith the tUne-honoured tradi ion of thi~ country no unneces~ary ob~taclea are place ~n the way of ~oreigners se kin admimon. "

-17-

c 1 ~~~Z}C

Anti-Jewish campaign in Germany. 3853fi32/18.

FROMSir E. Phipps (Berlin) (178/14/35)

No. 444

Received

A Refers to Berlin despatch No. 110 of 2nd February (C 1016/232/18). Transmits copy memorandum of 7th Yay by passport control officer summarising meaSures taken against Jews in last few months and reviews character of anti-semitic movement at present time.

10th May 1935. \

i,. RegisJ,y

13th }lay 1935.

c: Germany

Last Paper.

C. ~

912( - 10/ 33

10'.0.1).

Memorandum by Frank Foley on The Situation of Jews in Germany, 7 May 1935, sent to London on 10 May by Sir E Phipps. HM Ambassador in Berlin; with minute of 23 May by Mr MJ Cresswell of the Foreign Office Central Department.

• ow

1 ••

\l'V ;&'lU'lUl,J" •

)

...................... .

170 I.

II. co •

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(1) •

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171 III. II. eo

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e ••

ralllli. 'L L.l.B,

abl

appll -

1 WO!l!1An.

n. (t)

In t n

in 1

in 1ta

tlcul

(h). • • • • • •• • ••••

172 I

•

(1). c ( ).

•

173 • II.

( )

• ono

c at

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ir .ale

e. (

nt • v1rtual0

•

er. I-lin

t t h o\l&a:nd.a

of 1

•

a•

rn •••••••••

174 I.

II. co t. (4) (0) co t.

rn G

•

( )

xl 1t

lngr 10 ••

•

n or

(5) B0:lcott tor th bo cottl

op Wlin•• •• h •

ot Je i h _1 .inca

ga 01 1 •• , o tall non-

I. l.h

wh11.t a

rtaken

It •• lt

1nto bualne ••

relation 1

rlln lnten 1. • an len b • or the t •• th

•a

••

.her

at.

• ur1.ng ln ur c ow

".r.

prop rt • '.~"Ae~tened.

nt r .t

•

!he ow bra

116

o ntlnn••••••••••••

175 VII.

II cont.

(5) cont. I am in or ed that 1 oontinue •• of t i . de cr1 lon are tar ore co in t ce • In an7 agr1cultural d1 tricta, uch n, Franken etc. the J w., atter two ,-ear. Be 1 • parlou econo 0 con Itio • meJI" Arl 1.A, 1n rk, 1n any rts Hanover a t rus8ia the the I Ie d • er te. Any Gfltrrnan to do with a Jew ln these 1str1ct. 1. randed a traitor to a country. I an di.trict ther re notice. pro 1biting th entr7 or Jew••

(6)

.i.b Youth

Por the Jewiah out no pro.pect. 1n Ge ny and t

e :tuture hold8 out

rt .11 be rote. ion are

torc

to e 1 r te. T lib no c pletel olos to th m. (7) Anti-Jewi.h Speeches ot Le ding Soclall t. In recent mon ha antl-1 wi.h .peech • b tio Socl list. h v. increased 1n 1.-~.U6 v1rulenc. A ew r .xtr ct r ••• 111u.tr tlve of th type or prop cUee 1n ted are i en 1 ppendlx III.

In.

to the t ct the the Reich b rel. 1 ••• and 1. • torei n exch ge tor th i mposs· b le of by ot 1 r t1on, 1t i. ~ tion ta~l.tlc to 11ve recrud•• c nc of woul

Owl

rele ••

for the

oun

or Ign exch

rar cent

e for

ration

pre .nt •••.••

176 III.

III cont.

up to t ely pr a t t 1. reie .ed I ave at • 1tl •• ttl

700 aue

c se

er-

poe lble b

konto I and II .til

1 a

• t1ng cle

an~,

eYen i t er te 0 e: h at th • t1 he 1. unabl obt n th r 1. •• ot e en a hi. c pi 1 .uttlcl nt to •

and

c nnot 10n ot

257

tatemen y • T. R. Frame of the Commercial ecreta iat, 17 Tie gartenstrasse, Berlin .

unaay afternoon, 30th Park

estaur nt, Slidende

Steglitz, 7hen a fe

s . . , and rbeitsfront men marched in st" for the bene!,i t of the

lip

s then

Versor ung

was sitting in the

une 1935,

detac

b n

~ith

ents of

and banner s.

• . Krie shinte bliebene

roc eded with in the

en air in p rt of

the restaurant grounds

hich were separatec by a hed e from the

rest of th

ch ree .

the

~ro

grounds .

e to ent r this

n s.

At about 6.30 a s eaker announc foI'lll,

ith the assistance of the

from the bandstand pI t-

oud spea

crept into the restaura t grounds and dem

ay l' om the part of the p

til

mall

ded th t tney

hould

grounds in vh1ch the "Fest" was

held, towards the back of the

Situ ted .

r, that Jell's had

At that, a numb r of people nade th ir

leave r.rithin t en mint tes .

bein

art of

a k

I made my fay round the par

~here

the Sport H Ie is

and arrived at the

Ie" while the still unsuspecting Je' s 'jere sittin arden, railed off, outsid

the sport hall,

in a

rinking coffee .

S •• men and civilians from the" est' then

rived and shouted

"Ju en h raus" .

nd civilians pushed

One or t·o of the S . A.

their vay into the garden ome

I!l

nd hustled the Je s, mostly men and

of middle age , into the sport hall behind .

Je~ish

men had be n playing skittles ana

. ny

ere in sport

had to collect their clothes fron the "Gar erobe" . of S. A. men ca e to hurry them out .

of t'

The Je

ress . They

A second troop

ere then hustled

out, and pushed out with their clothes in their arms , and in this condition they had to make their vay to their own moto r car s or to the street outside . his

eather belt ,

I saw one Je\ beaten by a tall S• . an with nd sa

another Jew spee ed on his

ith a

violent/

Statement by Mr TH Frame, Commercial Secretariat, HM Embassy, Berfin, 1 July 1935; sent to London by Mr Be Newton, HM Minister In Berfln, on 4 July.

258

-2-

eo Ie in the crowd were shouting insulting

violent kick.

rema ks as the Jews came out and made their of the crÂˇowd

re agr ed that i t

heit" for the

e s to come th re

y off .

as "eine unel"hBrte hile the

embers ~'rech-

as holain

I gleaned from conv_rsations in the crowd that the est had original'y been fixed for the

~aturQay,

account of the Goebbels

eetin

at Tempe hof h

poned to the Sunday, on

hich day a Jewish

already elgaged the Sport Hall an

but that on been

ost-

kittle Club ha

c fe the e .

~he

announcement had not been made from the ban stand, not one person in 100 in the restaurant the Je,s rere there at all . the S. A. lea er ble

ter the Jews were

riven out,

that they would han

the

said "Kamera en"

round the "Fest ll groun

the Table banner of the Jewis

(Catholics) .

ve known that

his whistle an

go back now, and they marche

roun s would

how the mur er at S rajevo

got in the

ree

~sons ,

learn the truth from the "StUrmer" .

olice lere called and four or cally eve ything was

vith

ews and the "Schwerzen"

been committe , or instigate , by Jews and

ill

kittle Club as a trophy , sing-

speaker then tol

and advised everybody

~ ive

arrived

~en

practi-

uiet again . But three or four S . A. men

alice lorry

lith the police fallowed a publi c

omni bus i.n which a number of J e s had left the place , a d as I passe

olice Station in the .'!1ariendorfer

trasse on my

way home about eight of the Je S (including women and one girl) who had been taken f om the omnibus police station .

ere being herded into the

rhe police lorry then went to the restaurant

and brouwht the owner of the cafe to the

1st July , 1935 .

olice station .

(Signed) ~hos â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ Frame .

OUr

Re~s

80/30117

Tlergar en traase.17, Ber11n

.35.

JaauArY 11th.1938.

THE C A eERY.

I b g to attaoh or ndum on

J wlah

igratloD t'rom Gel'

It 1a b

ed On t1

b,. th

to me int re ag

n7 to P leatine.

It 1.

1 tion

It w1ll be • en that there la peroent ge or J They oon8tltut

ooordlDg to

tigures

e ish po

0'9'

an7_

larse e.

robl

difficult

oountr1e

year

8 it w111 not be :found in for 1

pp11ed

nd e.t

Z10nl t Organ1. t1on.

lng,

of the

lve Ye r pl

yto

aion

In their

or to tr in them to new on doth

n ooloni 1 0

1 nd.

aide

an7·

'lhe Zlonl t. ho

to a ttle 15 000 80 1

al.atine. :t'l

e i

it 10 000 p 141

tin

o hi

1 rate . 1

not 1.

In • 'fh

go~

A.l. w1ll not b

thl

11 be

0'9'

ing o r l t l

C tego17 :A.V. ( P.500 o pi

In Cat

01n1 n

1) J

per

urprl ed ~

In Cert1:t'10 t •

80 n

rau.

1138 ••••••••••••••••

Minute from Frank Foley to the Chancery, HM Embassy, Berlin, 17 January 1936, sent to London on 20 January by Sir E Phipps, HM Ambassador in Bertin.

-2 ..

• (I 1

00 t

with th

t 0

ltl

117

•

t C

1 G

)

•• • ••

•

- :;

ot oorre.pondence

Cople. and tran.latlon. betwe8n this offiae

nd the Reloh.stelle

'!'he 1 tt r

rilr Devl enbew1rt ohaftung. f~o.a

the Reioh stelle

Devlsenbew

to me dat d 13th.J nuAry 1936 is interest, .s it on the A~falrs

to do

f&o111tate

chaftung

great

hows a d finite disposition n1 try for

t e

oonomie

very thing pos8ible to

r tion of Jews, that i8 to

say, to £ind a

olution of the transfer

problem. II.

I venture to submit th t

( be enoou aged to re~

Germ n Jew.

19ra te to P 1e 8 tlne

r noe to an7 other oountr7.

ntl-.

ill

I tore. e

tl m rising in oth r oountrie.

1f" the inflow ot Jew

beoom

to th native

opu1atl0 •

I ho

rn ent w111 rind

Gov

n8 o~

ould

illore

he ye rl,. q 0

the Labour Sohedule.

under

The German Government

would, I taa Ine, not be wllllng to oonsider extending f

otllt!e. tor the training ot the

70ung r Je ., unle • there

eat. ot their being

xi.ted t lr

110

d to

ate

ft r their tr 1nlng.

Under th

••••••••••••••

Und r the Labour Soh dule tor the halt ye r endin wa

the 31 t. aroh 1936. Germany

ro ortion ot

generous

he to

8mall wh n co sid red fro erman ne de.

n ble the

n xt

the

al, but n Ie ot

to be hop d th

It 1

1tu tlon ot

oonom10

The

very

allotted '95 Cert1t10 t I,

tine ",111

rnment to lncr

ot. r â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ outlon 18

though

s mol'

relentl lbt1

ver

ode

The man with whom T IJ'ot on be t in Berlin wa. Dr. Goebbels. He. emed to me the deep st of them all. Report ha: him capablp dp tout: I fwnd much charm in him--a limping, eloquent. slip of a Jat:ohill ... qui('k a, a whip." and oft n. I douht not, as ('utting. One (,'( II imHaine t:i: inftuem:e. onee in his tricle, over andirncc. .. n.la.ved. lllogi('al. elate." :lS Kipl lng wrote of .\merit:alls fifty yeal'lS alto; but he i. a takulatol' ami theretore a mall with \vhom onc might do bu. ine:s. . lore might b made of him if thi kind of contact (;ould? muil,tilined; and. conversely. if it is not, he t'ould become \" 1')" damaD"lllD". Mv wife alld I likf)d him and hi wife a.t nre; it i a.n ob~riou 1y harp.,' marriaae. with attratt,ive de\'otion on ho h ide:. I III ntion thl hetau e talcs hare run riot on the mornl of l'evi feu G~l'IlWll\,. \0 douht there ar' Can. 'm de ' to mini"tel' to Olympia.n , i.l.Ild th!'l . q~petit .' of nc\ men t'ome hy feeding, -othing. howe ... I', (~lIld Ie fUJ'thcl' f!'om the tlllth ill the case or' the mlillg <:lique ' it. dome til' lift, : em: il'l'ep 'o;!chabl . witne. t.he v I'Y pleasant He " 1Ilhlfl[ll. 01' ren that of General Goring. I 'ay " C\ ":1 .. 1 ('au. Generai GOl'ill~ Ita. hecn givcn a bad lI<un in EUJ'ope, ,11e! thong} he douhtles~ has defect ', thi ii'i not one of them. Ilis really I icc \ ire i· it .0 ll1g lady of Riga, likdy to kcep her ~ ilt as \ e1l as the ~mile OJ) tit;.! fat'" or the tigeJ'. The trouhle al)Q' t thi .' howlding. primitive t' 'e~vul'~ i. that he hp' neve!' (~l'Own up. Geneml (Hiring enjoys cvel'~,thinc." part ieul;1I'l~' hig own pa:ti 'g, with °thc gUl5to of Smith minot' suddenly pO':,4c~:cd of unlimited tit'k at the :cheo\ :. OI'~S. 'The wOl'ld i .. hi o~'~tCl', and no dam led nOllSCll~e nhout opcniu lY • The new men do llot stinl thelll,dye .. 01' tLeil' guc'ts, \Vhile mOJ1~!' i~ 0 ohjed - 1 ('ml oni\' gue : what DJ'. ~('haC'ht :ay: - thc tao te of their cnlel'lainmcllt: i' l' mill'kuhle. Having l'een theil' ('o.-tline :, I am glild we waived our'claim to the lll\t 01~·ll1pin.d. The Japanc can have it. and welrom. Onl,' Oll('C did disl'J'imiIlllticm falter- ill the well-ll1e:llIt pl'Odul'lion of a Geeek tl'acTcdy, pet'fedly ~taged and eXcel'ahly acted: a good example of OUI' pcr'~il'\tent nobber\' in prctew!ing that, the theatre of one age is compatihle with another. . A prrrpo,\ of the Olympic games, in the pa't there ha be n ('ontro\'ers~r whethel' the\' , ere int~rnationally henefieial 01' the I'ver.e. J :honld 8av that they' 'ef' at OlIC time beneficial :1nd that th v arc now the reverse. owilllr ·to the ovcr-, peei, li. ation of athletic , \Vhat i~ allplauded now is not the incli vidual performance, but the national performer, often the produd of a (;o\'ernment :uh:ich'. TLe crowd wa' full of nationali'ID, There i: a tcndenc\' to. . 'ani rompetiti\~e national ad\'ertigement. and the foot:tep' f Pl'e tigE' ;'~.n ahno~t be hearu on the trnck One doc. not f 'cl mueh amateur :pirit in the air, hut rat-her a jealou:l ' regarded profe 'ional demoJl:tration. There i. <lImo l too much organiS<'ltion all round: and from OUl' own point of view the progmmme i. greatl ov l'burdelled, It contain. endle's laulThahly unol -mpic item ', whirh no Engli hrnnn -ill ~pl'iou ly praeti' ; awl, as the:e all t'OUllt for crown nlld In dal , we :hall ' lway: ('~t a poor figur in the total re'-l1lt. T \Y~' in~p.r ~ged p.v the fact that f)lIt PrestlLTe " <1: unclonMedh' lowe['cd hv the relatlH f(ului" (l! O.ll' team, althou"h it wa~ a really fil'~t-c1H~s am, teur one. The otJ Cl' tllillg that :tl'llck m 1ll0:t at tIle Olvmpla.d \\:lS the gymlla~ti(: di:play gj"l!n ill th , :lfCiHl by thous. nd' of Herman youth: alld girls, th more ..;tl'ikilJ<1 1n tnat, a: Fmu Wiring infOl'med me, the r were in no sen > picked , hut C;llnL at l'alldc.lll from t.he c(juntl'~r . The 'e tCllse, intense. peopl nrc gOilJg to make u: laoK: 9' nation . if ~e l~t to l'(mtinuc I aphaz. rd. And the.,. WIll want 1.0 de :01 _cthlllg wort whil' WIth this stored energy. So it all depend' on wh.t th c~· :li'e I i 1;:: t:'1l;;1 t is WOl Lh , tile ' alld that ht'lIJU's 1110 hack to Ill' old sl(wUIl <1bout Wi t(·hi1. a the tC.{t-b· ok::. Thcv ~ill /l·i"..e little c~nlfort· faJ', i l·ft, Berlin with thi~ impl'l'::, 1(111, wHh Blall • W~ l'in pel':ona.lliking .. ~tlld wi h gl'atitude fol' gen I'ou. and HlJivCl'sd ll<" 'Pitalit~:· The ho pitality and the gr: titude . . ere both :0 ;renuinc that one trate: in olle.:elf an in~tindire hesitation ill mentioning the r rer'e of the medal-a tribute to whnt mu't haye hccl1 the general effect produced hy the Olympiad. But the im')i'cs:ion IllU,t be trut.hful and complete. The rever~e of th medal was a thill, aln10st tnuJspal' Il~,. profile. , ith t~ hio'h i'Ol' ,hrild and il ' i~,h tencd ey{'.. It, name was. too ' }Jpl·opl'lately. 1.1'<1 I. He, ;lml in hy th~ back d 01' 0" the Embas y plainly tel'l'CIl'i.; d; indeed, h lJlUl']llU cd-he Jl~\'el' I'ili:t'cll, is \Oil abm·\.: a mm'JtlUr- that. were it kuo vn thl t he h.l<i tome to $e'~ ill . it \. Hid ) thc end of him. TIe meni ioned 11 ('omrnOl1 fl'ien'i. who had 1'1'(' ntl'.' ('ommittN 'ui id n • looked Ilenou~ly orer hi. ..houlder, and a ked if nothing toulcl be done to alleviate the lot of hi.' lse doomed ('0-1' ligioni:"tl'. I had, in flld, I nn <€mpte' to ~av 'olllething 0 thi:-. ill Berlin while di ~ ·u.'gin~7 Anglo-(;(i\l'man l'eh tion.; but the Amha::adol' w; . tlear' tha. ,in the prevailing mood. uny appal"nt in el'vention ,. would do far more hi rm than good t the \'it' i111. I l'cplied (\n'ordinglv: but I added that he ~hOllld keep hi h'1:tJ't up. for. if we all (ilm~. to a~1 m {It in the autumn , the en. ning Wi. l'mth might either tend to deter U .I'many from further pcr~e(:utjoll -MI'. I Tael wa. very, nre that another outbreak was on the way-or el:- , make it more po~",ihle thaI now ·01' a. n wI: -.ign d-up friend .to p It, ~D a model'atin~' \\'on1 . With thi:- pel'fol'c(l h had to he L'OjlLent. thou~h It ,'(1' httle Cl.lOugh: rtlld , 0 d P' ,t" I. tl'cmniou i. lid di. pil'i 'd. i. gain hv the .~ll'k <1001'. I dId !lot l'eli. h t:li..- in cl'\'i(\\ '. II

Extract from an account by Sir Robert Vansittart, Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, of a visit to Germany in August 1936 ('A Busman's Holiday'). Reproduced by kind permission of the Churchill Archives Centre, University of Cambridge. The memorandum is printed in full in Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-39, Second Series, Volume XVII, Appendix I.

Letter from Rear Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, to Sir Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 3 January 1938, enclosing a memorandum by the Director of Passport Control (The signature of 'e' would have been cut out when the letter was entered on Foreign Office files).

n. I

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lo~

the

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11 6.

The Home Secret.::路. ry reported

t~lQ.t

many persons were

expected to seel>: refuge here trom . .:'ustria.

!Ie t'elt

gx-cat reluctance itl. putting aaother obstacle in the way

of these

~ortwlate

people.

A curious story had

reached him (from U.I.-5), suggestinG that the Germans

were anxious to inundate this country \vi tll Jews, with view to creating a Jewish problem in the United Kingdom.

The Cabinet agreed Tlld:. the question of raf.'ugeea 1'rom Austria should be dealt wi 1h by the following U1nisters:

The :~ome Secretary (In the Chair) The Secretcry of state for Foreign ;~fairs (or representative) The President of' the Doard of' Trade (or represent~tive).

The 1:1nister of Labour, who villen dealing wi th the question \vould bear in mind the points r.lent1onecl by t:'le Home Socretary regarding the importance of adopting as h.umane an at t1 tude as poss1 ble, and at the SElme time o-r avoicling the creation of a Jewish l'robler.l in tllis count~y.

-8-

Extract from Conclusion of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 13 March 1938. Sir Samuel Hoare was Home Secretary.

- .. 9 -

r orud

~or

in other

raecutloD.

rts o"r

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all

rr they coul

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Extract from Berlin Consular Report, 8 June 1938, sent to London by Sir G Ogilvie-Forbes, HM Minister in Berlin, on 13 July.

- 10 huabBn

he 88

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tat

r h r

1 t d her In the

1I1I1."~d

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ade Group ot th

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nd hi.

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Goyer_ent

ve been

• in

144 BRITISH EMBASSY ,

No. 1224.

BERLIN,

(91fi31/38 )

16th November,1938.

Lord, ~szpan a young Polish Jew

On November

Was admitted to the German Embassy in Paris and fired a revolver

at the first member of the staff whom he chanced to meet, a Secretary na.med Herr vom Rath.

The assailant on arrest

is reported to have justified lis deed as an act of revenge for the cruel treatment meted out by Germany to his own

parents and to the Jews in general.

()l

November 8th Herr

vom Rath who was attended by Herr Hitler's

O\vn

personal doctor

and a surgeon specially sent to Paris by the Chancellor, died of his wounds. 2. This was the signal for a national persecution of the Jews in

Ge~any

on a scale and of a severity unprecedented

in modern times.

Before the victim died certain punitive

measures such as the suspension of Jewish newspapers and a ban on the possession of firearms had been taken and plane no doubt were laid for further action, should the worst occur. This unfortunately was the case and on the password ttFackelzug ohne Fackel- the attack was launched in the small hours of the morning of Thursday, November 10th. 9th life in the capital was

no~a1.

until midnight an the

the morning of the

10th the general public awoke to witness an orgy of destruction and terror.

Allover Germany synagogues were burnt or

damaged and Jewish shops and business offices were broken into, their stocks in many cases looted, their fUrniture and fittings smashed.

At many places particularly Vienna and

The Right Honourable

Munich ••••

The Viscount Halifax, K.G., G.e.S.I., G.e.I.E., etc., etc., etc.,

Despatch No. 1224 from Sir G Ogilvie-Forbes, HM Minister in Berlin, 16 November 1938. (Also printed in Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-39, Third Series, Volume III, No. 313)

145

Munich the Jews were threatened, assaulted and turned out of thir homes.

There were certainly many cases of suicide and I

think some of murder.

I myself and members of the staff were

witnesses of the later stage of the excesses in Berlin which until well into the night of the 10th.

las~d

Gangs of youths in plain

clothes and armed with poles, hammers and other appropriate weapons were visiting the Jewish shops and completing the work of destruotion, done in the early morning.

In some cases the

premises had been entirely looted, in others the stock in trade was only mishandled and scattered.

And at one or two places

a crowd WaS gaping in silent curiosity at the efforts of the owners to tidy up the debris.

I especially noted the demeanour

of the groups which followed eaoh band of marauders.

I heard

no expression of shame or disgust but in spite of the complete passiveness of many of the onlookers I did notice the inane grin which often inadvertently betrays the guilty oonscience. All the time,with one exception, Messrs. Israels premises, no police were in evidenoe and the fire brigades were

~ed

out only

to prevent the flaaes of burning synagogues and other buildings from damaging Aryan property.

Nevertheless the police were

near enough at hand to arrest would be photographers of the wreckage.

Amongst those detained was the new Colombian

Minister who, escort and all, made a dramatic appearance at the Kiniatry for Fcreign Affairs.

The Minister was to have

presented his credentials next week. Hitler will not reoeive him.

I now hear that Herr

In the evening of the lOtaDr.

Goebbels issued a proclamation expressing sympathy with the people's indignation against the Jews but

~njoining

that these

demonstrations â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘

1 6

demonstrations should cease as the answer to t he Paris murder would take the for.m of legislation or decree.

This

order was g radually complied wi th and thus ended a day of controlled mob violence which not only involved the sacrifice in some cases of innocent life

b~t

caused immense damage to

private property, the amount of which cannot yet be estimated. 3. In the meanwhile the police who had studiously shut their eyes to the pillage of the day, were of male Jews on charges unspecified.

a~sting

hundreds

It is believed that

they have been sent to concentration camps.

All through the

week-end and even at the present moment private flats and houses are being rei ded and the men 'taken away under arrest. Terror stricken Jews fearful of capture have abandoned their homes and are wandering about the streets or biding in the woods .. round Berlin.

I hear that conditions are even worse elsewhere.

4. On November 12th the first instalment at anti-Jewish decrees as announced by Dr. Goebbels was published.

The

Jewish commun1ty in Germany are fined one m1lliard marks (£84,000,000) in punishment tor the murder of Herr yom Rath.

The7 are excluded from all economic activity in the Reich as trom January 1st,1939.

They must repair at their own cost

all damage done to their premises and forfeit to the State any insurance claims. cinemas or

cult~ral

They are forbidden to attend theatres, occasions of any kind.

Jews of weapons was also prohibited

~nder

The possession by severe penalties.

Further supplementary decrees are expect d.

In addit10n to

this, the sufferings at the Jews are aggravated by the fact that thousands are not only wandering and homeless but also their wives ••••

253 wives and families are denied the very necessities of life) as so many peo ple are terrorized against furnishing either supplies or funds to Jews. are coming to

notice.

Increasing numbers of such cases I also learn, though I have no

present means of chsk1ng the nuabers, that hundreds of Jews are, in desperation smuggling themselves across the frontier and that the Jewish suicide rate never low in these times has )

alarmingly increased. 5. I will noW otfer some oomments on the present poaition and on the immediate future.

I think that the murder of Herr vom

Rath by a German born Polish Jew has only accelerated the process of elimination of the Jews whioh has for long been planned. This project had it proceeded according to schedule was cruel enough, but the opportunity offered by Grynszpan's criminal aot bas let loose foroes of mediaevel barbariaa.

)(Odern

civilisation has oertainly not changed human nature.

Kuch

stress is also laid on the point that this murder was an act of aglression against the German Reich on the part of international Jewry, for whioh German Jeys in the power of the Reioh will pay dearly now and in the future.

Dr. Goebbels bas olearly

announced that any attaok on the German Government by international Jewr.y or their alleged associates will without fail be visited on the Jews in Germany.

In spite of statements to the oontrary

there oan be no doubt that the deplorable excesses perpetrated on November 10th were instigated and organised by the GOVernment. The attaoking parties commenoed operatiOns at a giVen hour and singled out with uncanny precision Jewish shops, buildingS and places ••••

254 plaoes of business and it seems that not many mistakes were In the same way as they had begun, the attackers

made.

oeased operations on t he word being given by Dr. Goebbels who in Inartioulate

his publio utterances oondoned what had been done.

though the mass of the people may hRve been, I have not met a single German of whatever class who in varying measure does

not to

the least disapprove of what has ocourred. )

But

I tear it does not follow that even the outspoken condemnation

pro~essed

national-socialists or ot senior officers in

the Army will have any inf'luenoe over the insensate gang in present control of Nazi Germany.

6. The present position of the Jews is indeed tragic.

spite of Dr. Goebbels grudging admission to Reuters Agent on November 15th that he had allowed certain Jewish cultural associations to be reopened, the civilised world is confronted with the sight of over 500,000 people deliberately excluded from all trades and professions and consequently unable to earn a living.

They dwell in the grip and at the mercy of a

brutal oligarcAJ, which fkrcely resents all humanitarian foreign intervention.

Kisery and despair a r e alrAady there and when

their resources are either denied to them or exhausted,their end will be starvation.

The Jews of Germany are indeed not a

national but a world proble. which if neglected contains the seeds of a terrible vengeance.

...

They are to be find £84,000,000. 1\

The question ot utilizing the proceeds of this levy to assist Jewish emigration from Germany is one which merits serious examination.

7. The action I have taken to proteot Br1t1sh interests

to~as

the ••••

the

sub~ect

of a separate despatch.

I am glad to report

that the oases of damage which have so far been brought to

notice are few. I have the honour to be, With the highest respect, )(y

Lard,

Your Lordship's most obedient, humble Servant,

BGI66qH l t'."'" . ' \ , \,'f' v",t\\\" ,t',\.,

\'\\'~ , .. ". \,\('~ .,..

r-:

BRITISH PASS PORT CONTROL OFFICE \','

.. ,."

1\Âť\

Re'

RUPPEL r i e qUPPEL

BERLIN . VV.3 5. T H:RGARTE:N3TRASSE:. 17

21 - XI - 3

lch teile Ihnen mit , dass ioh die Erlauhnl s des Home Office (London) erhalten habe C Ihren Pass zur Einreise nach England zu visieren, . Ihnen 1st elne Aufenthaltsdauer von 12

Monaten ~kYot19't~

bd>e:x

enehmigt worden.

Ich bitte S1e gelegentli~h Pass bei uns vorsprechen zu durch die Fos t samt Port 0 e' betr~gt RM . 8 . 30. Nachnahme erhoben .

en noah gdl t1 8 en ~

denselb e n an uns Vlsum3 ge b~lhr t durch

ROt

OFFICf R

Facsimile of notification from Frank Foley to the Ruppel family that they had been granted permission to travel to England by the Home Office, 21 November 1938.

256 wish grat10n nto alestine.

The Secretary

State sald that the

Palestine position had been

dif~icult

enough

before the latest persecution of the Jews had started, but was now more

still.

di~f1cult

that the Jewls1 Agency

He understood gOing to put

before him proposals

increase in the Jewish lmmdsration into Palestine. If the matter was looked at simply from the point of view of the present economic absorptive capacity of Palestine, it was clear that large numbers of Jewish immigrants could be admitted to the country. particular, it was impossible to object on

econo~c

grounds to a proposal which had been mooted that a large pumber of small children should be admdtted to Palestine, where they would be received by existing The me. t ter , however, was no tone whi ch

ram11ies.

be considered Simply in its economdc aspects.

co~ld

If the

~gration

schedu1es were to be extended, the

result might well be to make the London discussions imposs1ble.

Neverthele s, he was consulting the

H1g~ Co~ssloner

was any action ~igrant8,

with a view to seeins whether there

.. ich could be taken to assist Jewiah

w1thout prejudicing the success of the

London discussions. The Secretary of State emphas1sed that in his view the major oons1deration must be to do nothing which woul.d prejUdice the London discussiona. We had now embarked on both parties in Lo would

prej~~1ce

policy of d1s0U8810

on, and

ith

e DIU t do nothing Which

that policy.

11 -

Extract from Conclusions of a Meeting of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on 22 November 1938. Mr Malcolm MacDonald was Secretary of State for the Dominions and Colonies.

lNUTE. We in this office ha e warned Jews and Jewish organisations here of the danger of proceeding to Shanghai. They refuse to listen to us and say that Shanghai under any conditions in infinitely better than a Coneentration Camp in Germany.

One can perhaps understand their point of view.

2. We refuse to grant a visa viA British ports en route to Shanghai unless the passport of the refugee bears a Chinese visa for China.

The Chinese authorities here

grant visas only in exceptional CircUMstances, but Chinese consulates in other countries (U.K. for instance) are granting them apparently easily.

We refuse visas with a triple

purpos~

(a) to prevent refugees from overflowing into Singapore, ~possible;

Hong Kong etc.; (b) to try to make their adventure

(c) to confine them to German and ~talian ships and therefore territory. 3. A similar movement is taking p lace to Siam. do not require visas

~or

Siam;

Germans

Poles do, and the Si8mese

grant them visas without difficulty.

I am at a loss to

see how these unfortunate people will be able to live in Siam. 4. An effective preventive control can be only in ShanghaL It is useless to talk to the

Ge~

Government whose declared

object "is to destroy these people body and soul;

it makes

no difference to them whe ther destruction takes place in Germany or in Shanghai.

I rather think preference would be

given to the Far East as their shipp ing companies are paid :for the freight.

One has to remember that the 4eclared

wish of the N.S.D.A.P. is that Jews should "verreclten". If' they have to "verrecken", it is of minor importance to the Party where the process takes place, but it might be considered humane on our part not to interfere officially to prevent the Jews

~rom

die as

choosing their own graveyards.

~ree

men in Shanghai than

They would rather

slaves in Dachau.

The

people ••••

Minute from Frank Foley to Sir G Ogilvie-Forbes, HM Minister in Berlin, on the emigration of Jews to Shanghai, January 1939, sent to London on 17 January.

24 people who sail for Shanghai have usually been warned to leave Germany within a few weeks or enter or return to a Concentration Camp.

They know the horrors of a Concentration

Camp, but remain hopeful about Shanghai in spite of warnings.

5. I have warned the Hilfsverein again. 6. lt is not possible for me to report the number of re:fupea proceeding t"rom German and I ,t alian ports, but I am

of opinion that the movement will continue to the utmost capacity of ships sailing east.

(sgd) F. FOLEY.

TO BE ENCODED. For_----'BII&jL ~ 'R .....L_1-...JNL..S.._ _ _ __

Follo~~ng

from C.S . S.

Only .

Telegram CX542 from Rear Admiral Sir Hugh Sinclair, Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, to Frank Foley, Head of the SIS Station in Berlin, 9 March 1939. (The letters were struck through in the process of encoding. 'Your YP'denoted the British Ambassador at Berlin, while 'ZP' denoted the Foreign Office.)

( )

attac

a det iled stat Y'·nt ....

er ot: v sas

ent i

ref'ugees

as rei posed for Austrians an

(?)

All ref'ugee visas are gr nted a

authoris tions granted by the

orne

ove

rman ) and 31 . ;.?c) a

p.~u l

hose lists of' names

orne Office .

ThA Home S cr tary must , the 'efo e

(3)

t of

frice direct or through

edium of' t e Refugee Committee'"

(when

958

the visa

the

regard to the

informed

he f'ig res of visas authorised . s st,

(4) ,

D .. (

lar !ling

to the

ve al ay

.) ~

b e

,f'u ees

y f'ilJ

sre~

tl~

y f'e;u es.

ith t.h

ve .ot ye

Ho 1e Office

ult that t

ai tain ,

ill co e to t i

se pe

h t

ever , hat t e

represe t an lltimate liabi1 ty and t

of poli

at p "or rtion of the

have obtain d Br·tish vi

W 0

a p ar

t 1

Co!' _ .... e

leted

s likely

abin t de id s u - 01 a

urtil t e

( )

ve re che l' ns

the

that the f'lo 1

the att ntior

a.ve r

tmen

iet'cs ·... f vis

c u try

soo e . or 1 ter . (7)

• emoran

lil .... remelYJ.b, . th t on

this subject to the _ome Seer' tary .

tir.le, t e total of refllZ e vi

nO,

4 . 2 . 39.

':'he ... ace at

hich v'

s 8

Home Office since tnat d' te hr s

r nted h v

At that

s a prox i

tely

been aut orised by

'ncrea,;;.d .

. 39 . Memorandum from the Director of Passport Control to the Inspector General, Passport Control, April 1939, sent from the Secret Intelligence Service to Sir Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on 27 April 1939,

T=D NT]

·.R

or·'

VISAS

FROM 1 . 5 . 38 . to 31 . 3 . 9 .

G~RMANY

5 , 566

( Berlin

Prov ince

17 , 126

VI-w.

2, 01

PRAGUE

1 , 842

and Pr vi ces) 4 , 238 BRU S LS

2 , 008 3 , 14'

248

• A SA ~UDAP

approx :

'ST

~r~GRAD

SI/;AI.JLER CONTROLS

, 200

500

79 , 271

Note :

The e fig Ires hay

orne in

0 not irlCl' de 4 , 000 cl ildren who ithou

Jz echs who arri ve

v before

mbe

s and a lar.;.l e . 4 . 39 .

Tiergartenstraase 17, Berlin, VT .:35. July 6, 1939.

Dear Dr. Arian, It is very pleasant to hear from you again, and it is very kind o~ you to say such nice things about th"e work of this o:f:flee. We wish we had the power or roroer days so that we co~d come to the help or thousands instead of a few hlmdreds. You must be very happy to have your mother with you again. I was particularly pleased when ber certificate arrived. She WAS the envy or all the ~artunate people who were in the offioe.

Conditions are getting worse and worse for the Jews. I dread to think: o~ the misery _ and suffering they - especially the older people will have to :face next winter. Their:funds are running low, and they do not know where they will :find aocomoda t ion. The quota is a calami ty, e~ec1all~ in these days oÂŁ rabid persecution and permanent cold pogrom. ~ere

The courage and .fortitude o:f the Jews are beyond praise. They have our profound admiration. Yours sincerely,

Dr. D. Arian, P.O.Box 69, , Tel Aviv.

r~ 'I/{')

Letter from Frank Foley to Dr D Arian in Tel Aviv, 6 July 1939.

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