This Month in Holocaust History

Evian Conference on Refugees
July 13, 1938

By 1938, many Germans and Austrians were trying to leave or move from their current location. For many this move was necessary because they were being persecuted for their political stance, or religion.

This created an emigration and resettlement problem in Europe.

To address this growing issue, an international conference was held in July of 1938, in Evian-les-Bains, France. It was convened by U.S. President Roosevelt.

President Roosevelt did not attend the conference himself, but sent business man Myron C. Taylor to represent the United States.

During the nine day meeting, no resolution to the mounting problem was reached. Of the 32 countries that participated, only the Dominican Republic expressed deep interest in taking on a large number of immigrants. Other countries explained why they could not take on more immigrants; very little was accomplished for the political refugees. The Jews were not welcome in any where in the world it seemed, and would be persecuted in their homelands of Germany and Austria. Kristallnacht would prove the German government’s true feelings just several months later.

German government was encouraged by the fact that the conference did not pass a resolution condemning the German treatment of Jews. This fact further fueled the Nazi agenda, and was pointed out frequently in Nazi propaganda. This conference is seen as a critical turning point in the evolution of the Holocaust.


Period postcard of Evian-les-Bains, the site of the 1938 International Conference on Refugees. [Photograph #62121]