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Refugees in France[1]

Report and appeal. In the following pages the plight of the German Socialist refugees in France and the work for saving them is described.

June, 1940. - Armistice. A vast stream of refugees - about 13 million men - flooded over France. Villages have become cities. Toulouse grew, in 72 hours to a city of 700.000 inhabitants, being formerly a town of 250.000. There were no empty rooms, no beds available. Masses lodged in halls, station buildings, barracks, schools, or in the streets. Defeat and flight had deprived them of everything: of hope, energy, home, and property. The only thing they had got was the certainty, relieving and at the same time disgraceful: "For us, the war is over!"

The alien refugees

Among these millions, there were some thousand German and Austrian refugees who had every reason to think quite differently. A time of terror started for them. Clause 19 of the armistice conditions provided the extradition of Germans. Almost all the refugees feared that this clause might apply to them. Their mental situation was quite as miserable as their material situation. Almost all of them had been interned for some time. The former Spanish fighters had been kept behind barbed wire for two years. Only a few had succeeded in saving their belongings. The majority were nearly destitute and did not possess more

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than the clothes they stood in. Numerous refugees were still - or once more - in internment camps. The rest spread all over unoccupied France, Montauban, Toulouse and Marseille being the main centres. Some refugees hid in lonely country places - for reasons of security. Very few returned into the occupied territory.

Aliens forbidden to travel

An order to this effect prevented most of the refugees from leaving their residences, chosen by chance and frequently unsuitable. At first there was no centre of organisation or information in this unspeakable disorder. The local organisations of the French Socialist Party and of the French Trade Unions could offer only limited assistance, and mostly for a very short time. They had their own sorrows, were without any means, without central leadership, and soon they became victims of the Laval-Government. In spite of all that, not only they, but also the leading comrades of the Russian, Italian, and Polish emigration gave proofs of international solidarity, which will be gratefully remembered for ever.

The hatred of aliens

Incited by reactionary propaganda during the preceding years, increased in these days of disaster, want, unemployment, and shortage of goods and food. The crimes committed by parachutists and the Fifth Column had effects unfavourable for the German refugees. There they were - without money, home, food, jobs and even the right to work; without permission to stay or permission to go; no chance of being assisted, threatened by hostility, by re-internment, by labour-camps and camps for suspects, by extradition, by the fact that Gestapo officials inspected these camps, and the result was a desperate mood of the political refugees. Only one thought was in their minds: "To get out, at any cost, out of this country!" - But that was no easy matter . Switzerland returned non-French refugees. Passenger shipping was prohibited. The Spanish frontier was closed. In spite of that, hundreds and thousands of refugees crossed the frontier in adventurous ways, with visas and passports of sometimes dubious character, and went to Spain and Africa, to Lisbon and overseas. Jobbers, smugglers, and adventurers enjoyed prosperity.

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Money unlocked many doors, as always. Needless to say our political friends hardly belonged to those who could do the trick.

The Executive Committee of the Social Democratic Party

The exact figure of Social Democratic refugees in France is unknown, since no registration had taken place. It can be assumed that the figure was 700 or 1000 incl. dependants. At the end of June, 1940, almost all the members of the Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party and some of their collaborators were assembled at Castres, in Southern France, after some trouble.

Connections with the other members of the Executive Committee and with Friedrich Adler could be re-established in time, and further measures could be discussed. The Executive Committee, although deprived of all means and, for some time, even of all foreign relations (wires abroad took six weeks to arrive), tried to seek help for the German political refugees, even those outside the rank and file of the Party.

Our friends in England

started action immediately after the collapse of France, and they applied successfully for visas on behalf of a number of comrades who were known in this country. But, unfortunately, the visas could not be issued in time, as the British Consulates in France were closed at the end of June.

The German Labor Delegation in New York

which is the representative of the Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party in USA, had applied for emergency visas, in common effort with refugee organisations of other countries, and sponsored by the American Federation of Labor. The German Labor Delegation sent one of its friends, Dr. Frank Bohn, from Washington to Marseilles. He made great selfless efforts to initiate the work of rescue. This work, started at the critical moment by German Social Democrats, secured life and liberty for hundreds of refugees of various nationalists. The work of rescue was carried out, not according to partial views; if, for instance, a number of German writers (non-Socialist), representatives of Socialist groups and of other political

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organisations are now free and safe in USA, they owe it to this well-timed Social Democratic action. It was much later that other people also took part in this work of rescue. In July, 1940, the Executive committee of the German Social Democratic Party was informed of this work, and was asked to assist the American Consul and Dr. Bohn. The Executive Committee agreed and delegated two members to Marseilles. At the same time, the Executive Committee wired an additional list of political leaders (incl. leading members of other political groups) to USA. This list was accepted; the visas were granted. Discussions with US-authorities, with Frank Bohn, representatives of Social Democratic Parties from other countries and of other political groups followed. There was, however, nobody who could give an estimate of the

Number of required visas.

The Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party compiled therefore, in touch with the representatives of other groups, a provisional list of all Socialist refugees of different groups. It contained 451 names. Marseilles, Mediterranean port and biggest city of unoccupied France, had an American Consul General and consuls of many other countries: it became the centre of emigration and the "Mecca of emigrants" who tried to invade it in spite of the travel-restrictions and the strict control of railways and roads. The Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party also went to Marseilles. It was impossible to carry on the former activities on French soil. It was therefore agreed to emigrate and to make efforts to resume the activities in England or USA. One member of the Executive Committee was appointed as worker for the care of Social Democratic refugees in France. He was to work in closest touch with Frank Bohn.

American emergency visas.

The State Department in Washington had granted about 400 emergency visas for distribution: 118 for Germans, 23 for Austrians, 47 for Italians and the remainder for Russians, Poles and other refugees. The distribution quotas and the names of the recipients had been decided upon in [the] USA. Not even 50% of the German quota were given to Social

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Democrats. Most of the other visas were given to non-Socialist writers, journalists etc. Many Socialists, especially the underground workers - who, of course, were unknown in [the] USA - had not received visas. It was [the] most important task to provide visas for these persons and to organise the emigration of those who had received their visas; but that was not the only task.

Difficulties of emigration

were extraordinary. Visas could not be given before the Consul General in Marseilles had re-examined the cases, which sometimes caused difficulties, sometimes even refusal. Visas were not given unless the Consul was satisfied that the applicant was either a famous writer or scientist, or the leader of a Workers Movement, or a man in immediate danger. It was not always easy to prove that. The Consuls, who were not so familiar with European conditions, had a limited knowledge of persons only. Later on, these difficulties were overcome by the following arrangement: The Consul accepted written certificates from the representative of the Executive Committee of the German Social Democratic Party, by which the danger, threatening the applicant, was confirmed. The Consuls did what they could; but the number of applicants was so big that it was impossible to meet even a considerable part of the requests and applications. Sometimes the mail was 4000 letters daily.

The French authorities

refused exit permits for German refugees. Thereby the distribution of emergency visas was stopped for some time. For the American Consul regarded this exit permit as the condition for giving the immigration visa as well as the emergency visa. Intensive efforts of those concerned, especially of Dr. Bohn, resulted in the withdrawal of this condition with regard to the emergency visas. Other difficulties arose in the meantime. Shortly after the collapse of France a small passenger ship carried refugees to Portugal, successfully avoiding Spanish territory, so much feared by many refugees. But some further experiments of a similar kind, all of them very expensive, failed. There was only one way left: The way across the Pyrenees! In many cases this illegal crossing of the Spanish frontier was done successfully, with the aid of French Socialists.

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But suddenly the Spanish authorities refused to recognise the American Refugee passports and the Czechoslovak and Polish provisional passports. They demanded "correct" national passports, although most of the refugees concerned had lost their nationalities long ago. Thus, many refugees with valid visas were held up at the frontier, and sometimes it seemed to be impossible to solve this problem. But it became possible, for different reasons. Other passports could be provided, other methods were tried out, and eventually the Spanish authorities cancelled their measures. But new difficulties arose.

The frontier control was tightened.

Travellers were arrested in Spain. Portugal demanded evidence that the passage overseas had been paid. Spain demanded that the French exit permit should be produced. France was, in some cases, prepared to grant the exit permits, but on condition that Spanish and Portuguese transit visas were obtained before ... It was the usual well-known game of bureaucracy at the expense of helpless people. Arrangement of emigration became a secret science. At the end of 1940, only very few German refugees succeeded in leaving France. About Christmas, almost 300 German families and individuals, among them about 30 leading Social Democrats, had valid emergency visas for the USA, but no chance of leaving France.

Owing to certain conditions it was then possible to transfer the majority of this social-democratic group to Lisbon. Later on the situation improved owing to the pressure exerted by the USA-Government and resulting in a more liberal grant of exit permits, and to the newly opened shipping route Marseilles-Martinique-USA. In spring 1941, most of those who had obtained emergency visas, were safe - with the exception of Comrades Rudolf Hilferding and Breitscheid who had been surrendered by the French authorities to the Gestapo.

Struggle for more visas

Some hundred refugees were safe, but far greater was the number of refugees without visas. Their feeling grew more and more desperate owing to the critical situation of France and further restrictions of residence and food. In autumn 1940, Dr. Bohn succeeded in providing some

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more American emergency visas in Marseilles. In some cases, less distinguished overseas-visas proved to be good for travel to Lisbon. Some Mexican and Brazilian visas were also granted. But all that was far from being sufficient. We had approached, by letters and telegrams, our friends in USA, asking them for further visas. (More than 150 airmail-letters and cables informed our American friends on the situation of the Social Democratic refugees.) When Dr. Bohn returned to USA in autumn, 1940, he carried a report by 500 German Socialists of all groups. It was learnt in October, 1940, that the State Department in Washington was not prepared to grant further emergency visas en bloc. All our efforts and all those made by our friends in USA were in vain. The USA-Government was only prepared to grant individual emergency visas, and that under certain complicated conditions only. Our friends in USA tried to provide a number of visas in this way, and they asked us for documents, which were submitted for all endangered Social Democrats. But visas were granted only in some exceptional cases; whereas other people who were more successful in getting affidavits, enabled a number of other emigrants to depart.

Negotiations with various consulats,

in order to obtain visas for other countries, after the failure of the USA-action, were not very hopeful. These negotiations and the cooperation with Jewish and Christian Committees and Agencies in the countries concerned resulted in much work, but not in the grant of visas. Only in some exceptional cases, it is not surprising that the morale of the refugees still in France declined more and more. Suicides and attempted suicides became more frequent.

Self - aid.

Late in autumn, the members of the different Socialist groups could re-establish their connections with their friends in USA, and the Refugee organisations in USA resumed their activities on behalf of those refugees in whom they took interest. We could, therefore, confine our efforts to our own comrades who needed help more urgently than before. The friendly cooperation with the other representatives was thereby not affected. Mutual aid, good will and understanding of the needs of other groups crea-

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ted a good atmosphere. In December, 1940, we were in touch with about 160 Social Democrats (plus their 300 dependants) who lived in different parts of Southern France. About 30 of them were interned, most of them at Camp de Gurs, and 40 others were in camps for foreign labourers, some of them in Africa.

The conditions in the camps

were often, and rightly, criticised. No internee will ever forget those times. Hostility against these foreigners and useless eaters, hatred of aliens of a different political creed, lack of organisation, and most of all, shortage of all the necessary goods, caused by Nazi measures, were the chief reasons. The conditions for refugees outside the camps were not much better. France was starving - small wonder that the refugees in France were in need. An additional hardship was caused by police measures.

Compulsory residence

in remote villages was ordered for refugees at Toulouse and Lyon. They could not earn anything at the places where they were sent. Reinternment, frequent police raids, arrests, call-up of foreigners who had been demobilized before, deportation of emigrants to Africa, recurrent orders and restrictions affecting aliens and Jews, and unceasing rumours created waves of panic. Nobody who did not live there was able to believe all that - and even to understand it.

Material improvements and practical aid

We made many efforts for helping our Social Democratic refugees. We succeeded in obtaining the release of some comrades from internment camps, others could be relieved from difficulties with the police, and others could be transferred to special camps for old people, for the sick, or for emigrants. Our methods had to be adapted to any new situation, and they were often unusual. The problem of material assistance was difficult. When we started work we had practically no funds. The money sent from [the] USA was not even sufficient for paying fares and maintenance for those leading Social Democrats who had obtained their visas. At last we obtained funds. Several hundred thou-

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sand French francs were collected. Some leading Comrades sacrificed their last money for that purpose, assistance was given by our Swiss and Swedish friends, by international Trade Union organisations etc. The Comrades in internment camps and in the country were - and are still - in dire need, and our possibilities of assisting them were small. Rationing in France was, already at the end of 1940, far stricter than in England now, and it applied to almost everything. The official rations were insufficient in 1940, and they have been diminished since. Many people received, even then, less the official rations, and this kind of thing has gone on, to a serious extent, during the last months. It is not possible to replace rationed food by non-rationed food [because] there is none.

Want of clothing and linen

and of all other daily needs was and is still grave. Nevertheless, not only almost all Social Democratic refugees in Marseilles, but also those in camps and in the country were supported, by money and goods, during 4 or 6 months. We sent everything we could obtain and for which we could pay: coats, shirts, suits, boots, blankets, sausages, bread, coffee, tea, flour, soap, shaving cream, razor-blades, medicines, foreign papers etc. During many weeks parcels of three and five kilos each were being sent. The cleverness and the zeal of our helpers who hunted for these precious things - how they got hold of them, was never disclosed - was beyond all praise. Soon we got into touch

with Organisations of assistance

set up by large American and French Refugee Committees and with the Swiss Workers Assistance. These organisations offered invaluable help in different ways, especially by sending money and parcels to many of our friends almost regularly.

But there should be no illusions: all that has been done and is done is not sufficient, and it is clear that his provisional assistance is no solution of the problem.

The present situation.

Many emigrants end to believe that the work of rescue is finished if they have escaped from the concentration camp which is Europe, and are "out" and safe. The fact that a

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number of well-known writers and politicians has been rescued lets many people, especially in non-Socialist circles, declare that "almost all" are now safe. Recently some New York refugee papers published reports from Committees and organisations, which could lead to the conclusion that the main problem has been settled.

But reality is different. It is true that many well-known writers, politicians, journalists and artists left France. But many others are still there, especially many members and officials of the

Workers Movement,

and they suffer from hunger, want, persecution and fear of extradition. That should not be forgotten! Two thirds of more than 200 Social Democrats (the dependants excl.) are still in France! Not even 100 out of the 700 applications for visas, which one Refugee Committee at Marseille made, have been granted so far. Our present representative in France, who carries on his work under most difficult conditions, stated that there are, at present, still more than 500 German and Austrian Socialist refugees in the South of France, not including their families and the Communists, and that all of them could be vouched for. There are 100 urgent cases, where danger is imminent. Only a few of these 500 refugees have visas, but they are unable to leave the country, for various reasons. There are some among them who received their emergency visas months ago. They made many efforts to leave the country, but failed and are resigned.

The new conditions for emigration to USA

may have the result that immigration and emergency visas will be granted for our friends in exceptional cases only. The rigid regulations of transfer from USA, the growing difficulties in providing exit and transit permits may prevent even holders of visas from leaving France.

Visas for Mexico and Brazil?

Visas for other overseas countries are [as] difficult to be obtained as visas for USA. Practically, only Mexico and Brazil are offering some hopes. But there are already thousands of emigrants in France who have Mexican visas, which cannot be used as there is no direct route to

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Mexico, and transit visas (via Cuba or USA) are too expensive. Efforts have been made for months to emigrate these refugees. So far, success was reached in exceptional cases only.

The situation in France.

There is only one thing left: trying to keep alive in France. This experiment demands luck and energy, and it will not be successful in every case. The food provision has become miserable; the resources of the country are nearly exhausted. The situation of Frenchmen is grave; the position of refugees is hard to describe. Aid from abroad can hardly be expected. Several Aid Committees were compelled to interrupt or to discontinue their activities. V. M. Frey, a distinguished American, was deported, on the ground of his work for refugees, six men escorted him to the Spanish frontier. - The situation of the Social Democratic refugees in France is especially difficult. More than one third of them are still in different camps. Some obtained work in mines, some others are labouring as charcoal-burners, as farm-helpers or foresters. Many are too ill, too weak or not allowed to earn anything. Financial assistance cannot be expected. Jewish-American labour-organisations sent some money early in 1941, but lack of funds and difficulties of transfer made further assistance impossible.

Help from Swiss friends

seems to be the only chance at present, although their funds are small, and the demands are great. Export of food from Switzerland was prohibited in January 1941, sending of food parcels has ceased since that time. Our Swiss friends are now trying to buy farms for refugees. Thus, efforts are made to enable at least some of our friends to live at one or two farms in the South of France. Also in some other ways help from Switzerland may be arranged. Last year, some money was sent from there.

Appeal.

Some of our Comrades have been held up on the way from France to overseas. Others are, desperately lonely, in camps in French Africa, others in Spanish concentration camps, threatened by extradition, and some are at

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Martinique, Casablanca or Lisbon. For them, passage may be arranged.

There is a war on. Millions are fighting and dying. Individual fates are no longer important. Our Friends in France are a small minority, some hundreds among the millions of French and foreign refugees.

There are still millions of Frenchmen far from their homeland. There are 150.000 Spanish refugees, the poorest and most persecuted of all refugees.

There are more than 50.000 Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria, and ten thousand refugees from other countries.

All of them are suffering and starving.

More than 10.000 are interned at camp de Gurs, about the same number at camp Argèles, some 1000 at Vernet and thousands of others in many other camps, surrounded by barbed wire.

All of them are victims of Hitler and his crimes.

But nobody will blame us for drawing your attention to this small body of German Social Democrats who are spread over many places, bravely facing their misery, cut off from the outside world, but still inspired by the hope of Hitlers overthrow, and by their belief in our Party and the final victory of all for which it stands.

- . - . - O - . - . -

[Spendenaufruf]

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Aid for interned German refugees

in Great Britain and the Dominions.

The activities of the German Section of the International Solidarity Fund, Room 62, Bloomsbury House, Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1 (Tel: MUSeum 2900, Ext. 62)

Internment of refugees

The decision of the British Government to intern refugees of German and Austrian nationality in May, 1940, and during the following months created unforeseen difficulties for all those bodies which were dealing with the welfare of such refugees. For many months after the outbreak of war, the Refugee Committee had been busy giving information about the refugees under their care to the Tribunals, set up by the Home Office in order to examine the claim of any alien of enemy nationality in this country to be exempted from internment. As a result of these examinations, the vast majority of the German refugees were classified as "refugees from Nazi oppression" and exempted from internment. Not more than 800 Germans had been interned when the Tribunals finished their work in January, 1940.

300 of these internees had been arrested immediately after the outbreak of war. The total number of Germans in Great Britain at that time was 63.000. About 7.000 of them were granted a "B"-certificate by the Tribunals, that meant that they were exempted from internment but not from certain restrictions applicable to enemy aliens. All the others, if not interned, were granted "C"-certificates, exempting them from internment and from the special restrictions. There was reason to believe that the vast majority of refugees in the "C"-category were fully trusted by the authorities and the Home Office even ordered a review of all the "B"-cases in order to find out how many of these cases could also be classified as "C".

This re-examination was going on when Hitler launched his attack on the Western Front in May, 1940, and the grave danger of invasion resulting from the adverse development of the campaign in the Lowlands, and in France changed the opinion of the authorities and many of the public with regard to the German and Austrian refugees in Great Britain.

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At Whitsun all "enemy aliens" living in the newly created "protected areas" were interned, "B"-cases and "C"-cases together. Some days later, all male aliens holding a "B"-certificate were interned throughout the country. On May, 27th, all female aliens holding a "B"-certificate were arrested and interned, some in prisons, most of them in the Isle of Man. Then followed a drive against refugees classified as "C", of whom 25.000 (nearly all of them men) were interned during June and July. They were sent to various camps in England and in the Isle of Man, but 7.000 of them, married and single men, were, without warning, shipped away to Canada and Australia.

Self-aid for Socialists.

The first weeks of this period of internment and deportation were overshadowed by what the Home Secretary, Sir John Anderson, described as "muddle and stupidity" in a later debate in the House Commons.

Internment of aliens was discontinued when the camps, which were mostly not destined for large numbers of civilians, but for a certain number of prisoners of war, were seriously overcrowded, under military administration, not familiar with the refugee problem. We shall not recall the details of that situation which has been dealt with in many books, articles, and speeches since.

From the point of view of those who were working for the welfare of refugees, the two greatest problems were the following: to find out where the interned refugees had been sent, to look after their dependants and the belongings they had left behind, and to consider the question of assisting the internees who had, in most cases, just a few pence or shillings when arrested.

The German Section of the International Solidarity Fund had to face these problems under conditions of special difficulty. One of its workers was among the first to be interned, the other two could, for many weeks, not be sure of being exempted from internment, and as money was needed for collecting the belongings of the interned friends and more money for assisting them, the fact had to be considered that there were no funds available for these purposes.

Most of the German Socialist refugees were either registered with the Czech Refugee Trust Fund, as they

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had come over from Czechoslovakia, or earned their livelihood by work in this country.

The Czech Refugee Trust Fund stopped all allowances to refugees after internment, and those who had worked, lost their financial basis by internment.

Under these circumstances, the International Solidarity Fund, Bloomsbury House, decided to start a collection for German Socialist and Trade Unionist refugees in internment camps. With the help of the British Labour Party and of British and international Trade Unions, assisted by not-interned refugees and their English friends, supported by contributions from refugees in the Pioneer Corps, this collection had a good result, in spite of all the difficulties. A list of more than 100 interned men and women was drafted in cooperation with representatives of the different groups of Socialist refugees and Trade Unionists, and it was possible to send 10 sh to each of these internees in the first and second month of this self-aid-work, and thereafter to send 5 sh monthly to each of them.

Up to October, 1941, £ 278.3.10 had been collected for internees by the I.S.F., and £ 273.1.10 had been sent to the internees (nearly 800 payments). About 60 interned German Socialists and Trade Unionists who were still interned in the Isle of Man in December, 1940, received Christmas parcels, and about 20 refugees who had been sent to Australia, received 10 sh each from the I.S.F. at Christmas, 1940.

We are not going to describe all the problems we had to face when collecting and sending this money. We just point out that it was extremely difficult, in the first period of internment, to find out the whereabouts of the internees.

The conditions of mail to and from the internment camps are extremely bad, and very often the internees had changed the camp before we received their messages informing us of their "present address". In many cases they had been sent overseas before they could get our letters or the money we had sent. We need not explain how much trouble, how much useless correspondence, and how many interviews with authorities and dependants of internees were caused by these conditions.

Release of internees.

By the end of July, the public criticism of the general and indiscriminate internment of refugees, of the condi-

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tions in the camps and the measures of deportation had resulted in very vivid debates in the House of Commons, and early in August, the first White Paper on the release of civilian internees was published. It contained 18 categories under which release of internees could be granted by the Home Office. During August and September, the first batches of released internees returned from the camps, most of them either sick or persons who were "key workers" in industries of national importance. It was the time of the early stages of the "Battle of Britain", which added to the difficulties of settling these released internees after their return.

There was only a very small number of Socialist refugees among these who were released at that time. As a matter of fact, the first White Paper did not mention political refugees, and there was no category under which an internee could be released on the ground of his political history and his proved loyalty towards the British cause in this war against Hitler. There was also no mention of refugees who had been classified as "B" cases by the Tribunals after the outbreak of war, but had not been reexamined by the "Advisory Committee" set up by the Home Office, for this purpose, shortly before the general internment started.

Category 19: the new Tribunal.

We were represented at several meetings of delegates of the Refugees Committees, where the problems of release were discussed and recommendations were made to the newly appointed Advisory Committee, which was to suggest further categories of internees eligible for release from internment. The I.S.F. urged a new category for political refugees, and, with the support of the Labour Party, this suggestion was submitted to the Advisory Committee, and a new category appeared in the second White Paper, issued by the Home Office later in August, 1940. (It was also stated in this White Paper that internees in the "B" category were eligible for release under the categories if an Advisory Committee sitting in the Isle of Man would grant them a "C"-certificate after reviewing their case.)

The new category, No. 19, referred to any internee "as to whom a Tribunal, appointed by the Secretary of State for this purpose, reports that enough is known

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of his history to show that ... he has consistently, over a period of years, taken a public and prominent part in opposition to the Nazi system and is actively friendly towards the Allied cause."

For the consideration of applications for release under this category a new Tribunal was set up early in September, in London, and the task of this Tribunal, the chairman of which was Sir Cecil B. Hurst, K.C. was to advise the Home Office, "after considering all the information available", whether the applicant was eligible for release under cat. 19. The Home Secretary had stated in the House of Commons that the Tribunal should get in touch with competent political refugees in order to get the required information on the political history of the applicants. - In agreement with the Labour Party, the I.S.F. formed a committee of German Socialist refugees, which could assist the Tribunal by furnishing information on interned German Socialist refugees who applied for release under cat. 19. A former German Social Democrat who had become a British subject by naturalization, was appointed as chairman of this committee, where the German Social Democratic Party, the SAP (German Socialist Workers Party), the ISK (International Socialist Fighting Union) and the "Neubeginnen"-group, - these three (SAP, ISK, NB) by one delegate - and the German Trade Unions were represented. One worker of the I.S.F. acted as secretary to this committee, to which a panel of experts was attached, who were asked for information in individual cases.

A meeting of this committee was held every week for six months, and later, when the bulk of applications had been dealt with, the activities were continued by correspondence. The co-operation with the Tribunal, its chairman, secretary and members, proved very satisfactory, and almost all the recommendations made by our committee resulted, after some time, in the release of the internee concerned.

In 192 cases the Tribunal asked our committee for information. More than 1.000 letters were written by us (some of them air-mail-letters to internees in Canada or Australia), there were interviews with the chairman and the secretary of the Tribunal, and some rather complicated investigations were necessary in order to confirm the statements made by several internees in their applications for release. - By Christmas, 1940, more than 50% of those German Socialist and Trade Unionist refugees who were

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known to us and were interned in this country, had been released, the majority of them under cat. 19. By the end of February, 1941, more than 75% of these refugees had been released from internment.

The internees from overseas.

The most difficult problem was the release of internees who had been sent to Canada and Australia. With the exception of the unlucky "Arandora Star" and some casualties on board the "Dunera", all these internees had arrived safely in the Dominions; but they were very upset to find themselves treated there as "prisoners of war", and the promise that many or all of them would be set free and would have the chance of settling overseas - such promises were in many cases given by the officers who selected internees for deportation - proved to be quite unjustified. There was, in fact, no such chance, since the Dominion Governments had accepted the internees under the assumption that they were specially selected "dangerous elements".

Naturally, the internees in the Dominions wanted to be released in the same way as the internees in this country. But there was the long distance between this country and the Dominions, there were the tremendous difficulties of correspondence, and there was not only the scarcity of shipping space but also the great risk of life of the internees. We approached the Trade Unions in Canada and Australia and individual friends in USA asking them to assist the deported internees, and these requests had some good results as far as Canada was concerned.

Finally the Home Office sent one of its officials over to Canada, and another to Australia. They went to the internment camps and discussed the question of release with the internees. They selected those internees who were prepared to return to Great Britain and were eligible for release under the categories of the White Paper.

It was, however, not easy to arrange the passage of these internees to England, and only a small number of them could return with each transport.

In January, 1941, the first transport arrived from Canada. The first transport from Australia did not arrive until August, 1941. Now, all those German Socialist refugees who were sent to Canada and were prepared to return to Great Britain have arrived here, but some of them are

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still interned in the Isle of Man, as the negotiations about their release are still going on. Most of our friends in Australia seem to be still there, but there is reason to hope that they will sail shortly.

The problem of "War Refugees".

The vast majority of released internees could find some employment useful for the war effort. They are now either in the Pioneer Corps or in industry, forestry or agriculture. In the period between their release and the start in a Training Centre or in actual work, they were maintained by the Refugee Committee which was responsible for their maintenance before internment. There is only one exception from this rule: there are refugees among the internees who had not been in Great Britain before their internment and were not registered by any Refugee Committee in this country. - We are speaking of those who fled from France, Holland, Belgium or Norway after the Nazi-invasion, came over to this country, where they were interned as "enemy aliens" immediately on their arrival. Officially, these are regarded as "war refugees" like the French, Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian refugees. But the Refugee Organisations set up for the "War Refugees" are only responsible for refugees of French, Belgian, Dutch and Norwegian nationality.

Care for the German "War Refugees"

For a long time, it was not clear who would care for the German "War Refugees" in case of their release from internment, and it was for that reason that the authorities delayed their release. After long negotiations an agreement was reached by which the Public Assistance was entitled to maintain these refugees; but all Refugee Committees (with the exception of the Czech Refugee Trust Fund) were prepared to deal with these cases for which public money could be spent on the lines laid down by the Public Assistance rules. - There were quite a number of German Socialist refugees, especially from Norway, to whom these difficulties and their solution applied, and the I.S.F. made all efforts to clear up the situation and to speed up the release of the internees concerned, some of whom were women in the Isle of Man, and many of them men who were deported to Canada a few days after their arrival in Great Britain.

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The assistance for internees and for their release from internment has been one part of the

activities of the German Section of the I.S.F.

Space does not allow to deal with its other activities at length. In former times the question of visas and of registration with and maintenance by Refugee Organisations was the chief concern of the German Section of the I.S.F. Now, the problem of training and employment has become the most urgent problem of refugee work, and the German Section of the I.S.F. is dealing with this problem in contact with the German Trade Unions Centre and with the Labour Exchange for Germans and Austrians in London. We are in constant correspondence with many friends in the Pioneer Corps, we receive and answer many letters from friends now employed in factories, farms and forests in different parts of the Kingdom, and we are glad to be able to give advice and assistance to them in various matters. Finally, we are in touch with many friends abroad, in Sweden, USA, South America, South Africa and Palestine, who are anxious to get news from Great Britain and of our friends in all parts of the world although letters to these countries take a long time.

"Sozialistische Mitteilungen"

has been a regular source of information for German Social Democrats in this country and has also found many readers in overseas countries. After some trouble it was also possible to send copies of this newsletter to internees.

The first issues of the "Sozialistische Mitteilungen" appeared shortly after the outbreak of war.

Since January, 1940, the newsletter appeared every fortnight. Since August, 1940, it has been a monthly publication of 20 to 28 pages.

It has been the only German periodical in this country, the publication of which has never been interrupted during all this time, in spite of countless difficulties and the ever rising prices for paper, stencils, printing ink, postage etc.

All the money needed for this purpose had to be raised by appeals to our readers and friends.

Issued by the London Representative of the German Social
Democratic Party, 33, Fernside Avenue, London NW7.

[Beilage, Seite: - 1 -] -

Lieber Freund,

In der Anlage finden Sie eine englische Sondernummer unserer "Sozialistischen Mitteilungen", des Informationsblattes für deutsche sozialdemokratische Flüchtlinge in Grossbritannien, das wir seit 2 Jahren ununterbrochen herausgegeben und das auch von Freunden und genossen im Ausland immer wieder angefordert wird und ihnen, soweit möglich, zugesandt wurde.

Die Sonderausgabe der "SM" enthält einen Bericht über die Lage der Flüchtlinge in Frankreich und das Hilfswerk, das vielen von ihnen die Ausreise nach den Vereinigten Staaten ermöglichte, für jene aber, die noch immer in Südfrankreich - oder in afrikanischen Lagern sind, fortgesetzt werden muss.

Die vorliegende Sonder-Ausgabe enthält ferner einen Bericht über die Tätigkeit der deutschen Abteilung des International Solidarity Fund in London, der besonders die Bemühungen für die deutschen sozialdemokratischen Flüchtlinge schildert, die in England interniert wurden.

Aus den Berichten geht hervor, was für die Flüchtlinge in Frankreich und für die Internierten in England und den Dominions getan werden konnte und was noch zu tun bleibt. Wir haben deshalb die Sonder-Nummer an zahlreiche englische und amerikanische Freunde verschickt, um sie auf die Notwendigkeit weiterer Unterstützung unserer Arbeit aufmerksam zu machen.

Wir bitten Sie, die beiliegende Sonder-Ausgabe der Sozialistischen Mitteilungen Ihren englischen oder amerikanischen Freunden weiterzugeben und an sie zu appellieren, uns einen Beitrag für unsere Arbeit und insbesondere für die weitere Herausgabe der "Sozialistischen Mitteilungen" zu senden, die für viele unserer in aller Welt verstreuten Genossen das einzige Bindeglied mit der deutschen sozialdemokratischen Bewegung sind und sich bemühen, den Geist internationaler Verbundenheit wachzuhalten.

Wir wissen, dass Sie selbst kaum in der Lage sein werden, uns materiell zu helfen; wir hoffen aber, dass es Ihnen möglich sein wird, Ihre Freunde mit Hilfe dieser Sonder-Ausgabe auf unsere Arbeit und unsere Bedürfnisse aufmerksam zu machen.

Im Voraus besten Dank für alle Ihre Bemühungen.

Mit besten Gruss!

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