The Bermuda Conference was an international conference between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

held from April 19 to 30, 1943, at Hamilton, Bermuda. The topic of discussion was the question of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

refugees who had been liberated by Allied forces and those who still remained in

Nazi-occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

. The only agreement reached was that the war must be won against the Nazis. US immigration quotas were not raised, and the British prohibition on Jewish refugees seeking refuge in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

was not lifted. The American delegation was led by Dr.

Harold W. Dodds Harold Willis Dodds (June 28, 1889 – October 25, 1980) was the fifteenth president of Princeton University from 1933 to 1957. Early life and education Dodds was born on June 28, 1889, in Utica, Pennsylvania, the son of a professor of Bible ...

. The British delegation was led by Richard Law, a junior minister at the Foreign Office.

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An article in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' dated April 30, 1943, "Hopeful Hint Ends Bermuda Sessions", stated that the delegates had rejected recommendations that were not capable of being accomplished under war conditions and that would most likely delay the war effort. A week later, the

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Committee for a Jewish Army ran an advertisement in ''The New York Times'' condemning the efforts at Bermuda as a mockery of past promises to the Jewish people and of Jewish suffering under German Nazi occupation."To 5,000,000 Jews in the Nazi Death-Trap Bermuda was a Cruel Mockery", ''The New York Times'', May 4, 1943, p. 17. US Senator

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

withdrew his membership from the committee over what was perceived as an insult to members of the

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

, which had been involved in the conference. Szmul Zygielbojm, a member of the Jewish advisory body to the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

, committed suicide in protest at the outcome of the conference.

References

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External links

Bermuda Conference
from Yad Vashem's Shoa Research Centre
The Allies' Refugee Conference--A "Cruel Mockery" by Dr. Rafael MedoffBermuda Conference (Encyclopedia of America's Response to the Holocaust)
on The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies World War II conferences International response to the Holocaust History of Bermuda Bermuda in World War II Diplomatic conferences in Bermuda 1943 conferences 1943 in Bermuda The Holocaust and the United Kingdom The Holocaust and the United States 1943 in international relations United Kingdom–United States relations 20th century in Hamilton, Bermuda April 1943 events 1943 in Judaism

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