Editing Bermuda Conference

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[[File:Bermuda conference - april 1943.jpg|thumbnail|right|Bermuda conference]]
The '''Bermuda Conference''' was an international conference between the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]] held from April 19 to 30, 1943, at [[Hamilton, Bermuda]]. The topic of discussion was the question of [[Jewish]] [[refugees]] who had been liberated by [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] and those who still remained in [[Nazi-occupied Europe]]. 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]] was not lifted.

The American delegation was led by Dr. [[Harold W. Dodds]]. The British delegation was led by [[Richard Law, 1st Baron Coleraine|Richard Law]], a junior minister at the Foreign Office.<ref>David Blair, "The Bermuda Conference that Failed to Save the Jews", ''The Daily Telegraph'' (London), January 31, 2015</ref>

==Reaction==
An article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' dated April 30, 1943, "Hopeful Hint Ends Bermuda Sessions",<ref>"Hopeful Hint Ends Bermuda Sessions", ''New York Times'', April 30, 1943, p. 9.</ref> 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]] [[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.<ref>"To 5,000,000 Jews in the Nazi Death-Trap Bermuda was a Cruel Mockery", ''The New York Times'', May 4, 1943, p. 17.</ref> US Senator [[Harry S. Truman]] withdrew his membership from the committee over what was perceived as an insult to members of the [[US Senate]], which had been involved in the conference.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

[[Szmul Zygielbojm]], a member of the Jewish advisory body to the [[Polish government-in-exile]], committed suicide in protest at the outcome of the conference.<ref name="Letter">[http://yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/documents/part2/doc154.html The Last Letter From Szmul Zygielbojm, The Bund Representative With The Polish National Council In Exile] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121219122815/http://yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/documents/part2/doc154.html |date=2012-12-19 }}, May 11, 1943.</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Évian Conference]] in 1938
*[[International response to the Holocaust]]
* [[Jewish refugees from German-occupied Europe in the United Kingdom]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Sebastian Musch and Annika Heyen: The Bermuda Conference in April 1943: Allied Politics, Jewish Organizations, and the Emergence of the International Migration Regime. In: Holocaust Studies. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17504902.2023.2228181]

==External links==
*[http://yad-vashem.org.il/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206001.pdf Bermuda Conference] from Yad Vashem's Shoa Research Centre
*[http://new.wymaninstitute.org/2003/04/the-allies-refugee-conference-a-cruel-mockery/ The Allies' Refugee Conference--A "Cruel Mockery" by Dr. Rafael Medoff]
*[http://enc.wymaninstitute.org/?p=69 Bermuda Conference (Encyclopedia of America's Response to the Holocaust)] on The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies

[[Category:World War II conferences]]
[[Category:International response to the Holocaust]]
[[Category:History of Bermuda]]
[[Category:Bermuda in World War II]]
[[Category:Diplomatic conferences in Bermuda]]
[[Category:1943 conferences]]
[[Category:1943 in Bermuda]]
[[Category:The Holocaust and the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:The Holocaust and the United States]]
[[Category:1943 in international relations]]
[[Category:United Kingdom–United States relations]]
[[Category:20th century in Hamilton, Bermuda]]
[[Category:April 1943 in North America]]
[[Category:1943 in Judaism]]
[[Category:Aid for Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany]]