TURKEY AND WAR REFUGEE BOARD’S RESCUE ACTIVITIES FOR BALKAN JEWS

Turkey pursued a neutral policy in its foreign relations in WWII. Because of its neutral policy, it became a safe haven for many Jewish refugees during the war. While democracies such as the Great Britain and the United States did not make any tangible attempt to save the Jews who faced the holocaust until January 1944, Turkey, to the extent its economic and political power permitted, helped thousands of these refugees to reach their ultimate destiny, Palestine. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the War Refugee Board in January 1944 to relieve Jewish pressure and strengthen the US image in the world. John Pehle was appointed head of the War Refugee Board, which was set up to free refugees from the enemy oppression and transport them safely to their new destiny. The Refugee Board aimed to work in cooperation with foreign governments and international refugee rescue organizations. European neutral countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, and Turkey were chosen as the base of operations for rescue and assistance programs. Turkey’s geographic location and its humanitarian aid to refugees gave it an exceptional place among the other neutral European states. Ira Hirschmann was appointed as the Board representative to Turkey. Hirschmann, Turkish government, and the US ambassador Steinhardt conducted joint operations and rescued thousands of Jewish refugees from the Balkans. This wok aims to shed light on how the War Refugee Board established its bases in Turkey and conducted the Jewish refugee rescue operations in the Balkans and Turkey.

Keywords

World War II, War Refugee Board, Jewish Refugees, Ira Hirschmann