1944 January 22, WAR REFUGEE BOARD (USA)
Was set up by President Roosevelt and directed by Henry Morgenthau , with John Phele of the Treasury Department as its executive director. The board lobbied for finding a temporary haven for Jewish refugees, the bombing of Auschwitz and the establishment of a war crimes commission which they felt might make Germans think twice since that the war had turned against them. Despite the late hour and the fact that the State Department under Cordell Hull still dragged its feet, they did succeed in a number of important rescue and relief actions. The Joint Distribution Committee raised $15 million,
the Orthodox Vaad Hatzala $1 million, and the WJC around $300,000 for its activities.
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