Joint Emergency Committee on European Affairs (JEC)

Dr. Gerhart Riegner

In August 1942, American diplomats received the first confirmation of the Nazis’ extermination of the Jews from Dr. Gerhart Riegner, the World Jewish Congress representative in Switzerland. Although the State Department tried to suppress the information, American Jewish leaders learned about it from colleagues in Britain. Finding sanctuary for Jewish refugees became an urgent priority. Zionist groups pressured Britain to permit settlement in Palestine, while others sought relaxation of American immigration restrictions.

In March 1943, eight mainstream Jewish organizations created the Joint Emergency Committee on European Affairs (JEC), which sponsored A Day of Mourning and Prayer in the United States and in 29 other countries. The JEC urged the president and congress to implement plans for rescue and sponsor a high-level conference on the Jewish crisis.