On Saturday, January 22, 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9417, establishing the War Refugee Board. Below, the press release announcing the establishment of the WRB. I don’t have much more to say, since the meaning of this document is pretty clear. I’ve been in a pretty reflective mood today about this. Seventy years ago today [2014]–a lifetime.
I haven’t figured out what my estimate is yet, but the WRB official history (which was printed in September 1945 before the Board dissolved) and most historians have estimated they saved more than 100,000 people. Which means today marked a turning point for tens if not hundreds of thousands of people, and all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. The world entire.
