In July 1938, representatives from 32 countries met in Evian, France to discuss the international refugee problem. The various countries’ delegates explained why they could not take in masses of refugees from Germany and Austria. The conference achieved almost no success in opening any country’s gates to the refugees, and by the time it adjourned, there was a public consensus that it had failed to find them a safe haven.
From 1933, when the Nazi party rose to power in Germany, until 1937, some 130,000 Jews left Germany. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria, and a wave of anti-Jewish persecution erupted. 11 days later, US President Franklin Roosevelt suggested convening an international conference, to discuss the international refugee problem. The conference was held in Evian, France, in July 1938, with the participation of representatives from 32 countries. During the conference, country after country explained why they could not absorb more refugees. The French representative said that France had reached “the extreme point of saturation as regards admission of refugees.” The Australian representative said: "As we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one." Only the representative from the Dominican Republic offered territory for agricultural settlement of refugees.
In April 1943, Britain and the USA held the "Bermuda Conference" to deal with the issue of wartime refugees, following pressure by Jewish lobbies, but this too proved unproductive. The Americans refused to consider changing their strict immigration quotas to let in more Jewish refugees, while the British refused to consider Palestine as a safe haven for Jewish refugees, and thus nothing was accomplished.