The Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations was the first formal statement to the world about the Holocaust, issued on December 17, 1942, by the American and British governments on behalf of the
Allied Powers. In it, they describe the ongoing events of
the Holocaust in
Nazi-occupied Europe.
The statement was read to
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
in a floor speech by Foreign secretary
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid prom ...
, and published on the front page of the ''
New York Times'' and many other newspapers.
It was made in response to a 16-page note addressed to the Allied governments on December 10 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
, Count
Edward Raczynski, titled
The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland
''The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland'' was a brochure published by the Polish government-in-exile in 1943 to disseminate the text of Raczyński's Note of 10 December 1942. It was the first official information to the Weste ...
and his official
Raczyński's Note
Raczyński's Note, dated December 10, 1942, and signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Raczyński, was the official diplomatic note from the government of Poland in exile regarding the extermination of the Jews in German-occupied Poland. S ...
addressed to western governments.
The Members then stood in silence, an honour usually reserved for the death of a
Monarch.
Hansard; JEWS (GERMAN BARBARITIES), United Nations Declaration, HC Deb 17 December 1942 vol 385 cc2082-7 (online)
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Text
See also
* Punishment for War Crimes
Punishment for War Crimes was the title of a declaration issued by the representatives of eight Allied governments-in-exile and the Free French at the third Inter-Allied Conference at St James's Palace in London, United Kingdom, on 13 January 194 ...
References
{{Authority control
1942 documents
International response to the Holocaust