Riegner Cable

Telegram that is considered the first documented report of the "final solution" to reach the West. It was sent on August 8, 1942 by Dr. Gerhart Riegner, the world jewish congress representative in switzerland, to Rabbi Stephen S. wise in the united states and Sidney Silverman, a Member of Parliament, in great britain.

The cable indicated that hitler and his aides had decided to exterminate all the Jews in Europe. The information came from a successful German businessman named Eduard Scholte whose identity was only released to the public decades later. In fact, Scholte's information was not completely accurate. The mass extermination of European Jewry had already been going on for more than a year, and it was an ongoing process, not a one-time "blow," as written in the telegram. However, the general idea was accurate.

The cable was supposed to be transmitted to Wise through the US State Department, but department officials refused to pass it on. Silverman contacted Wise himself, and Wise approached the Secretary of State demanding action. The government refused to publish the information until it was confirmed. On November 24, the American government finally received convincing confirmation of the terrible information, and Wise was allowed to release the news to the press.