On 25th September 1947, The British camp command announced, in Yiddish, English, Hungarian, Polish
and French, an offer negotiated between the British and French governments:
France was willing to accept all the Jewish illegal emigrants from the former pleasure steamer
President Warfield.
As an incentive, the British offered the Jews "the generous allocation of circa 2,800 calories
per day" until their departure, if they accepted this offer. Should this offer be rejected
"His Majesty's Government" announced a reduction in the ration quota to that of the level of the German
population, i.e. around 1,500 calories per day. In addition, they would remain in the camps.
The Jewish camp committee rejected the offer and stated that:
the sole solution to their problem was the allocation of certificates allowing them to enter
their homeland of Palestine.
On 1st October 1947, the ration quota was reduced but this provoked no reaction. The British military government had planned from the beginning to maintain guarding the Jews only until they were registered and categorized. The results of the attempted registration had revealed it to have been of "dubious value", so that the camp command were forced to accept its failure. At the beginning of October, British soldiers began to dismantle the watch towers. Only the barbed-wire fence remained, in accordance with the desire of the Jewish committee, as protection from "malicious" people.
On 6th October, the British guard departed the camp; the British camp command staff remained. The command of the camp was transferred to the Jewish camp committee working in co-operation with the German camp administration. From this time on Jewish camp police were responsible for guarding and keeping order in the camp. Camp inhabitants could only enter and leave the camp by presenting newly issued identity papers. They were free again.
