The Holocaust

The Holocaust And America’s Reaction to It

A legacy lost in ash by Cailee Grezbeniek, Miri Hoshino, Megha Kulkarni, Owen Miller, and Sahil Sethi

America’s Reaction to Nazi and Anti– Jewish policies during the 1930’s President Roosevelt had first called for an international conference in response to the antiJewish policies that would discuss the refugee crisis in order to encourage emigration from Germany and Australia political refugees due to his concern and involvement in the topic. This was known as the Evian Conference. During this conference, Roosevelt hoped to create an organization that would assist German and Austrian Jews to settle in large numbers in areas such as Africa and South America. However, most countries, including the US, offered excuses for not letting in more refugee despite their great empathy for them (Wright 161).

Harris & Ewing, Inc. 1955.

Following the Evian Conference, the USA and other countries established the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR) in order to pressure the Germans to allow the Jews to leave with enough resources to begin their new lives (Wright 161).

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The Nazi’s actions and attacks on Jews had soon become outrageous and malicious as the Nazis were starting to kill Jews daily and sending them to concentration camps. This became known as Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht sparked empathy and anguish among most Americans, especially President Roosevelt. Because of this, Roosevelt announced that the German and Austrian immigration quotas would be combined to allow continued Austrian Jewish immigration despite the restrictions on immigration (“Kristallnacht” 1589).

Finally, two US politicians proposed the Wagner-Rogers Bill in 1939 in order to alleviate Jewish suffering.

Although some US citizens favored this and were even willing to take the children, most Americans were against the bill since they thought the USA should first help its own children and not increase immigration, reflecting on the idea of isolationism Not to mention, Congress also opposed the bill since they feared large numbers of children would cause a burden at a high time of unemployment. Because of this, the bill was defeated (Wright 163).

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The S. S. St. Louis Case

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During Hitler’s rise to power, many Jewish people saw what was going to happen to them and attempted to leave Germany to places they believed they would be safe from prosecution. Many Jewish people believed that the U.S. would help them, as the U.S. was known for its diversity and was fighting against Germany in the war Wright 164).

However, there was little to no safe havens for these refugees, and unfortunately the U.S. provided no such help. When the S.S. St. Louis arrived in Cuba with 930 Jewish refugees to Germany, they were not allowed to leave the ship. In a few days, the ship was told to go to the U. S. and the ship made way for the Florida coast (Smelser 36).

The U. S. was just as unhelpful as Cuba had been, with authorities, not allowing the ship to dock (Trager 36).

Eventually, the ship was sent back to Europe, even after direct attempts to persuade President Roosevelt to let them through including a telegram from the ship captain asking for permission to dock.

Around 280 of 930 Jewish people off of the ship of are recorded to have died in concentration camps after the ship was sent back to Europe (Wright 164).

This was a controversial period in the U.S. history because the actions of the authorities represented America’s policies of immigration and showed what the Americans thought of the rest of the world. Similar cases like this proved American’s attitude and lead to the deaths of many other Jews in the course of the war (Wright 164).

Photo copyrighted by A. Loeffler.

The Holocaust Known to many, the Holocaust was the Nazi-German sponsored event during World War Two where Jews were enslaved, tortured, and killed in areas called “concentration camps” derived from the 1897 “reconcentration camps” in Cuba. . Of the killed, 1.5 Million were Jewish children, 2 million were Jewish women, and 2.5 million were Jewish men.

Over the span of the war only 2/3 of the 9 million Jews were left to reside in Europe. Though, Jews were not the only targets of the Nazis. Other minorities such as Slavs, Polish, Gypies, the disabled, and homosexuals were targeted as well. These people were selected due to Hitler’s belief that they were inferior to the German race. Throughout World War Two, over 40,000 camps were found (“Concentration Camps” 680).

Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Margaret Bourke-White—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Hitler had many different ways of getting rid of the “inferiors.” In the Euthanasia Programs, people who were mentally or physically disabled were put into the euthanasia campaign of T4 (Tiergartenstrasse 4) to lock them into the room with the gas.

Concentration camps were used for forced labor and put to work under deplorable conditions and slave-like circumstances.

The Germans also gunned the prisoners down against the wall also as a way for what would be considered mass murder.

Many also died of natural causes, including disease and malnutrition from being in such close proximity with an immense number of people (“Holocaust Encyclopedia”).

U.S. Reactions to Nazi Policies Jewish Immigration was the initial concern in the U.S. due to the major worry throughout the country concerning spies or Fifth Columnists. As a result the U.S. grew weary of immigrants, and the government slowly began to reduce immigration quotas for people who came from countries under German or Italian control.

Germany expelled the U.S. consulates and closed its embassies in America in June 1941 ending immigration to the U.S. officially and further weakening the connection between America and Germany(Wright 167). The situation for Jews worsened and the Nazis began closing in on the Final Solution (Greich-Polelle 171).

A 1942 report from Gerhart Riegner informed the United States consul in Geneva about the atrocities that were affecting the Jews (Smelser 8). The message was received with disbelief and shock in both America and Britain, and kept hidden from anyone for a long time.

However, after a press conference between President Roosevelt and the President of the World Jewish Congress, The United Nations finally condemned the Nazi Violence. Also, The Riegner Plan was suggested, but turned down because of the lack of funds (Wright 170).

Date

April 1943

October 1943

November 1943

August 1944

April 1945

Event

Description

1943 Bermuda Conference

It achieved little other than remove the 21,000 refugees that were stranded in Spain and put them in a safer place.

Jewish Evacuation

Roosevelt suggested that they receive help from Pope Pius XII to move Jews to a safe area.

Will Rogers and Joseph C. BaldProposal to Set win proposed to Up Camps to Help set up camps in Jewish various countries to save the Jews.

An order where Roosevelt finally accepted the Executive Order Riegner Plan and 9417 established the War Refugee Board.

Bombers dropped explosives on the factories of Auschwitz BombAuschwitz, and ing later in July and November 1944 bombed areas within 35 miles of

Liberation of Camps

The U.S. forces liberated the Ohrdruf, Buchenwald, Flossenburg, Dachau, and Mauthausen Camps.

Timeline of of Events During the Holocaust

Works Cited Wright, John. Access to History for the IB Diploma: The Second World War and

the Americas1933-45. London: Hodder Education, 2013. Print.

Griech-Polelle, Beth. "Holocaust, American Response to." Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 3: 1901-1945. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 71-73. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

“Kristallnacht." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War and Recon struction. Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles S cribner's Sons, 2006. 1589-1590. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 1

Mar. 2014.

Trager, James. "1939." The People's Chronology. James Trager. 3rd ed. Detroit:

Gale, 2005. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.

"St. Louis." Learning About the Holocaust: A Student's Guide. Ed. Ronald M. Smelser. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. 36-37. Gale

Virtual Reference Library. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.

"Concentration Camps." Europe Since 1914: Encyclopedia of the Age of War

and Reconstruction. Ed. John Merriman and Jay Winter. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006. 680-687. Gale Virtual Reference Library.

Web. 1 Mar. 2014.

"“Final Solution”." Learning About the Holocaust: A Student's Guide. Ed. Ronald

M. Smelser. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001. 7-13. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.

"Introduction to the Holocaust." United States Holocaust

Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memor ial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.