Elijah Bennet’s Journal
Dear Journal,
March 23, 1948
My name Elijah Bennet and I live secretly in an abandoned house with my aunt and cousins. It is hard to be quiet since there are so many people in this tight house. I do not like the smell of it and it is very uncomfortable. Like always I did not get that much sleep, because of all the loud noise outside in Germany. I woke up with an empty stomach but I am grateful for what I have. At least I have a roof under my head and I am with my family. Many people don’t have a place to stay right now. My friend Joseph was forced to leave his house after a bombing. I am afraid of Adolf Hitler, he is always threatening my people. I want to be free from this complicated mess. It is hard for my family to stay safe since we are Jews. I always hear my aunt and cousins whispering about the recent news. They hide the truth from me cause they think I am not old enough to understand, so what if I am the youngest, I should be able to know. The only thing my aunt told me is that other countries are reacting from the Nazi’s actions especially U.S. so I did not have to worry that much. However, one of my cousins did tell me about the horrors of Germany and their new policies for the Jews. When I asked him to tell me more, he would not respond as if he was hiding something. I am very disappointed that they do not take me as an adult. Hopefully when I am as tall as they are then I can join in the conversation. Sincerely, Elijah Bennet
U.S. Responses to Nazi policies! Right after the war started, there was a fear of the Fifth columnist, also known as spies who is working secretly within a country to further an invading enemy’s military and political aims. So the immigration policy changed, but later on from all the tragic stories about the Nazi’s action, the U.S. accepted more refugees. Instead, the U.S. changed their policy to regulate spies and Breckinridge Long took that position.
Long’s Memo: “We can delay and effectively stop for a temporary period of indefinite length the number of immigrants into the United States. We could do this by simply advising our consuls to put every obstacle in the way and to require additional evidence and to resort to various administrative devices which would postpone and postpone and postpone the granting of visas” ( qtd. In Wright 167). However, many were against his polices and tried to minimize Long’s influence.
“There are no longer ‘concentration camps’ we must speak now only of ‘extermination camps’ ” (qtd. in Wright 168). -Edward R. Murrow
In 1941 Germany closed emigration to U.S. impossible and also closed occupied territories. To make matters worse, we found out that during the 19421945 things in Germany they began to follow up on the Final Solution which it is a policy to kill all the Jews in Europe and about six million were killed under this policy.
The U.S. response to this policy was to to set up the Riegner Report in 1942 and Riegner informed the U.S. controlled Geneva of persecution, transportation and mass murders and sent to the state department. Which sent the message through other groups. However, Welles said not to publish any information from Riegner.
Olden Times YOUR CATCH PHRASE HERE Wise who is the president of WJC (Jewish communities set up in Switzerland in 1936) met with Roosevelt in a press conference and in December, the United Nations agreed to take action back. The first attempt to help the Jews was in 1943 as Wise organized a rally in New york. However that was a disappointed to people expecting action then words.
The second attempt was later in 1943 and this time to help the Jewish refugees they spoke to the IGCR and attempted to receive support from Pope Pius xii in the development of a suitable area to admit Jewish Refin unlimited number. Rogers Resolution in 1943 Roger and Baldwin introduced a resolution that create a commission to rescue the Jews of Europe however the plan died out and eventually he resigned because of lying about the statistics.
- Since 1802
Nazi Policies During War The War Refugee Board The past few weeks have been very busy. This January, the Treasury Secretary met with president Roosevelt. They discussed the Riegner Plan in order to save the Jewish refugees. Going into the meeting Henry Morgenthau Jr, the Treasury Secretary, had prepared documents for Roosevelt to sign. These documents aimed to establish a body that would help the Jews. Six days after the meeting, President Roosevelt
The U.S. government gave the WRB $1.6 million in addition to the $16 million from private Jewish organizations. The WRB set up places for Jewish refugees to settle in safely. Raoul Wallenberg was appointed as a representative for the organization. Wallenberg tried to save the Jews that were left in Hungary. He saved thousands of Jews.
The U.S. Army has discovered something no other Western nation has seen before: German Concentration camps. U.S. forces are currently working on liberating these cruel camps.
To Be or Not to Be Post War Attitudes to Immigration Now that the war has finally ended, President Truman has decided to ease immigration restrictions. But we can’t help but fell we should do more to help the refugees. And we are not alone in doing so, Truman believed that the U.S should do something to aid the refugees. Congress passed the Displaced Person Act in 1948 and over 400,000 visas were granted to immigrants. Refugees became a major factor in U.S.
Dear Journal,
Later in the day
You will not believe what I just found. I was minding my own business until, I saw an American newspaper on the living room floor. When I finished reading it, most of the words were hard for me to grasp. I mean no wonder my family wanted to keep this away from me. I knew that the Nazi are impacting many people, but I did not know it would be this bad. The “Final Solution” scares me and I had nightmares about it. On the bright side, reading it at the U.S point of view, I am glad they are responding back to the Nazi policies. So many people stepping up like Wise, Long, Riegner, and their president, Roosevelt to help me and my “family”. Also, for the first time in forever, I feel like there is actual hope. I am really happy that the U.S. is going to help us. Sometimes, I used to feel like everything was working against us, but after reading this paper, I really feel like there are still people out there that are willing to help. I am really excited! I heard my parents saying that we might move to America! Ever since the war ended, the U.S. has eased the immigration regulations. I would love to go to America and be able to start a new life there. Hitler has taken so much away from us in the past couple years, this war has left many homeless and without food or water. They have taken so much away from us, but the one thing we still hold on to is hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. Sincerely, Elijah Bennet www.presentationmagazine.com