Section 1: Identification and Evaluation of Sources
This investigation will explore the question: To what extent did anti-Semitism contribute to the rise of restrictionist immigration policy during and leading up to World War II? The focus will be the years 1930 to 1945, which allow analysis of the immigration policies and social stigma during and leading up to World War II.
The first source to be analyzed in depth is David S. Wyman’s Paper Walls; America and the Refugee Crisis, 1938-1941. This source’s origin makes it valuable because Wyman has an education in history from Boston University for his B.A. and from Harvard University for his Ph.D. and specializes in Jewish studies, holding honorary doctoral degrees from Hebrew Union College - …show more content…
Wyman and Rafael Medoff’s book “A Race Against Death.” David S. Wyman and Rafael Medoff are both professional historians that have written extensively on Jewish history. The structure of this book follows an interview with Hillel Kook, a prominent figurehead at the forefront of the movement to rescue European Jews. This resource provides an annotated version of Wyman’s interview with Hillel Kook concerning Kook’s involvement in political activism during the 1930’s and 1940’s and his time as a member of the War Refugee Board. This book provides firsthand insight into the extent to which Kook’s movement to promote government rescue efforts for European Jews clashed with the Zionist …show more content…
The roots of anti-Semitism came from the already isolationist and nativist ideology of Americans in the 1930’s. In the midst of the Great Depression, publications and powerful figures in American life opposed the acceptance of immigrants into the country, preaching the economic dangers that would ensue (6). The rise of restrictionism, personified by Wilbur J. Carr, imposed stricter immigration policies and reductions in immigration quotas in attempts to protect the American economy (Breitman 28). National Commander Stephen F. Chadwick summarizes the restrictionist stance when he declares that “the nation had welcomed immigrants while the frontier remained, but in 1939, with 13 million unemployed, the country’s responsibility to its citizens required that the gates be shut” (Wyman2 10). Contradictory to this claim, advocates for immigration reform that would have increased quotas claimed that immigrants helped the economy by creating new jobs. Among these voices was Dr. Bernhard Ostrolenk of the city college of New York. He claimed that an increase in population through immigration would cause the economy to rise “out of the doldrums” (8). An increase in population would stimulate key industries such as construction, according to Ostrolenk, and would restore consumerism. The reasoning provided by these advocates for immigration introduces
This investigation will explore the question: To what extent did anti-Semitism contribute to the rise of restrictionist immigration policy during and leading up to World War II? The focus will be the years 1930 to 1945, which allow analysis of the immigration policies and social stigma during and leading up to World War II.
The first source to be analyzed in depth is David S. Wyman’s Paper Walls; America and the Refugee Crisis, 1938-1941. This source’s origin makes it valuable because Wyman has an education in history from Boston University for his B.A. and from Harvard University for his Ph.D. and specializes in Jewish studies, holding honorary doctoral degrees from Hebrew Union College - …show more content…
Wyman and Rafael Medoff’s book “A Race Against Death.” David S. Wyman and Rafael Medoff are both professional historians that have written extensively on Jewish history. The structure of this book follows an interview with Hillel Kook, a prominent figurehead at the forefront of the movement to rescue European Jews. This resource provides an annotated version of Wyman’s interview with Hillel Kook concerning Kook’s involvement in political activism during the 1930’s and 1940’s and his time as a member of the War Refugee Board. This book provides firsthand insight into the extent to which Kook’s movement to promote government rescue efforts for European Jews clashed with the Zionist …show more content…
The roots of anti-Semitism came from the already isolationist and nativist ideology of Americans in the 1930’s. In the midst of the Great Depression, publications and powerful figures in American life opposed the acceptance of immigrants into the country, preaching the economic dangers that would ensue (6). The rise of restrictionism, personified by Wilbur J. Carr, imposed stricter immigration policies and reductions in immigration quotas in attempts to protect the American economy (Breitman 28). National Commander Stephen F. Chadwick summarizes the restrictionist stance when he declares that “the nation had welcomed immigrants while the frontier remained, but in 1939, with 13 million unemployed, the country’s responsibility to its citizens required that the gates be shut” (Wyman2 10). Contradictory to this claim, advocates for immigration reform that would have increased quotas claimed that immigrants helped the economy by creating new jobs. Among these voices was Dr. Bernhard Ostrolenk of the city college of New York. He claimed that an increase in population through immigration would cause the economy to rise “out of the doldrums” (8). An increase in population would stimulate key industries such as construction, according to Ostrolenk, and would restore consumerism. The reasoning provided by these advocates for immigration introduces