The history of The Holocaust raises challenging questions about our responsibilities as a nation to offer refuge and rescue to persecuted people from beyond our borders. America, land of the refuge, offered little assistance to victims under Hitler’s control. American Christians forgot about the Good Samaritan. Even American Jews lacked the sense of urgency the crisis demanded. The Nazis were murderers, but we were all too passive accomplices. Despite a history of providing a shelter to imprisoned people, America struggled with many issues during the 1930s that made living up to this legacy difficult. In order to understand why the United States didn’t play a bigger role in savings Jewish lives in Europe during World War II, it is necessary
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In the United States, anti-Jewish prejudice took a variety of forms. Some, like exclusion from “high society” functions, clubs, and organizations, and quota systems to schools or places of employment, were directed at all minorities, including the Jews. Prejudice against Jewish religion also existed in America but did not threaten Jewish survival as much as did the spread of “Jewish conspiracy theories.” These theories often accused Jews of instigating communist revolutions, controlling and operating banks, and forcing economic strain on business, professional, and political life (Anti-Semitism in America). These conspiracy theories formed the backbone of Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda. Powerful pro-Nazi support groups in the United States and Great Britain published Jewish conspiracy material. Some members of these groups were actually German nationals sent to the U.S. and Britain by Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda to generate support for Hitler’s government (Anti-Semitism is America). It is reasonable to infer Jewish communities in Great Britain and the United States did not organize massive public demonstrations against the Nazis because of the threat of potential anti-Jewish …show more content…
Our U.S. government did not release news of the murder of Jews in death camps until four months after it had received the official reports. When the information was released, press coverage of them was limited mainly to the Jewish press, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Only a short time after the “Final Solution” was implemented, reports about the mass murder of the Jews began to get around. This information was leaked in the fall of 1942, but the U.S. did not condemn these killings until December of 1942 (What Did America Know). The American press reported very little about the mass murders, but when they would it was buried in the inner pages of newspapers. Jewish newspapers and the New York Times reported on the killings fairly extensively. Radio coverage was limited as well. Most reports on air avoided mentioning “Jews” specifically as the primary victims of the genocide. For these reasons, it is difficult to know how any Americans were truly aware of the Holocaust and what the Nazis were up to. It is even more difficult to discern to what extent
In the United States, anti-Jewish prejudice took a variety of forms. Some, like exclusion from “high society” functions, clubs, and organizations, and quota systems to schools or places of employment, were directed at all minorities, including the Jews. Prejudice against Jewish religion also existed in America but did not threaten Jewish survival as much as did the spread of “Jewish conspiracy theories.” These theories often accused Jews of instigating communist revolutions, controlling and operating banks, and forcing economic strain on business, professional, and political life (Anti-Semitism in America). These conspiracy theories formed the backbone of Nazi anti-Jewish propaganda. Powerful pro-Nazi support groups in the United States and Great Britain published Jewish conspiracy material. Some members of these groups were actually German nationals sent to the U.S. and Britain by Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda to generate support for Hitler’s government (Anti-Semitism is America). It is reasonable to infer Jewish communities in Great Britain and the United States did not organize massive public demonstrations against the Nazis because of the threat of potential anti-Jewish …show more content…
Our U.S. government did not release news of the murder of Jews in death camps until four months after it had received the official reports. When the information was released, press coverage of them was limited mainly to the Jewish press, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Only a short time after the “Final Solution” was implemented, reports about the mass murder of the Jews began to get around. This information was leaked in the fall of 1942, but the U.S. did not condemn these killings until December of 1942 (What Did America Know). The American press reported very little about the mass murders, but when they would it was buried in the inner pages of newspapers. Jewish newspapers and the New York Times reported on the killings fairly extensively. Radio coverage was limited as well. Most reports on air avoided mentioning “Jews” specifically as the primary victims of the genocide. For these reasons, it is difficult to know how any Americans were truly aware of the Holocaust and what the Nazis were up to. It is even more difficult to discern to what extent