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U.S Knowledge of The Holocaust and Response. ‘ umar siddiqui. American Attitudes Toward Jews. Amongst Americans there were negative attitudes towards Jews. Various propaganda was used to negatively portray them. Some examples are: -accusing Jews as being Communists
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U.S Knowledge of The Holocaust and Response ‘umar siddiqui
American Attitudes Toward Jews • Amongst Americans there were negative attitudes towards Jews. Various propaganda was used to negatively portray them. Some examples are: -accusing Jews as being Communists -calling for boycotts of Jewish goods -claiming Jews deceived Americans in World War I1 • The usage of such propaganda to try and convince America not to help the Jews showed how it was known that they were beginning to be persecuted
Awareness of The Holocaust • American press had written about anti-Semitic actions by Nazis as far back as 1933.1 • Kristallnact and Hitler’s announcement that another world war would eliminate the Jews had made front-page news in various American papers.1 • After the front-page coverage of those two events, material on the Holocaust was still published, but was often given less attention. The New York Times wrote about Chelmno but put it on page six, which greatly undermined the severity of the situation.1
U.S. Immigration Policies • Still dealing with difficult economic conditions from the Great Depression, various measures were taken to try and reduce immigration into the U.S.1 • Despite such measures, about half of all immigrants in the late 1930s and early 1940s were Jews.1 • Jewish immigration rates became much lower after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, which was also when the concentration camps started to run full-swing.1
Responses • Following the desires of isolationists, president Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered millions of dollars worth of military supplies be sent to Britain in the fight against the Nazis in 1940. • After years of neglectful news coverage of the Holocaust, enough information was finally released to the public for pressure to be put on the U.S. government to take action then simply sending over supplies.2 • American and British authorities met in Bermuda on April 19, 1943 to discuss measures for refugees. Not much was accomplished from the meeting.2
Responses • On January 22, 1944 Roosevelt ordered a war refugee board be established. Funded by the departments of state, treasury, and war, the board set up a refugee center in Oswego, New York.2 • The board also helped diplomats Raoul Wallenberg and Charles Lutz stop thousands of Jews from being deported.2 • America’s response to the Holocaust was too late; by the time the board began to function millions of people had been killed by Nazis.2
Works Cited • "THE UNITED STATES AND THE HOLOCAUST." Http://www.ushmm.org. N.p.,n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.<http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005182>. • "THE UNITED STATES AND THE HOLOCAUST: RESCUE ATTEMPTS." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10008040>.