Chapter 24: Debating the United States’ Response to the Holocaust

How do these authors assess the morality of the response to the Holocaust from both the U.S. government and President Roosevelt? Match the authors to the best description.

David S. Wyman: It is a moral failure that the United States, led by President Roosevelt, had the knowledge and power to save Jews from the Holocaust and it did not. Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman: The Holocaust is incredibly tragic, but the fault lies with Nazi Germany, not the United States. President Roosevelt took steps within his power, however limited, to help the Jews, but his ultimate focus remained defeating Hitler.

Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman's central argument in FDR and the Jews is that, when viewed in his historical context, President Roosevelt is neither the rescuer of Jews nor is he an indifferent bystander. Select the passages where the authors make these claims.

For most of his presidency Roosevelt did little to aid the imperiled Jews of Germany and Europe. He put other policy priorities well ahead of saving Jews and deferred to fears of an anti-Semitic backlash at home. Still, at times Roosevelt acted decisively to rescue Jews, often withstanding contrary pressures from the American public, Congress, and his own State Department. Oddly enough, he did more for the Jews than any other world figure, even if his efforts seem deficient in retrospect.

In the secondary source FDR and the Jews, Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman make the claim that, "... at times Roosevelt acted decisively to rescue Jews, often withstanding contrary pressures from the American public, Congress, and his own State Department. Oddly enough, he did more for the Jews than any other world figure, even if his efforts seem deficient in retrospect." Which of the following primary sources provides the most useful evidence in supporting this argument? Order the sources from most useful to least useful.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The Blackest Crimes of All History" (1944) U.S. State Department's Efforts to Rescue European Jews, Memorandum (1944) Representatives of the Jewish Community of the United States, "Letter to the President" (1942)

Based on the evidence provided in the video, which of the following statements accurately capture the United States' response to the outbreak of war in Europe and Asia?

Nazi aggression in Europe and Japanese expansion in the Pacific convinced FDR that a global war existed and that the United States needed to confront it. The fall of France in 1940 and the threat of a Nazi invasion of Great Britain prompted FDR to push for support efforts that would provide supplies and weapons to its allies fighting against Germany.

Match each primary source to the statement that describes what the source reveals about FDR and the Holocaust.

Representatives of the Jewish Community of the United States, "Letter to the President": By 1942, the American public knew that the Nazis were already systematically murdering Europe's Jewish population. Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The Blackest Crimes of All History": FDR made a public statement strongly condemning Nazi atrocities toward the Jews and vowing to hold anyone involved accountable. U.S. Department of State, Response to the British Embassy on Assisting Jewish Refugees: The Roosevelt administration's actions in response to the Holocaust were bound by laws created by the legislative branch.

In the following primary source excerpt, select the passages that could be used to support David Wyman's claim that, "The American State Department . . . had no intention of rescuing large numbers of European Jews.... Consequently, their policies aimed at obstructing rescue possibilities and dampening public pressures for government action."

Secretary Morgenthau advised the President that he was deeply disturbed about the failure of the State Department to take any effective action to save the remaining Jews in Europe. the Treasury Department . . . had uncovered evidence indicating that not only were the people in the State Department inefficient in dealing with this problem, but that they were actually taking action to prevent the rescue of the Jews The Secretary told Mr. Stettinius in plain words that he was convinced that people in the State Department, particularly Breckinridge Long, were deliberately obstructing the execution of any plan to save the Jews

Match each primary source to the statement that describes what the source reveals about FDR and the Holocaust.

Secretary of State and the President's Correspondence, Abstract: In response to plans for mitigating the Jewish refugee crisis, FDR committed to limited financial support for refugee movements outside of the United States. U.S. War Department to Treasury Department, "On Bombing Death Camp Railways": The administration opposed an effort to destroy the railroads leading to Nazi death camps, arguing that doing so would divert important resources from the war effort. U.S. State Department's Efforts to Rescue European Jews, Memorandum: Members of FDR's administration were standing in the way of decisive action to save Jews in Europe.

In the passage from The Abandonment of the Jews, David Wyman highlights which of the following ways that President Roosevelt's administration abandoned European Jews?

The FDR administration was more concerned about the impact of bringing in Jewish refugees than it was about the dangers Jews faced in Europe. The FDR administration was aware of Jewish extermination efforts for more than a year before finally acting to form a War Refugee Board. Even knowing that Auschwitz was a major Nazi center for killing Jews, the FDR administration declined to destroy it.

In the following primary source excerpt, select the passage that best supports Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman's claim that "Even if FDR had been more willing to override domestic opposition and twist arms abroad, he could not have stopped the Nazis' mass murder of some six million Jews.... For America and Britain, the rescue of Jews, even if practical, was ultimately subordinate to the overriding priorities of total war and unconditional surrender of the enemy."

The War Department is of the opinion that the suggested air operation is impracticable. It could be executed only by the diversion of considerable air support essential to the success of our forces now engaged in decisive operations and would in any case be of such very doubtful efficacy that it would not amount to a practical project

Think about the role President Roosevelt and his administration played in formulating U.S. policy toward the Holocaust. Which of the following statements can be supported by evidence in the primary source documents you read?

The president was willing to acknowledge that what was happening to Jews in Europe was terrible, but his most decisive public response was to issue an official statement of condemnation. Roosevelt believed that something effective should be done to help the Jews of Europe, such as accepting refugees, but he felt his power to do so was limited by immigration laws.

Which of the following primary sources include evidence that could be used to support the claims made in both Wyman's and Breitman and Lichtman's secondary sources?

U.S. Department of State, Response to the British Embassy on Assisting Jewish Refugees (1943) U.S. State Department's Efforts to Rescue European Jews, Memorandum (1944)

In the secondary source The Abandonment of the Jews, author David Wyman makes the claim that, "President Roosevelt did nothing about the mass murder for fourteen months, then moved only because he was confronted with political pressures he could not avoid and because his administration stood on the brink of a nasty scandal over its rescue policies." Which of the following primary sources would be most useful to Wyman in supporting this argument?

U.S. State Department's Efforts to Rescue European Jews, Memorandum (1944)

Based on the passages you read, do you find the authors' arguments contradictory or complementary? Determine whether each of the following arguments are found in one excerpt, both excerpts, or neither.

both excerpts: FDR could have done more to combat the mass murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust, but he failed to do so. Wyman's excerpt only: Roosevelt's administration was not merely indifferent to the plight of Jews in Europe; it actively hampered and obstructed possible rescue efforts. Breitman and Lichtman's excerpt only: While FDR's record toward Jews during World War II leaves much to be desired, he did what he could given the limitations of his presidency amid a total war. neither excerpt: If Roosevelt had ordered the bombing of Auschwitz, he almost certainly could have stopped Hitler from carrying out his "Final Solution."

In the excerpt from The Abandonment of the Jews, select the passages where David Wyman suggests the reasons why the United States chose not to carry out a significant rescue effort of European Jews.

they continually feared that Germany or other Axis nations might release tens of thousands of Jews into Allied hands. Any such exodus would have placed intense pressure on Britain to open Palestine [then under British control] and on the United States to take in more Jewish refugees Strong popular pressure for action would have brought a much fuller government commitment to rescue and would have produced it sooner. Several factors hampered the growth of public pressure. Among them were anti-Semitism and anti-immigration attitudes, both widespread in American society in that era