America and the Holocaust

Rafael Medoff is founding director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and the coeditor of the institute’s online Encyclopedia of America’s Response to the Holocaust. He has written more than twenty books about American Jewish history, the Holocaust, and related topics, including The Jews Should Keep Quiet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust (JPS, 2019).

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Responses to Hitler’s RiseAmerica Hopes for a Restrained HitlerDocument 1.1 “Just in Case He Goosesteps Too Much!”Dorothy Thompson Reports from GermanyDocument 1.2 “Starve, Humiliate, Degrade the Jew; In Every Walk, Trade Profession, Nazi Pressure in Law and Slogan”The New York Times Interviews HitlerDocument 1.3 “Hitler Seeks Jobs for All Germans”Boycotting German GoodsDocument 1.4 “No Trading with Germany”Hitler on Trial at Madison Square GardenDocument 1.5 Hitler on Trial-Resolution and VerdictFurther Reading2. The American MoodAntisemitism in CongressDocument 2.1 Congressman John Rankin’s Remarks before the House“Racial Science” SpreadsDocument 2.2 The Passing of the Great RaceFather Coughlin and Hate RadioDocument 2.3 Father Coughlin’s Radio Address Concerning KristallnachtAntisemitic Attitudes among the PublicDocument 2.4 Polls by Roper (1938) and Opinion Research (1940) on Antisemitic AttitudesAntisemitism in the State DepartmentDocument 2.5 Antisemitic Remarks by State Department OfficialsFurther Reading3. Doing Business with HitlerU.S. Participation in the Nazi OlympicsDocument 3.1 “To the Sport-Loving Public of the United States”Apologizing to HitlerDocument 3.2 Secretary of State Apologizes to HitlerA Cabinet Member Participates in a Pro-Nazi RallyDocument 3.3 “‘Heil Hitler’ Resounds as Steuben Society Denounces Boycott, Acclaims New Germany”Censoring Criticism of HitlerDocument 3.4 FDR Objects to Secretary of the Interior’s Criticism of HitlerFDR Urges “Quarantining” of Aggressor NationsDocument 3.5 “FDR’s Quarantine Speech”Further Reading4. The Universities and the NazisNazi Ambassador Speaks at ColumbiaDocument 4.1 “Luther Calls Hitler Critics ‘Old-Timers’”Nazi Official Visits HarvardDocument 4.2 “Render unto Caesar”A Nazi University CelebratesDocument 4.3 “Heidelberg”American Students in Nazi GermanyDocument 4.4 “Germany Discussed by One Who Spent Junior Year There”Abandoning Refugee ScholarsDocument 4.5 Hamilton College President’s Letter Regarding Hiring Refugee ScholarsFurther Reading5. U.S. Immigration PolicyImmigration StatisticsDocument 5.1 “Annual Quotas and Quota Immigrants Admitted, Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 1925 to 1944, by Countries”When Anne Frank Tried to Come to AmericaDocument 5.2 Anne Frank’s Father Asks American Industrialist to Help the Frank Family Immigrate“Postpone and Postpone and Postpone” Document 5.3 The Assistant Secretary of State on Ways to Obstruct ImmigrationThe “Close Relatives” RuleDocument 5.4 U.S. Immigration Regulation Regarding Applicants Leaving “Close Relatives” BehindAlbert Einstein’s Plea to the First LadyDocument 5.5 Albert Einstein Asks the First Lady to Oppose New Immigration RestrictionsFurther Reading6. Searching for a HavenJames McDonald Resigns in ProtestDocument 6.1 Resignation of the High Commissioner for Refugees Coming from GermanyEyewitness to HorrorDocument 6.2 “Jews Humiliated by Vienna Crowds”The Evian ConferenceDocument 6.3 Refugee Problem Announcement in Preparation for the Evian ConferenceSuicide of a Jewish RefugeeDocument 6.4 “Ends Life to Escape Return to Germany”FDR Responds to KristallnachtDocument 6.5 President Roosevelt’s Statement Concerning the Kristallnacht PogromFurther Reading7. The Doomed Journey of the St. LouisOffer of Haven in the Virgin IslandsDocument 7.1 “Virgin Islands Too Offer Haven for Oppressed Jews”A Child Appeals to the First LadyDocument 7.2 Eleven-Year-Old Beseeches the First Lady to Accept the RefugeesSt. Louis Passengers Appeal to the White HouseDocument 7.3 St. Louis Captain’s Log Record of Passengers’ Telegram to the White HouseSecretaries of State and Treasury Discuss the St. LouisDocument 7.4 Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury Confer on the St. Louis“The Saddest Ship Afloat” Document 7.5 “Refugee Ship”Further Reading8. The Wagner-Rogers Bill to Save ChildrenThe Wagner-Rogers BillDocument 8.1 Text of the Wagner-Rogers Bill (H.R.J. Res. 165 and 168)“20,000 Ugly Adults” Document 8.2 Remark by FDR’s Cousin against Wagner-RogersPresident Roosevelt’s PositionDocument 8.3 FDR’s “File No Action” Note on Wagner-RogersHelen Hayes Testifies for Admitting ChildrenDocument 8.4 “First Lady of the American Theater” Testifies for Admitting German Refugee ChildrenAgnes Waters Testifies against Admitting ChildrenDocument 8.5 “Mother Witness” Testifies against Admitting German Refugee ChildrenFurther Reading9. American RescuersThe State Department Rebuffs Varian FryDocument 9.1 “You Should Inform Dr. Bohn and Mr. Fry”The Krauses Rescue Fifty Children from Germany and AustriaDocument 9.2 Erika Tamar’s Passport to AmericaThe Sharps’ Rescue Mission in CzechoslovakiaDocument 9.3 Martha Sharp’s Recollections about Rescue Work in CzechoslovakiaLois Gunden Shelters Children in Vichy FranceDocument 9.4 Recollections of Hiding French Jewish Children from the NazisRoddie Edmonds Shields Jewish GIs from the NazisDocument 9.5 Testimony Regarding Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds’s BraveryFurther Reading10. Genocide ConfirmedThe Bund ReportDocument 10.1 “Report of the Bund Regarding the Persecution of the Jews-May 1942”The Riegner TelegramDocument 10.2 Gerhart Riegner’s Telegram Revealing the Nazis’ Annihilation PlanThe Sternbuch TelegramDocument 10.3 The Sternbuch Telegram Revealing Additional Details of the Mass MurderThe Allies’ DeclarationDocument 10.4 “German Policy of Extermination of the Jewish Race”Jan Karski Reports to President RooseveltDocument 10.5 A Polish Underground Courier’s 1943 Conversation with President RooseveltFurther Reading11. All the News the Media Could FitThe New York Times on Babi YarDocument 11.1 Two Reporters’ Contrasting Accounts of the Babi Yar Massacre and WhyThe Media and the Allies’ DeclarationDocument 11.2 U.S. News Media’s Coverage of the Allies’ Declaration on the Mass MurderThe Media and the Deportations from HungaryDocument 11.3 “Jews in Hungary Fear Annihilation”The Nation Urges RescueDocument 11.4 “While the Jews Die”I. F. Stone InvestigatesDocument 11.5 “Justice Department Immigration Figures Knock Long Story into Cocked Hat”Further Reading12. American Christian ResponsesRabbi Wise Pleads with Christian ClergyDocument 12.1 Meeting of Rabbi Wise and Christian Clergy, 1933The U.S. Catholic Press on KristallnachtDocument 12.2 “Nazi Atrocities and the American War Fever: Are We Preparing for War with Germany?”Christian Century Doubts the HolocaustDocument 12.3 “Horror Stories from Poland,” “From Rabbi Wise,” “From the Editors”Jewish and Christian Students Speak OutDocument 12.4 “On Implementing Brotherhood”A Baptist Farmer’s GestureDocument 12.5 “Farmer Rogers, His Brother’s Keeper”Further Reading13. American Jewish ResponsesThe President and the RabbiDocument 13.1 Rabbi Wise’s Student Questions His Relationship with FDRJewish Leaders Appeal to the PresidentDocument 13.2 “Report on the Visit to the President”Jewish Congressmen Meet with the PresidentDocument 13.3 “Minutes of Dinner Meeting on Wednesday Evening March 22nd at the Statler Hotel”“If They Were Slaughtering Horses” Document 13.4 “Confidential Memorandum of Rabbi Meyer Berlin”Jewish Leaders Discuss StrategyDocument 13.5 Meeting of Jewish Leaders Concerning Rescue AdvocacyFurther Reading14. The Bermuda ConferenceA Jewish Proposal for BermudaDocument 14.1 “The Following Proposals Are Respectfully Submitted”Announcement at the End of the ConferenceDocument 14.2 “Report of the Bermuda Meeting on the Refugee Problem”Congressman Emanuel Celler’s ResponseDocument 14.3 Response to BermudaA Jewish Leader’s ResponseDocument 14.4 “The Mockery at Bermuda”“An Appeal to the Conscience of the World” Document 14.5 “I am taking the liberty of addressing to you, Sirs, these my last words”Further Reading15. Obstacles to RescueCongressional SympathyDocument 15.1 Text of the Barkley Resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 9)A Cartoonist Challenges the State DepartmentDocument 15.2 “Refer to Committee 3, Investigation Subcommittee 6, Section 8B, for Consideration”FDR on “Rescue through Victory” Document 15.3 “Speech of the Honorable A. A. Berle Jr.”The Allies’ Declaration in MoscowDocument 15.4 “Declaration of the Four Nations on General Security”Empty Ships for RefugeesDocument 15.5 “Shipping for Refugees”Further Reading16. The Campaign for RescueThe Bergson Group’s “Race against Death” Document 16.1 “This Is a Race against Death”The Rabbis’ Petition to FDRDocument 16.2 “In the Name of God, Creator of the Universe”Congressional Resolution on RescueDocument 16.3 Text of the Gillette-Rogers Resolution (H. Res. 352)Breckinridge Long’s TestimonyDocument 16.4 “Statement of Hon. Breckinridge Long, Assistant Secretary of State”Exposing the State DepartmentDocument 16.5 “Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews”Further Reading17. Zionism and the HolocaustThe White PaperDocument 17.1 “Palestine Statement of Policy Presented by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Parliament by Command of His Majesty” (White Paper)A Christian Zionist Speaks OutDocument 17.2 “The Fifth Freedom”Proposed Anglo-American StatementDocument 17.3 “Statement for Issuance by the Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom Regarding Palestine”1944 Republican and Democratic Party PlatformsDocument 17.4 Republican Party Platform of 1944 and Democratic Party Platform of 1944FDR’s 1944 Statement on ZionismDocument 17.5 Proposals and Revisions of President Roosevelt’s October 1944 Statement Regarding PalestineFurther Reading18. The War Refugee BoardCreation of the War Refugee BoardDocument 18.1 “Executive Order No. 9417 Establishing a War Refugee Board”A Presidential WarningDocument 18.2 Proposals and Revisions of President Roosevelt’s March 24, 1944, Statement Regarding Nazi CollaboratorsA Surprising PollDocument 18.3 Gallup Poll Findings Concerning Temporary Admission of RefugeesRescuing Romanian JewsDocument 18.4 Life Line to a Promised LandRaoul Wallenberg’s MissionDocument 18.5 With Wallenberg in BudapestFurther Reading19. Bombing AuschwitzThe Auschwitz Escapees’ ReportDocument 19.1 “The Extermination Camps of Auschwitz (Oswiecim) and Birkenau in     Upper Silesia”A Plea to Bomb the RailwaysDocument 19.2 Diary of Jacob RosenheimA Plea to Bomb the Gas ChambersDocument 19.3 World Jewish Congress Official Urges Assistant Secretary of War to Bomb Gas Chambers at Auschwitz and Nearby RailwaysThe War Department’s Rejection LetterDocument 19.4 Assistant Secretary of War Rejects Proposal to Bomb Railways to AuschwitzA Public Appeal for BombingDocument 19.5 “Last Chance for Rescue”Further Reading20. LiberationA GI Encounters the HolocaustDocument 20.1 Liberation of DachauEisenhower Urges Media to See the CampsDocument 20.2 Call for Prominent Witnesses to “Conditions of Indescribable Horror”Marlon Brando, Holocaust WitnessDocument 20.3 A Flag Is Born PlayAn American Chaplain in BuchenwaldDocument 20.4 An American Chaplain Encounters Survivors in BuchenwaldThe Harrison ReportDocument 20.5 “Report of Earl G. Harrison”State of the FieldNotesBibliographyIndex

"Well written and well argued, Medoff’s indictment makes for a compelling read."-GaËlle Fisher, American Jewish Archives Journal  "This work is much more than a documentary history. Rafael Medoff, one of the foremost authorities on American responses to the Holocaust, presents an excellent overview of the subject, drawing on cutting-edge scholarship in the field and providing an in-depth analysis of primary sources. Medoff addresses a wide array of convergent issues. Readers at all levels-scholars of the Holocaust, as well as university and high school students encountering this material for the first time-will find much of value on the Holocaust, the Roosevelt administration, World War II, and antisemitism."-Stephen H. Norwood, Holocaust and Genocide Studies "The division of the Medoff book into 20 chapters makes it an ideal choice for a semester-long high school, college or adult-education class on the Holocaust."-Greater Houston Jewish News "Medoff's documentary history is a valuable source for all readers seeking reference material on the Holocaust tragedy."-C. C. Lovett, Choice “This is an important and long-overdue book-exactly the material students need to understand this crucial chapter in American history and inform them as they consider issues related to genocide in our own time.”-Bat-Ami Zucker, professor of American history at Bar Ilan University “Replacing slogans with facts, uninformed opinions with information, and hyperbole with solid historical documents, this documentary history will go a long way toward helping students and interested lay readers become better informed about the relationship between America and the Holocaust.”-Alan Berger, Raddock Family Eminent Scholar Chair in Holocaust Studies, Florida Atlantic University “Highly impressive. This expertly constructed documentary history is a major contribution to understanding America’s response to the Holocaust.”-Steven T. Katz, Slater Chair in Jewish Holocaust Studies, Boston University “Provides a vital context by which to approach the American response to the Holocaust. America and the Holocaust will be of direct benefit to educators and students engaged in Holocaust Studies, U.S. immigration history, the history of Jews in the United States, and those undertaking studies of human rights in the twentieth century.”-Paul Bartrop, former professor and director, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Research, Florida Gulf Coast University “America and the Holocaust is a must for anyone, but especially students and educators, who wish to learn how the U.S. responded to the growing avalanche of anti-Jewish measures culminating in the horrific extermination of millions of European Jews. Appropriate documents highlight the topics under discussion. Rafael Medoff’s well-written book will apprise the reader of everything one needs to know on the response or lack of response of American officialdom and public figures to the danger posed by Nazi Germany, not only to the Jews, who constituted the principal target, but to civilization as a whole.”-Mordecai Paldiel, former director, Department of the Righteous, Yad Vashem