The American version of the Holocaust is usually intertwined with the impact of immigration policies of that time, the humanitarian crisis and a struggling economy. The American government was at the forefront, together with the Allies, to come up with the Nazi’s solution. Apart from the typical American citizens who were devastated with the human rights abuses, there was a considerate number of the Jewish community that lived in America. They received the news with shock. This paper will canvas, briefly, the knowledge and response of the Americans and Jewish community in American to perhaps in the words of Wilson Churchill the worst and greatest crimes committed against humanity throughout the life of mankind.
The American government war policy did not prioritize the rescuing the European Jewry. From the onset, it was aware of the persecution and the human rights violation in the Nazi controlled Germany but did nothing. The Nazi menace created a lot of difficulties for the United States and its Allies. The relation between the two governments was at their worst. This perhaps heavily influenced the anti-Semitism made at the immigration department. The refugee policy adopted by the United States in the 1930s and 1940s was not only propagated isolationism, but also had a xenophobia character. This can principally be explained by the rusty relationship that the government with Germany. Therefore, despite the worsening situation, the United States congress enacted the Congressional national Origins Act, which sought to limit the number of immigrants accessing the United States to 150,000.
The Jews nationals escaping persecution were denied entry at the on the sea shores despite the fact that they had temporary valid visa to enter the United States. In 1939, a number of Jewish immigrants sought entry to Cuba through port Havana. They had valid visa. However, the Cuban government invalided them and refused them entry. Negotiations were initiated to ensure that they entered the United States. The negotiation failed terribly. After a dozen days spend at Havana and the port of Miami, the United States government forced the refugees back to Europe, where they were being targeted.
The official report about the Nazi’s plan to eliminate all Jews reached the United States in 1942. In December of the same year, the Allies issued a proclamation condemning this plan. They declared their support to the Jewish community and promised to punish the perpetrators. The locations, methods and numbers of the proposed killings were availed to the Allies. When the war began, the United States still maintained its strict immigration policies. The administration believed that the right thing was winning, as fast as possible, the war against the Nazi, rather than allowing the Jews in the United States. However, when the situation worsened that government could not handle the pressure. The president decided to set up an independent agency which would ensure that Jewish nationals are rescued from the Nazis. Unfortunately, the board was established in 1944 and was concerned with helping victims from liberated areas and not those still under enemy territory. The American government failed to bomb the railways lines and the gas chambers. This infuriated the Jewish leaders. However, on their own they did their best to ensure that most of their people were rescued from the Nazis.
The response of the American government with regard to the Holocaust led many scholars and diplomats to question its foreign policy. This historic event demonstrated that the Americans were keen to observe their national interest above everything else. However, the experiences of the Holocaust have been learnt by subsequent administrations. The State of Israel nowadays enjoys a cordial relationship with the United States more than any other country in the world.
Works Cited
Hirsh, Michael. The Liberators: America's Witnesses to the Holocaust. New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2010.
