Tuesday, December 4, 2012

PERIOD 4 - AMERICA AND THE HOLOCAUST

Complex social and political factors shaped America's response to the Holocaust, from Kristallnacht in 1938 through the liberation of the death camps in 1945. For a short time, the U.S. had an opportunity to open its doors, but instead erected a "paper wall," a bureaucratic maze that prevented all but a few Jewish refugees from entering the country. When do you think the government should have become involved in helping the Jews and what should it have done? What were the factors that prevented the government from helping Jewish refugees enter the country?




25 comments:

Kevin Van Dam said...

I had no idea of the anti-semitism that was present in the United States before we entered WWII. I never imagined we would've put immigration limits only to block the entrance of jews into our country

Jessica Boucher said...

I think that the United States should have begun to let Jews into the country immediately after they discovered that Nazi Germany was trying to exterminate them. Some factors that prevented the United States from letting the Jews in included the war that had just happened. Becasue World War I had just taken place, the United States were very cautios about steipping on the toes of other nations. They also wanted to focus more on the interests of their own nation and people rather than those of other nations.

Jack Bernatchez said...

I think that the American government should have got involved immediately with helping the Jews when they found out about what was happening over-seas. All they had to do really was take down the "paper wall" that was up, so that at least the refugees trying to flee Germany could be free and safe. Anti-semitism and hatred for immigrants among working-class Americans was still prevalent, but considering the situation, our government should still have opened their doors a little wider. The refugees had to wait years to be even considered for deportation to America, years that they didn't have.

Jill Gardner said...

The United States government should have allowed more Jews into the country. Having restrictions on the amount allowed in wasn’t helpful to many Jews. The U.S. could have allowed more people in, saving a lot more lives. This film made me aware of the anti-Semitism in the U.S.

Dhayna Fajardo said...

I think the government should have started helping out since the beginning because the jews tried to ask for help as soon as they knew what was going on. I think the reason that the government didnt let the Jews come to the united states was because of the jobs situations. I know like times now, the immigrants are being denied into the country because we are taking up all the jobs. I think the right thing to do was just to take them into the united states to protect them.

Ryan Baxendale said...

I had never heard or seen theway that the US treated the jews before entering the war. I always thought that the US did everything possible to help out the jews. My opinion of this was changed when the watched the movie "America and the Holocaust". I was stunned how America did not allow Jewish Refugees into the country, besides just a few of them. I think that the government should have allowed all Jewish refugees to seek safety in the US.

Katie Priest said...

I think the United States should have become involved in helping the Jews as soon as they caught wind that they were being persecuted, and more importantly violence was being used against them. The government should have let more Jewish immigrants into the country because many of the European Jews looked at America as a safe haven and tried to immigrate. If they let thousands of English refugees come in, The Jewish people should have been allowed to as well because they were in the most danger out of all groups of people. The thing that prevented the government from helping Jewish refugees was the rising anti-semitism in the country. Some people in America believed similarly to what the Germans did, although we were not killing them off. Still, they did not want more Jewish people in the country because they believed that they were dirty and trying to take the jobs of "real Americans".

Stacy Ferraro said...

I believe that the government should have begun to help the Jews as soon as they realized that the Nazis in Germany wanted them gone for good. I believe that they did not try to help due to their own problems involoving the nation, focusing on that instead of getting involved in the business of other Country's problems. No matter what the excuse was, the =y should have done something to help as soon as they could to save as many peoples lives as possible.

Annie King said...

I am very surprised at the American Government for casting the Jews aside when they needed to find rescue and security. I think the U.S should have opened its doors immediately when the Jews started to be persecuted. The harsh immigration laws were uneccesary and harsh. These laws should have been much more leinant. What the government should have done was let Jewish families in the country if they are all able to get jobs and find ways to contribute to the well-being of the American society. The factors that prevented government from heping Jewish refugees enter the country were, the anti-semistic views of Americans and the fear of American jobs being taken over by the Jews.

Kevin Doherty Period 4 said...

The government should have come involved years before it did. To esentially shut out the Jews when they are being slayed and not do anything when it is practically to late is not right. To the governments point they couldn't let every Jew in to the country because the country would become over crowded and there would be to much unemployment which would cause the USA to fall. I personally thought we as a country should have let more Jews in but we couldn't let them all in.

Gillian Robertson said...

I think that the government should have started helping the Jews when word of what was going on in Germany became known. I think the goverment should have allowed Jewish families to come into America without paperwork. The factors that prevented the government from helping was the some people thought negative things about the jews and were afraid of what would happen if they allowed jews to come in. Many people thought that the jews would take jobs from them.

Sean Corcoran said...

I think the government should have became involved first when the Nazi's started to act against the Jews. More impotantly though they should have taken action when they actually start to kill off the Jews. A main reson why they didnt was the power of the Nazi's. One factor why they didnt help the refugees was because they had seen what Hitler had done to other countries and they way him and the Nazi's treated other groups of people. They just didnt want to get involved so they shyed away from the facts and acted like they didnt realize what was happening to the Jewish people.

Sara Krane said...

In my opinion, the government took far too long to intervene in this situation. Any government official that had knowledge of the Holocaust and what was going on with the Jews in Germany should have alerted the president or anyone that could have been beneficial to the people being killed. The factors that prevented the American government from allowing Jewish refugees were that they could potentially take American jobs, bring disease into the country, or even worse, it could be the beginning of a war between the United States and Germany since Hitler did not want the Jews to leave the country.

Nicole Noble said...

I found it extremely interesting that the United States was so aware of what was goinbg on in Germany and they did nothing to prevent it. Infact they didnt even help the jews because they didnt allow them to immigrate to the U.S. I founD that very supprising I was truely shocked that that would have happened. Another thing that truly shocked me that people were following the Nazi party in the U.S.

Max Herman said...

I don’t exactly see the reasoning for why the United States made it so difficult for Jews to immigrate into the country. I know that America wasn’t fully aware of what was happening to the Jews in Europe and there is no way that they could have helped the victims of the Nazi’s. I believe that as soon as the US government was aware of what was happening they should have intervened either by sending troops to Europe or by completely opening the gates from Europe in order to allow refuges to escape the Nazi’s.

Matt LaMountain said...

I think that the United States should have let the Jews enter the country when they began to hear about the concentration and labor camps. However, the U.S. was more reluctant to letting this happen due to several factors. World War I and the Great Depression had recently occured and the United States was more focused on its own issues and interests at that time.

Jack Curtis said...

I think that the government should have acted much quicker to the rescue of the Jews. I think we should have let Jews into the country and put blocks on immagrants from other countries. I think the government didn't act quick enough because their was so much anti-semitism in our country. At that time most of the Country was Prodestant and also their was alot of racism at this point in time.

Unknown said...

I believe the government should have become involved much earlier; however, we must not forget that much of america was indeed anti-semetic. I think the government had to be careful because they had just come out of a great depression and the last thing the people and country needed was a war. Also, I think the german extermination process was very gradual, which made it hard for the U.S government. I think most of the blame should have been put the United states people for not pushing to go in quicker

saffanah zaini said...

I was shocked to know that there was so sort od a nazi extention in the U.S. yet glad that it couldn't hurt the jews. I didnt know that there was antisematisim in the United states as well, I knew that there were problems with race, but with jews? no I didn't know.

Sophie Weidhaas said...

I think that the United States government should have helped out the Jews from the very beginning and also should have allowed more Jewish immigrants into the country to begin with. "America and the Holocaust" showed the anti-semitism that was taking place in the US, and I was unaware that the government was so restrictive on immigration during this time.

Anthony Phillips said...

The government should have become involved in helping the jews when they found out what the Germans were doing to them. They should have allowed more jews to come into the country. One huge factor that prevented the U.S. from allowing all of the jews into the country was the fact that we were anti semitic although not to the same degree as the germans.

yovani gomez said...

yovani
they dint help anough the jaws ,after they help them ,,but the americans they think ,they came to still they job of them. they came to USA like imigrants...

Alaa Alnaal said...

I think the US shouldve open their doors to the refugees because they knew what was going on in Germany, and what they were doing the the Jewish people so it wouldve been righ to take them in because sending them back right when they got to America is practically sending them to their death.

Joanthan Omeler P4 said...

I think that the Jews should have been let into the U.S. i think that if they helped and protected the Jews that their relationship with the allies would be a lot stronger. Its hard to believe that even the americans were doing what hitler was doing and the Nazis parades were also going on in the U.S. but at least it has gone down a little in the present U.S.

carolyn monette said...

i was absent.