Ken Burns Tackles American inaction during Holocaust

Post Reply New Topic

The U.S. and the Holocaust is a three-part, six-hour series that tells the story of how the American people grappled with one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century, and how this struggle tested the ideals of our democracy. By examining the periods leading up to and during the Holocaust with fresh eyes, this film dispels competing myths that Americans either were ignorant of the unspeakable persecution that Jews faced in Europe, or that they looked on with callous indifference. It also takes a candid look at the roles that eugenics and racism, as well as xenophobia and antisemitism, played during this crisis and throughout American history. In the process, it grapples with questions that remain essential to our society today: Is America, truly, as it claims to be, a land of immigrants? Why did we fail to rescue a people at the time of their greatest need? How do the continued struggles over how we define our past shape our future as a country?

The U.S. and the Holocaust is directed by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick & Sarah Botstein, telescript by Geoffrey C. Ward and produced by Burns, Novick, Botstein & Mike Welt. Its initial broadcast is scheduled for September 18-20, 2022. (6 hours)

When you look back on history is there really any country out there that's not guilty of xenophobia, genocide, or slavery? Every time I see people complain about how bigoted and evil the US supposedly is I think they're calling the kettle black.

So far what I've heard is other countries are just as bad or worse so let's ignore history.

Ken Burns's series about historical world events are self admittedly completely American-centric.

The subject is not just some trivial historical moment. It has similarities to current American events.

Here is the thing. If there was at least one country that were to let the Jews in, they would have been saved from the holocaust.

If you want to make it focus on the US, fine, here is how I would break it down:

a) Even if US didn't let the Jews in, there were billions of other countries that could have let them in. They didn't. So you can't make it as solely US fault.

b) Even if the rest of the world decided not to let the Jews in, US could have saved them but they didn't. So that aspect is where its US fault.

Now, replace US with any other country (such as Sweden or Norway) and copy "a" and "b".

On a different note: it is silly to focus on US the discussion of antisemitism, given that US is the closest ally Israel has.

Trujillo was happy to take in Jews. He was happy because he wanted the know how of European Jews to build up his third world country. But motives aside...he was willing.

By the way, America is not the richest country in the world either. Euro is more expensive than a dollar. Yet America surely likes to draw attention to itself as such.

This page was created by Lauren Freeman, about the prevalence of antisemitism in the United States during the Holocaust. Much of the following information was drawn from David Wyman’s book The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 1941-1945(1984; Wikipedia book page).

A Prevalent Attitude
During the Holocaust, antisemitism was a factor that limited American Jewish action during the war, and put American Jews in a difficult position. It is clear that antisemitism was a prevalent attitude in the US, which was especially convenient for America during the Holocaust. In the United States, antisemitism, which reached high levels in the late 1930s, continued to rise in the 1940s. During the years before Pearl Harbor, over a hundred antisemitic organizations were responsible for pumping hate propaganda throughout the American public. Furthermore, especially in New York City and Boston, young gangs vandalized Jewish cemeteries and synagogues, and attacks on Jewish youngsters were common. Swastikas and anti-Jewish slogans, as well as antisemitic literature were spread.

Passive Anti Semitism
Another type of antisemitism in America during this time was “passive antisemitism.” While many Americans would not physically harm a Jew, they had negative internal feelings towards them. Throughout history, Jews have been continuously looked down upon, and have been used as scapegoats. Therefore, during the Holocaust, “passive antisemitism” meant that these people were already inclined not to care about the Jews in Europe, let alone America’s response to this crisis. Due to this lack of concern, that when America finally did become involved, it was too late.

Antisemitism in Congress & the Military
There was an antisemitic feeling in Congress, as well as in the US Armed Forces. In Congress, antisemitism was a factor explaining the common hostility towards refugee immigration. antisemitism explained Congress’s actions that blocked all likely havens of refuge for the Jews. For example, Congress passed a Visa policy that allowed only a minuscule number of Jews into the US, and supported Britain’s policy that placed tight limits on refugee entry into Palestine. Representative John Rankin, an example of a blatant antisemite in Congress, frequently and verbally lashed out at the Jews. Clearly, if such a high up representative of the American public spoke out viciously against the Jews, there was an evident problem within the American government. In the military, many high up officers used words such as “kikes,” and openly joked about antisemitic stereotypes. Furthermore, Jewish officers expressed frustration over the antisemitic attitudes in the upper ranks.

Public Opinion
Antisemitism in the United States was also proven in national public opinion polls taken from the mid nineteen thirties to the late nineteen forties. The results showed that over half the American population saw Jews as greedy and dishonest. This is a frightening proportion. These polls also found that many Americans believed that Jews were too powerful in the United States. Similar polls were also taken, one of which posed that 35-40 percent of the population was prepared to accept an anti-Jewish campaign. In conclusion, antisemitism was seriously widespread in the U.S, in turn preventing Americans from wanting to help the Jews in Europe.

In Conclusion
If the American public and even worse, its government, looked down upon the Jews within their own country, why would they care about aiding Jews in Europe?