The  U.S.  Response  to  the  Holocaust  

  Essential  Question:  Why  didn’t  the  United  States  (Congress,  President  Roosevelt,   Jewish-­‐Americans  or  the  American  people  in  general)  do  more  to  save  European  Jews?     United  States   Note:  you  will  need  to  devote  some  time  to   explaining  what  we  mean  by  the  “United  States,”   i.e.  distinguishing  between  the  govt  and  the  people.     Government   People     Diagram  to  draw  on  board:  demonstrates  that   President   Americans  in   Congress   Roosevelt   general   when  we  are  discussing  what  Congress  could  have   done,  that  is  one  thing.  What  the  American  people   Jewish   or  Jewish  Americans  might  have  done  is  another.   Americans  in   particular  

  Purpose  of  Lesson:  to  explore  the  multi-­‐faceted  answer  to  the  question  above.         Note  to  teachers:  This  lesson  was  designed  for  9th  graders  in  a  50  min.  period.  It  is  easily   adaptable  to  7th-­‐12th  graders,  but  some  background  will  be  necessary  prior  to  lesson.   Consider  omitting  some  of  the  more  difficult  cards  for  younger  students.     Basic  Procedure:   In  advance,  make  enough  copies  and  cut  out  cards  for  each  group  of  students.  I’d   recommend  2-­‐5  people  per  group,  with  3  or  4  as  ideal.    Introduce  the  essential  question   to  students  at  the  beginning  of  class.  In  groups,  students  will  read  the  cards  and  then   decide  which  category  they  would  put  the  card.  Most  cards  have  a  best  answer,  but  there   are  other  possibilities.  The  questions  on  the  cards  themselves  are  for  discussion.     Discuss  student  responses,  either  in  groups  or  as  a  whole  class.  Possible  questions:     - In  what  categories  did  students  placed  each  response  (though  probably  not  terribly   necessary  to  discuss  each  card)   - Are  there  other  reasons  or  explanations  you  can  think  of  that  are  not  on  the  cards?   - Do  some  of  these  explanations  resonate  with  you  more  than  others?  In  other  words,  do   you  find  some  of  them  to  be  more  reasonable  explanations  for  why  more  wasn’t  done?   - Which  category(ies)  do  you  find  most  satisfactory  as  an  explanation?   - How  would  you  compare  the  inaction  of  the  U.S.  to  the  indifference  of  the  German   people?  The  rest  of  the  world?  (This  may  be  a  place  for  the  teacher  to  provide   additional  information.) - The  information  from  this  activity  helps  to  explain  why  more  wasn’t  done  to  help  the   Jews  of  Europe.    But  explaining  does  not  justify—do  you  think  any  of  the  groups   discussed  were  justified  in  not  doing  more?  To  what  extent  does  describing  the  lack  of   action  as  unjustifiable  represent  a  presentist  viewpoint?  In  other  words,  we  know  now   what  happened  to  the  Jews  in  Europe  and  how  things  might  have  turned  out  better,  but   no  one  knew  this  during  the  time  period.  This  is  a  crucial  point  of  the  lesson.     Conclusion:  Tie  back  discussion  to  the  essential  question,  making  sure  that  students  are   clear  on  how  the  cards  provide  a  multi-­‐faceted  answer  to  a  complex  question.  A  short   essay  answering  the  question  is  one  possible  assessment  option.   1  

Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

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Card #1 Breckinridge Long, in charge of the visa division in the U.S. State Department, intra-department memo, June 1940 “We can delay and effectively stop for a temporary period of indefinite length the number of immigrants into the United States. We could do this by simply advising our consuls to put every obstacle in the way and to require additional evidence and to resort to various administrative devices which would postpone and postpone and postpone the granting of the visas.”

Card #2 News is event-oriented, not process-oriented: bombing raids, invasions and naval battles are the stuff of news, not the delayed, often hearsay accounts of the wheels of the murder machine marching on…. What does this tell you about why more about the persecution of the Jews was not in the news?

Card #3 Many in Germany feel that Hitler will be out of power soon and this will all blow over. So why would they want to leave what has been their homeland for generations to go to some strange place like Palestine or Argentina or China? (which in the early 1930s were easier places to get to than the U.S. or England) How does this affect saving the Jews?

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

  Card #4 Zionist (Jews in support of creating an independent state of Israel in the Middle East) organizers: “The main issue is whether we place our stress on the present Jewish refugee problem or the eternal Jewish refugee problem.” What does this mean? How would this affect efforts to save the Jews of Europe?

Card #5 In late 1943, there was a growing sense in the U.S. House of Representatives that something should be done about the Jewish refugee crisis. Soon after, a report to FDR from a group under the leadership of Henry Morganthau, Jr. (U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and a Jew) placed clear blame on the U.S. State Department, and stated that the U.S. would be complicit in blame for the extermination of Jews. It was personally delivered to FDR on Jan. 16, 1944. One week later, the War Refugee Board came into being. What role might politics play in this?

Card #6 The U.S. War Refugee Board was headed by Morgenthau as Secretary of the Treasury. Roosevelt also appointed an undersecretary from the State Department and the Secretary of War to the Board. Each agency had equal powers on the Board, thus offering the State and War Departments (whose leaders had opposed the formation of the WRB in the first place) an opportunity to obstruct its work. While the State Department feared a flood of refugees entering the United States, the War Department opposed anything which might hurt the war effort. Thus, resistance from within the U.S. government limited the effectiveness of the WRB.

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

Card #7 A Jewish American recalls, “We knew about what was happening to the Jews of Europe, but we didn’t know about ‘the Holocaust.’ ” What does this person mean? What does this tell you about the difficulties of trying to rally support for European Jews?  

Card #8 The British government opposed the establishment of the U.S. War Refugee Board, fearing that the Jews whom it rescued would attempt to enter Palestine and spark further unrest among the Palestinian Arab population. What was the larger problem that the British feared? How would that restrict President Roosevelt? What was happening in Palestine?

Card #9 Clause in 1924 U.S. immigration law allowing refusal of an immigrant if that person was “likely to become a public charge.” (i.e. need $ support from government) Later, this was made more stringent, excluding those who might “possibly” (vs. “likely”) to become a public charge. How would this clause affect efforts to allow Jews to enter the U.S.?

 

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

Card #10 By the start of World War II, the peak of Jewish immigration had occurred nearly 40 years ago, meaning that the majority of Jews in American had been born in the United States, even though their parents or grandparents might still belong to the immigrant generation. What does this suggest about the relationship between Jews in the U.S and Jews in Europe? How might that impact efforts to save the Jews of Europe?

  Card #11 In October 1937, Roosevelt gives an important speech in Chicago, trying to convince Americans to focus on the frightening developments in Europe and Asia. Americans must realize, he says, that fascism abroad could become a threat at home. But in Chicago, as well as in the rest of the country, isolationism was the prevailing (dominant) view. Reflecting on the speech a few days later, Roosevelt remarked, “It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead, and to find no one is there.” What does this tell you about Roosevelt’s main concern in the years before Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into the war? How would this affect efforts to save European Jews?

  Card #12 In the U.S. in 1931, Jewish applications asking for charity went up 42%. Jewish organizations were no longer receiving charitable donations. What does this tell you about the ability of American Jews to help Jews in Europe?

 

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

Card #13 Charles Lindbergh, in a 1941 speech made before Pearl Harbor accuses Jews and the Roosevelt Administration of war-mongering (pressing for war). How might this influence the Roosevelt administration?

 

Card #14 Early in Hitler’s regime, Jews could leave Germany with $10,000. This figure was then lowered to $6000, then $4000, then $800. Consider this in light of card #9.

 

Card #15 A remarkable number of Jews were hired and appointed to government positions during the Roosevelt administration. One prominent example was the appointment of Felix Frankfurter to the Supreme Court after the death in 1938 of Benjamin Cardozo (who was also Jewish). There was already another Jew on the Court, Louis Brandeis. Some people refer to F.D.R.’s “New Deal” as the “Jew Deal.” It is meant as an insult. 6    

Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

Card #16 By late 1944, ¾ of Americans believed that the Germans had “murdered many people in concentration camps.” Of those who were willing to estimate how many, most thought 100,000 or fewer. By 1945, the guess was about 1 million Jews and nonJews.  

Card #17 There was a profound lack of unity among American Jews: - Orthodox Jews vs. Reform Jews - Eastern European Jews vs. those of German ancestry - Communist Jews - Socialist Jews - Secular (non-religious) Jews What does this suggest about the ability of American Jews to organize effectively to save the European Jews?

Card #18 Decisions about who could immigrate to the U.S. and receive a visa were made by American officials working abroad in U.S. Consulates. Many of these officials were anti-Semitic or had been taught that Jews were often communists. (And Americans were very anti-Communist.)  

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

  Card #19 Significant information about the atrocities committed against Jews was often buried on the inside pages of newspapers. For instance, the June 1942 announcement that 2 million Jews had been killed as a result of planned annihilation was placed at the bottom of p. 6 of the Chicago Tribune and had been given only 13 lines. (That’s only double what you are now reading.)

 

Card #20 It was clear to most Americans that Europeans everywhere were suffering under brutal Nazi occupation, and it was not always easy to see that the Nazis had different policies for different peoples. When Jews pressed outsiders to recognize the growing tragedy for their people, unsympathetic observers could perceive this as a request for special favors from the Allies. How would this be a problem?

  Card #21 Wagner bill, 1939 – proposed in response to the horrifying news of Kristallnacht, this bill would allow 20,000 German refugee children into the United States. What  is  the   significance  of   this?    See  card   #11  for  clue.  

• 2/3 of Americans oppose the bill • Southern Democrats strongly oppose it • But Southern Democrats strongly support revising the Neutrality Acts which will help move U.S. closer to aiding Britain and France against Germany • The Wagner Bill fails to pass through Congress.

FDR’s cousin, Laura Delano (who is also the wife of the U.S. commissioner of immigration), warns that “20,000 charming children would all too soon grow into 20,000 ugly adults.”

How does this affect saving the Jews? 8  

Lauren  S.  Brown  

  CATEGORY CARDS  

Hard to define the problem, or people don’t really see this as an issue

Politics & Bureaucracy

Competing concerns or other issues considered more important

Financial problems

Anti-Semitism (prejudice vs. Jews)

Other

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

US  and  the  Holocaust   Notes  for  the  Teacher    

 

Card  #1.       Mr.  Breckinridge  Long,  in  charge  of  the  visa  division  in  the  U.S.  State  Department,     intra-­‐department  memo,  June  1940     "We  can  delay  and  effectively  stop  for  a  temporary  period  of  indefinite  length  the  number  of   immigrants  into  the  United  States.  We  could  do  this  by  simply  advising  our  consuls  to  put  every   obstacle  in  the  way  and  to  require  additional  evidence  and  to  resort  to  various  administrative   devices  which  would  postpone  and  postpone  and  postpone  the  granting  of  the  visas."       Best  Answer:  Anti-­semitism     Card  #2.   News  is  event-­‐oriented,  not  process-­‐oriented:  bombing  raids,  invasions  and  naval  battles  are   the  stuff  of  news,  not  the  delayed,  often  hearsay  accounts  of  the  wheels  of  the  murder  machine   marching  on….     What  does  this  tell  you  about  why  more  about  the  persecution  of  the  Jews  was  not  in  the  news?   Answer:  Persecution  of  Jews  not  as  much  of  an  “event,”  but  rather  an  ongoing  process  (with  some   noteworthy  exceptions,  i.e.  “Kristallnacht”  riots-­  “Night  of  Broken  Glass”  which  got  front  paper   coverage  in  much  of  the  country.     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue  

 

    Card  #3.     Many  in  Germany  feel  that  Hitler  will  be  out  of  power  soon  and  this  will  all  blow  over.    So  why   would  they  want  to  leave  what  has  been  their  homeland  for  generations  to  go  to  some  strange   place  like  Palestine  or  Argentina  or  China?  (which  in  the  early  1930s  were  easier  places  to  get   to  than  the  U.S.  or  England)     How  does  this  affect  saving  the  Jews?     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue   Even  Jews  in  Europe  didn’t  always  recognize  what  was  happening  or  why  it  was  significant  or— most  importantly—what  was  going  to  occur  next.  Many  didn’t  realize  how  bad  things  were  until  it   was  too  late  to  emigrate  or  go  into  hiding.    

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

  Card  #4.         Zionist  organizers:   “The  main  issue  is  whether  we  place  our  stress  on  the  present  Jewish  refugee  problem  or  the   eternal  Jewish  refugee  problem.”     What  does  this  mean?  How  would  this  affect  efforts  to  save  the  Jews  of  Europe?     Best  Category:  competing  concerns  or  other  issues  more  important;  Zionists  were   dedicated  to  establishing  the  modern  state  of  Israel.  Persecution  against  Jews  was  evidence   to  them  about  the  importance  of  creating  a  permanent  homeland  for  the  Jews.  For  these   Zionists,  this  was  the  more  important  issue.         Card  #  5.     In  late  1943,  there  was  a  growing  sense  in  the  U.S.  House  of  Representatives  that  something   should  be  done  about  the  Jewish  refugee  crisis.       Soon  after,  a  report  to  FDR  from  a  group  under  the  auspices  of  Henry  Morganthau,  Jr.  (U.S.   Secretary  of  the  Treasury  and  a  Jew)  placed  clear  blame  on  the  U.S.  State  Department,  and   stated  that  the  U.S.  would  be  complicit  in  blame  for  the  extermination  of  Jews.    It  was  personally   delivered  to  FDR  on  Jan.  16,  1944.    One  week  later,  the  War  Refugee  Board  came  into  being.   What  role  might  politics  play  in  this?     Best  Category:  Politics  &  Bureaucracy;  This  card  suggests  that  the  War  Refugee  Board  may   have  been  set  up  under  political  pressure  to  do  “something”  but  didn’t  really  have  much   authority.  By  setting  up  something—quickly—it  would  at  least  avoid  the  accusation  that   the  government  hadn’t  done  anything.  But  this  was  probably  too  little,  too  late.         Card  #6.       The  U.S.  War  Refugee  Board  was  headed  by  Morgenthau  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Roosevelt   also  appointed  an  undersecretary  from  the  State  Department  and  the  Secretary  of  War  to  the   board.         Each  agency  had  equal  powers  on  the  Board,  thus  offering  the  State  and  War  Departments,   (whose  leaders  had  opposed  the  formation  of  the  WRB  in  the  first  place)  an  opportunity  to   obstruct  its  work.  While  the  State  Department  feared  a  flood  of  refugees  entering  the  United   States,  the  War  Department  opposed  anything  which  might  hurt  the  war  effort.  Thus,  resistance   from  within  the  U.S.  government  limited  the  effectiveness  of  the  WRB.     Best  Category:  Politics  &  Bureaucracy;  This  card  suggests  that  the  War  Refugee  Board   didn’t  function  very  well  because  it  was  made  up  of  people  from  departments  with  different   interests  and  concerns.  Other  choice  for  Category  could  be:  Competing  Concerns    

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

  Card  #7.   A  Jewish  American  recalls,     We  knew  about  what  was  happening  to  the  Jews  of  Europe,  but  we  didn’t  know  about  “the   Holocaust.”     What  does  this  person  mean?  What  does  this  tell  you  about  the  difficulties  of  trying  to  rally   support  for  European  Jews?     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue   Like  Card  #3,  this  card  demonstrates  the  problem  of  hindsight  or  presentism.  We  know   about  the  6  million  Jews  but  no  one  knew  that  at  the  time.  In  fact,  the  term  “Holocaust”   was  not  used  until  well  after  the  war.     Card  #8.     The  British  government  opposed  the  establishment  of  the  U.S.  War  Refugee  Board,  fearing  that   the  Jews  whom  it  rescued  would  attempt  to  enter  Palestine  and  spark  further  unrest  among   the  Palestinian  Arab  population.   What  was  the  larger  problem  that  the  British  feared?  How  would  that  restrict  President   Roosevelt?  What  was  happening  in  Palestine?     Best  Category:  competing  concerns  or  other  issues  more  important  (Or,  Politics  &   Bureaucracy-­but  politics,  not  so  much  bureaucracy)   Britain  controlled  the  territory  of  Palestine.  There  was  already  considerable  conflict   between  Jews  and  Arabs  in  the  area  (that  of  course  continues  into  the  present).  Britain  had   to  be  careful  not  to  create  a  problem  for  itself  in  Palestine—especially  as  Britain  was  busy   with  the  war  in  Europe!       Card  #9.   Clause  in  1924  U.S.  immigration  law  allowing  refusal  of  an  immigrant  if  that  person  was  “likely   to  become  a  public  charge.”  (i.e.  need  $  support  from  govt)   Later,  this  was  made  more  stringent,  excluding  those  who  might  “possibly”  (vs.  “likely”)  to   become  a  public  charge.     How  would  this  clause  affect  efforts  to  allow  Jews  to  enter  the  U.S.?     Best  Category:  Financial  Problems   With  the  Depression  still  front  and  center  of  every  Americans,  no  one  would  be  very  excited   about  letting  in  immigrants  who  might  take  their  jobs  or  need  support  from  the   government.  Remember  that  the  Depression  doesn’t  really  end  until  after  the  war  starts.   See  also  card  #14    

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

 

 

  Card  #10.   By  World  War  II,  the  peak  of  massive  Jewish  immigration  to  the  U.S.  had  occurred  40  years   ago.     What  does  this  suggest  about  the  relationship  between  Jews  in  the  U.S.  and  Jews  in  Europe?  How   might  that  impact  efforts  to  save  the  Jews  of  Europe?     Best  Category:  Hard  to  define  the  problem;  or  people  don’t  really  see  this  as  an  issue   While  there  were  many  Jewish  Americans  who  still  had  family  back  in  Europe  or  who  had   come  from  Europe  themselves,  this  described  fewer  and  fewer  Jewish  Americans.  So  for   many,  what  is  going  on  in  Europe  does  not  affect  them  personally.  And  not  all  Jews  felt  a   strong  affinity  with  Jews  of  other  nations.  They  felt  more  “American”  than  “Jewish.”     Card  #11.         In  October  1937,  Roosevelt’s  gives  an  important  speech  in  Chicago,  trying  to  convince   Americans  to  focus  on  the  frightening  developments  in  Europe  and  Asia.    Americans  must   realize  that  the  fascism  abroad  could  become  a  threat  at  home.    But  in  Chicago,  as  well  as  in  the   rest  of  the  country,  isolationism  was  the  stronger  view.    Reflecting  on  the  speech  a  few  days   later,  Roosevelt  remarked,  “It  is  a  terrible  thing  to  look  over  your  shoulder  when  you  are  trying   to  lead,  and  to  find  no  one  is  there.”     What  does  this  tell  you  about  Roosevelt’s  main  concern  in  the  years  preceding  Pearl  Harbor  and   U.S.  entry  into  the  war?  How  would  that  affect  efforts  to  save  the  Jews?     Best  Category:  competing  concerns  or  other  issues  more  important   FDR’s  #1  foreign  policy  problem  in  the  1930s  was  getting  Americans  to  see  the  threat  of   fascism  in  Europe  as  a  threat  to  the  U.S.    If  the  majority  of  Americans  are  isolationist  and   are  afraid  Roosevelt  is  trying  to  drag  them  into  war,  they  certainly  aren’t  going  to  be   willing  to  take  on  the  problem  of  persecution  of  Jews  in  Germany.       Card  #12.     In  the  U.S.  in  1931,  Jewish  applications  asking  for  charity  went  up  42%.    Jewish  organizations   were  no  longer  receiving  charitable  donations.   What  does  this  tell  you  about  the  ability  of  American  Jews  to  help  Jews  in  Europe?     Best  Category:  Financial  Problems   Remember  that  the  U.S.  is  still  in  the  Depression.  If  Jewish  organizations  in  the  U.S.  are  not   only  short  on  cash,  but  getting  lots  of  requests  of  help  from  American  Jews,  then  there   won’t  really  be  money  to  help  Jews  in  Europe.    

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Lauren  S.  Brown  

 

 

 

  Card  #13.     Charles  Lindbergh,  in  a  1941  speech  made  before  Pearl  Harbor  accuses  Jews  and  the  Roosevelt   administration  of  war-­‐mongering  (pressing  for  war).     How  would  this  influence  the  Roosevelt  administration?     Best  Category:  anti-­Semitism  (but  could  also  be  competing  concerns  or  other  issues  more   important  if  you  focus  on  people’s  concern  about  war)  But  best  answer  is  anti-­Semitism,   which  Lindbergh  played  on.  He  was  a  notorious  anti-­Semite,  but  he  was  not  alone.   Roosevelt  would  be  aware  that  there  had  been  anti-­Semitic  accusations  that  World  War  I   had  been  brought  on  by  powerful  Jews.  And  also,  many  Americans  who  weren’t  anti-­Semitic   are  still—even  as  late  as  1941—anti-­war.         Card  #14.   Early  in  Hitler’s  regime,  Jews  could  leave  Germany  with  $10,000.  It  was  then  lowered  to  $6000,   then  $4000,  then  $800.       Consider  this  in  light  of  card  #9.     Best  Category:  Financial  Problems   See  also  card  #9.  This  would  make  it  very  difficult  for  Jews  to  leave  Germany  without  also   giving  up  their  livelihood.    With  the  whole  world  still  in  a  Depression,  this  is  a  problem.       Card  #15.   A  remarkable  number  of  Jews  were  hired  and  appointed  to  government  positions  during  the   Roosevelt  administration.     One  prominent  example  was  the  appointment  of  Felix  Frankfurter  to  the  Supreme  Court  after   the  death  in  1938  of  Benjamin  Cardozo  (who  was  also  Jewish).    There  was  already  another  Jew   on  the  Court,  Louis  Brandeis.     Some  people  refer  to  F.D.R.’s  “New  Deal”  as  the  “Jew  Deal.”    It  is  meant  as  an  insult.     Best  Category:  anti-­Semitism   Roosevelt  is  going  to  be  careful  not  to  provoke  those  who  already  think  he  favors  Jews  by   going  out  of  his  way  to  help  European  Jews  at  the  cost  of  issues  considered  more   important  to  most  people.      

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  Card  #16.   By  late  1944,  ¾  of  Americans  believed  that  the  Germans  had  “murdered  many  people  in   concentration  camps.”    Of  those  who  were  willing  to  estimate  how  many,  most  thought   100,000  or  fewer.    By  1945,  the  guess  was  about  1  million  Jews  and  non-­‐Jews.       Best  Category:  Hard  to  define  the  problem;  or  people  don’t  really  see  this  as  an  issue   Like  Card  #3  and  7,  this  card  demonstrates  the  problem  of  hindsight  or  presentism.  We   know  about  the  6  million  Jews  but  no  one  knew  that  at  the  time.  And  remember  that  lots  of   people  die  in  war—that  Jews  were  experiencing  something  unique  was  not  widely   recognized  at  the  time.       Card  #17.   Lack  of  unity  among  American  Jews:   - Orthodox  vs.  Reform   - Eastern  European  Jews  vs.  those  of  German  ancestry   - Communist  Jews   - Socialist  Jews   - Secular  Jews     What  does  this  suggest  about  the  ability  of  American  Jews  to  organize  effectively  to  save  the   European  Jews?     Best  Category:  Could  be  Politics  &  Bureaucracy;  or  Competing  Concerns;  or  Other—the  key   issue  is  that  the  terms  “Jewish  Americans”  or  “American  Jews”  are  not  used  by  many   people—if  Jews  themselves  don’t  see  themselves  as  a  united  group,  they  will  not  be  able  to   effectively  organize  as  a  group  to  save  anyone.         Card  #18.     Decisions  about  who  could  immigrate  to  the  U.S.  and  receive  a  visa  were  made  by  American   officials  working  abroad  in  U.S.  Consulates.    Many  of  these  officials  were  anti-­‐Semitic  or  had   been  taught  that  Jews  were  often  communists.  (And  Americans  were  very  anti-­‐Communist.)     Best  Category:  anti-­Semitism   This  one  is  pretty  self-­explanatory.    

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  Card  #19.   Significant  information  about  the  atrocities  committed  against  Jews  was  often  buried  on  the   inside  pages  of  newspapers.    For  instance,  the  June  1942  announcement  that  2  million  Jews   had  been  killed  as  a  result  of  planned  annihilation  was  placed  at  the  bottom  of  p.  6  of  the   Chicago  Tribune  and  had  been  given  only  13  lines.    (That’s  only  about  double  what  you  are   now  reading.)     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue   Fairly  self-­explanatory.     Card  #20.       It  was  clear  to  most  Americans  that  Europeans  everywhere  were  suffering  under  brutal  Nazi   occupation,  and  it  was  not  always  easy  to  see  that  the  Nazis  had  different  policies  for  different   peoples.    When  Jews  pressed  outsiders  to  recognize  the  growing  tragedy  for  their  people,   unsympathetic  observers  could  perceive  this  as  a  request  for  special  favors  from  the  Allies.   How  would  this  be  a  problem?     Best  Category:  Hard  to  Define  Problem;  People  don’t  see  it  as  an  issue   Fairly  self-­explanatory.    But  also  could  be  “competing  concerns”  if  you  remember  that  the   main  goal,  once  the  U.S.  went  to  war,  was  to  win  the  war.  Anything  that  took  away  from   that  would  be  considered  suspect.       Card  #21.       Wagner  bill,  1939  –  proposed  in  response  to  the  horrifying  news  of  Kristallnacht,  this  bill   would  allow  20,000  German  refugee  children  into  the  United  States.   - 2/3  of  Americans  oppose  the  bill   - Southern  Democrats  strongly  oppose  it   - Southern  Democrats  strongly  support  revising  the  Neutrality  Acts  which  will  help  move   U.S.  closer  to  aiding  Britain  and  France  against  Germany   - The  bill  fails  to  pass  through  Congress.   FDR’s  cousin,  Laura  Delano  (who  is  also  the  wife  of  the  U.S.  commissioner  of  immigration),   warns  that  “20,000  charming  children  would  all  too  soon  grow  into  20,000  ugly  adults.”       Best  Category:  Politics  &  Bureaucracy  (but  students  may  also  note  the  anti-­Semitic   comment  of  FDR’s  cousin)   This  card  demonstrates  Roosevelt’s  problem  as  a  President  who  has  to  appease  different   constituencies  at  once.  He  will  need  Southern  Democrats  support  for  the  Neutrality  Acts,  so   he  can’t  risk  supporting  the  Wagner  Bill  which  is  unpopular  with  them.  One  could  argue— and  many  pro-­FDR  historians  do—that  helping  Britain  and  France  against  Germany  is  the   best  way  to  (eventually)  help  the  Jews.      

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Lauren  S.  Brown