How did the United States react to the Holocaust?

When the U.S first got word about the Holocaust they wrote it off as “war rumors,” they did not take it seriously nor did they act. When Gerhart Reigner, from the World Jewish Congress in Generva, Switzerland, got word from a German informant about the “Final Solution”, which was the annihilation of Jews, he informed the Secretary of Defense about German plans. This informant was supposed to be passed on to Rabbi Steven S. Wise in America. However the SoD never passed on this information delaying the response time to the Holocaust. Louis D. Brandeis was an American Jewish South Carolina Justice that went to Roosevelt to plead the U.S refugee’s case. This resulted in Roosevelt changing the immigration restrictions in 1939 to allow more German-Austrian immigrants, however, this did not aid refugees. The Evian Conference in 1939 was led by Franklin D. Roosevelt to discuss the crisis of the Holocaust. No solution came through though; the U.S did not want the Jewish refugees in their country as much as others did. Once again attempts to help the Jews suffering were thwarted either by deliberate tampering or the lack of desire to sacrifice for these people. The U.S still has not attempted serious aid to the Holocaust victims.

The Jewish community in the United States was relatively small and those like Henry Montethou Jr. the Secretary of Treasury attempted to prevail from within the U.S government. The Bermuda Conference in 1943 was again to have the U.S and Great Britain aid the Jewish refugees. The American Jews used newspapers, articles and many other things to make people aware and make a difference. Unfortunately, the newspapers and magazines were hesitant to publish anything in the news because of previous “mess ups” during World War 1. The news people still wrote it off as war rumors and would not publish anything till it was verified. Then the Secretary of Treasury discovered the Secretary of Defense was undermining the efforts for the Jewish community. Montethou was one of those pushing for action because the United States own government was covering up helpful, life-or-death even, information that needed to be heard. Because of this scandal, President Roosevelt gave Executive Order 9417 on January 22, 1944 that created the War Refugee Board. This board was established as a rescue agency that was to devote its attention to the Holocaust. Even though the board saved about 200,000 Jews, it could have saved more. The board refused to bomb Auschwitz even though Britain was behind them, so this failure to act could have again saved many lives. Many say if the Board had been established in 1942, Gerhart Reigner’s warning may have reached Rabbi Wise and actually helped stop the desecration of Jews.

The United States failed to act in the event of the Holocaust. However, it is arguable to say the U.S did not have to interfere. They had no alliance that forced them to help during the Holocaust. However it was the lack of determination of those who did know and did nothing that could have made a difference. Information on what was happening to the Jewish community reached the United States in time to make a difference. The debate of the responsibility of the United States still rages today. Regardless of responsibility, the U.S did not respond “admirably” to the Holocaust.