Language:
English
Year of publication:
1993
Titel der Quelle:
American Jewish History
Angaben zur Quelle:
81,1 (1993) 60-80
Keywords:
Jews History 1939-1945
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Antisemitism History 20th century
;
Zionism
;
Jewish organizations
Abstract:
Contends that the failure of American Jewry to rescue its European brethren from the Holocaust must be attributed to its disunity. The only common platform which could unify the patchwork of various American Jewish organizations in the late 1930s was Zionism; hence, its main endeavors were directed towards compelling Britain to open the gates of Palestine, to strengthen the Yishuv, etc. The American Jews also overestimated the scope of American antisemitism (which was far from negligible in the 1930s) and was fearful that what happened in Germany might also happen in the U.S. Before the U.S.'s entry into the war, the Jewish organizations felt that they were the only force in America standing against the dangers of fascism and Nazism; after December 1941, they adopted the official argument that a quick victory was the best way to save the Jews.
Note:
Appeared also in "FDR and the Holocaust" (1996) 89-108, in "Holocaust; Critical Concepts in Historical Studies" IV (2004), and in his collection "Bearing Witness: How America and Its Jews Responded to the Holocaust" (1995).
URL:
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