(Jewish Group) Why didn't the US save more Jews from the Nazis? The American people were against it

[Behind the Aegis]

Why didn’t the United States do more to help Europe’s Jews during the Holocaust?

This question haunts the history of the United States and the Holocaust, and lurks behind practically every storyline in the new film on the subject from Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein, to be aired for three consecutive nights on PBS beginning Sept. 18.

The question, of course, isn’t just about the Holocaust, but about the years before the war, when the Nazi vise tightened around the Jews of Germany and more than half of them sought to obtain visas to immigrate to the United States. The vast majority never made it in.

The simple answer to this question is that the American public was against granting Jews refuge in the United States, and in this area President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration hewed close to public opinion.

But, as the documentary, “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” demonstrates, there is more to it than that.

more...

I wonder how many today even know this. I doubt many.

The Ken Burns' documentary starts Monday night (next week) on PBS. Check local listings.

[elleng]

1. I doubt many too.

Sadly, I'm not looking forward to seeing the film.

[unblock]

2. Oh this I know. My grandparents were denied entry twice

The nazis came to take away the Jews in my grandparents' apartment. They asked the superintendent how many Jewish families, he replied three. They found one Jewish family on the first floor, and two Jewish families sharing a unit on the second floor.

Having counted to three, they didn't look on the third floor where my grandparents lived.

Where the superintendent realized the mixup, he evicted my grandparents on the spot.

They managed to find the underground, which smuggled them out to Belgium. They tried to get to America but were denied. They managed to get over to England only a couple weeks before the Nazis invaded.

They were denied a second time and has to stay in England for a year. Third time's the charm though, so eventually they did make it here.

[JudyM]

3. Whew. Such a close call.

How much richer the world would be today had all those lost lived…

[Rhiannon12866]

4. This Ken Burns documentary was introduced on PBS NewsHour tonight:

New Ken Burns documentary 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' examines America's response - PBS NewsHour

A new documentary from Ken Burns and his colleagues premieres this Sunday on PBS. It is a different window into the Holocaust with a focus on the U.S. and raises troubling questions about this country’s history and actions. Burns is calling it the most important film he will ever make.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. And I checked the local PBS listings, premieres this Sunday at 8pm ET, 2 hours 14 minutes

Then repeats immediately afterwards. And this was on both PBS channels, New York and Vermont.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. Co-directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick discuss new Holocaust documentary - CBS Mornings

Co-directors Ken Burns and Lynn Novick join "CBS Mornings" to discuss their new PBS documentary "The U.S. and the Holocaust." The film looks at how U.S. policies impacted Nazi Germany and Jewish people trying to escape.