America's Selfishness

The Jews tirelessly sought out refuge in other countries which consisted of applying for visas only to get denied or waitlisted. Many Jews were unable to find countries that were willing to take them in. Americans feared that welcoming in refugees would create more obstacles for themselves to find jobs as the refugees may take their job positions. Another fear Americans had was that the Austrian and German Jews would overwhelm the social programs set up to assist the needy. 

The United States was well known for their high amounts of quotas. Congress began setting up immigration quotas in 1924 that limited the number of immigrants and groups that were discriminated against considered ethically undesirable. In the summer of 1938, delegates from 32 countries met at the French resort of Evian for a nine-day meeting to express sympathy for the refugees. Their expressions of remorse did not measure up because they failed to considerably open their countries to refugees. Throughout the conference they agreed that they needed to find a long-term solution to the problem but many countries were reluctant to decrease their immigration restrictions. The results of this conference were insufficient and upsetting as the only help they offered to the refugees was the Dominican Republic opening up their land and the establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR) which was created to help work on the refugee problem. (Holocaust Encyclopedia)

The German government even responded to the Evian Conference and stated with great pleasure how "astounding it was that foreign countries criticized Germany for their treatment of the Jews but none of them wanted to open the doors to them when the opportunity offered." It is very upsetting to know that there was a conference held to discuss the current state of Germany but to not truly offer help to the Jews perishing. Some Americans tried to rescue children but many plans failed such as the Wagner-Rogers bill. This bill was an effort to admit 20,000 endangered Jewish refugee children but it was not supported by the Senate in 1939 and 1940. The US State Department upheld antisemitic attitudes as their lack of bringing refugees in proved their heart towards the people group suffering. 

In February 1939, America selfishly examines their country and worries that inviting children in the country would deprive American children of receiving aid as the Jewish children may overwhelm hospitals or places receiving care. This was known as the Wagner-Rogers refugee bill as it was introduced in the US Senate by Senator Robert F. Wagner (D-New York). This bill called for accepting 20,000 German refugee children under the age of 14 over the next two years in addition to the immigration that was regularly permitted. There were many organizations that were determined to uphold restrictive immigration laws that opposed the bill. These organizations were more concerned about American children having less access to resources and aid. This selfish opposition could have tremendously saved lives and provided suffering children with shelter. 

The American Jewish community became worried after hearing Wise's announcement about the atrocities that were occuring in Europe. In April 1943 during the Bermuda Conference, British and American delegates sought to develop a plan to rescue those endangered by the Nazis. This meeting was ineffective because they refused to admit more Jews into their land and did not alter their immigration laws. (History.com)

As time went on, in 1944, the War Refugee Board had settled to provide aid and rescue vulnerable Jews but many people were annoyed that it took this long for America to step in and offer support. Many people also argued that this assistance wasn't effective and provided limited support.