Embedded Files
The United States' response to reports of violence against the Jewish Europeans did not fully encapsulate the United States' reluctance to welcome refugees into the country and take care of these people. The United States may have not had access to extensive information of the atrocities the Jews faced but they had awareness. The Nazis had tried to keep the Holocaust a secret but Dr. Gerhart Riegner, the representative of the World Jewish Congress overheard what was going on from a German source in 1942. The State Department would not allow Reigner to share the news with a Jewish leader, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. Wise eventually heard the disturbing news from Jewish leaders in Great Britain and was asked by the Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles to keep the information confidential until the government had time to verify it. In Novemrber 1942, Welles had verified Riegner's message and Wise held a press conference on November 24, 1942. New York Times had included his news on its tenth page but throughout the rest of the war, the Times did not provide full coverage to the Holocaust. Instead, they provided false stories and did not provide accurate coverage. (History.com)
America failed to see the refugee crisis as a serious problem, they were more concerned about protecting US citizens and keeping the US from danger. The US turned away many Jews including a ship of 900 German Jews and turned down a proposal to allow 20,000 Jewish children to find safety within the US. The desperation for escape from a bloodthirsty country was noticeable but the United States tried to censor information about the Holocaust to protect their own people.
About 85,000 Jewish refugees reached the US between March 1938 and September 1939. In late 1938, 125,000 applicants lined up outside US consulates in hopes of obtaining 27,000 visas under the existing immigration quota. By June 1939, the number of applicants increased to over 300,000 and most visa applicants were unsuccessful. President Herbert Hoover ordered vigorous enforcement of visa regulations which reduced immigration. This policy resulted in only 35,576 visas in 1932. (History) The US wasn't a country of hope to refugees as other countries like the Dominican Republic and Bolivia were the only ones remembered for bringing in refugees. (Holocaust Encyclopedia) The US didn't have an inadequacy of resources or ways to assist refugees, they just lacked the urgency to help as they continuously developed anti-Semitic tendencies and legislations.
The German legislation banning the export of foreign currency was an obstacle to emigration. The number of hospitable destinations dwindled but Shanghai became a hopeful destination as it did not require a visa. (Holocaust Encyclopedia)
Even as there were unconfirmed reports of the mass murder reached the West, the US Department of State placed even stricter limits on immigration based on national security concerns. With delayed or denial of visas, how would Jews escape this persecution?
Even after the Holocaust, Charlene Schiff describes the difficulty of gaining entry into the United States. She had to wait three long years and undergo many quotas.
Charlene's childhood began in Poland which was controlled by the Soviet Union under the German-Soviet Pact of August 1939. Her father was arrested when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. Since that day Charlene does not have a history of contact with her father.
After this tragic separation her mother, sister, and Charlene were forced to live in a ghetto the Germans established in Horochow. They overheard rumors that the Germans were about to destroy it so they all fled, but Charlene's sister attempted to hide separately. Unfortunately, Charlene does not have a history of her sister since that moment as well. Charlene and her mother hid by submerging themselves in the water for a duration of time and found a spot to hide. One morning, Charlene awoke to the disappearance of her mother but Charlene was able to survive by herself in the forest near Horochow and freed by the Soviet troops. Charlene persevered and was eventually able to find rescue in the United States. (Holocaust Encyclopedia)
Page updated
Report abuse