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Alex Rogers
Mr. Hawkins
Modern World History P
10 April 2016
The United States and the Holocaust
During the Holocaust, the U.S. was also advised to help save the refugees of Germany.
Nearly four thousand miles away, the United States struggled to keep on its feet due to their own
economic hardships. Many Americans wanted to help those seeking safety, but what they didnt
realize was that bringing in more people during this depression, would not make better for the
United States. Also, once the United States joined World War II, national security would be at
risk if many immigrants were let in. Thus a reason to be strict with the amount of displaced
people entering the states. At some time around 1941, Adolf Hitler authorized his Final
Solution, which focused on annihilating the Jews once and for all. Near the end of the war is
when the United States finally took action and created the War Refugee Board to help those who
were displaced.
Helping refugees was not a priority for America during the Holocaust. There were those
who did want to help, but serious obstacles to any relaxation of US immigration quotas
included public opposition to immigration during a time of economic depression,
xenophobia, and anti-Semitic feelings in both the general public and among some key
government officials (Website 3). People feared the unknown and what could result from that.
Its only natural to being a little skeptic towards helping others even though youre in a pit
yourself. In the 1930s, Many Americans feared that needy immigrants would take precious

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jobs or place an added strain on an already burdened economy (Website 2). It is the
presidents job to make sure that what orders are taken are beneficial to the people of the United
States, before those on the outside. It isnt selfish, its smart. Letting in every displaced person
who came knocking on the door would be like adding fuel to the flames. The State Department
opposed President Roosevelt's Secretary of Labors order to give priority to immigrants
seeking refuge because it would alienate jobless American citizens (Website 2). The last
thing that the United States needed was to marginalize American citizens. Immigrants, Jews,
coming from Germany and neighboring places had few possessions, if any, and no money. Not
only would they be in need of jobs like the rest of America, but they wouldnt be able to afford a
place to live, and would most likely end up alone on the streets. Not much could have been done
due to the situation that the United States had already been in.
If the United States were to help the Jewish refugees, it is probable that Germany would
not have been very happy with the U.S. When the United States became involved in World War
II, they enforced stricter immigration policies out of fear that refugees could be
blackmailed into working as agents for Germany (Website 3). This was extremely smart on
Americas side, because something like that could have very easily happened. That may not have
been Hitlers intent, but it was a realistic idea that could have proven to be a problem. Not only
was the U.S. aware of potential hazards, but even President Roosevelt knew that the United
States was not yet prepared for war and was reluctant to antagonize the Nazi regime
(Website 2). The U.S. was aware of the fact that if their involvement in helping the refugees was
significant, they wouldnt have the necessities needed for war if something like that emerged. In
this case, it was better to stay out of the problem, because by taking part in caring for those
kicked out of Germany, the situation could only be fired up even more than before. According to

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an article, The threat of enemy subversion during the war was a legitimate concern, but
the State Department exaggerated the problem and used it as a reason for cutting in half
the already small immigration quotas (Website 1). The threat of an invasion by an enemy
country is not something to take lightly, whether a threat has been made or not. Despite the fact
that it is disheartening to shut out many people with nowhere else to go, protecting what is steady
is top priority. If there were to be an enemy subversion, the same thing that happened in
Germany could have happened in the United States. Lessening the intake of immigrants was a
tough decision, but more so a strategic and smart one.
As more and more Americans began to find out what was truly happening in Germany,
they began to mandate that the U.S. should help those in need. The United States and Allied
governments issued a declaration denouncing Nazi Germany's intention to murder the
Jews of Europe. The declaration warned Nazi Germany that it would be held responsible
for these crimes (Website 3). This declaration would blatantly call out Nazi Germany by
saying they are evil and wrong. This would open up more news coverage on what was going on
in Germany at the time, and make the subject more imperative than it was before. Though
coverage was still minimal, the idea got across and started to make people realize that something
had to be done. The State Department had turned down all propositions to help the refugees, but
eventually, Roosevelt signed an executive order instructing Congress to take all measures
within its policy to rescue victims of enemy oppression in imminent danger of death
(Website 2). This directive was in relation with the new War Refugee Board. The upside to this
compromise was that this order wasnt put in place to let immigrants in, but instead send help,
food, and necessities to struggling areas. Those who did come to the United States would be
deemed prisoners of war. All in all, the War Refugee Board has been credited with saving

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perhaps 200,000 Jews during the final months of the war (Website 2). Despite the late
arrival in helping those involved in the horrific event, the WRB did put a significant dent in the
outcome. Two hundred thousand lives saved was nothing compared to the millions lost, but
every little bit counted.
During the Holocaust, in the late 1930s, the United States wasnt focused on helping
those seeking refuge from Germany. The United States had problems of its own. The depression
that Americans had been going through at the time had been worse than ever seen before, and
allowing more people to enter the country would potentially add to the mess. The US did not
want to antagonize problems with Nazi Germany, and it was a matter of morality versus strength
and stance. With the War Refugee Board in place, the United States was able to help towards the
end of the war. Many lives were lost, and few saved, but, We are alive. We are human, with
good and bad in us. That's all we know for sure. We can't create a new species or a new world.
That's been done. Now we have to live within those boundaries. What are our choices? We can
despair and curse, and change nothing. We can choose evil like our enemies have done and create
a world based on hate. Or we can try to make things better (Matas).

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Works Cited
Matas, Carol. Daniel's Story. New York: Scholastic, 1993. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.