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2018 Midterm2 (assignment) Index to Sample Student Midterm2 Answers Part 3. Research Report Starts |
LITR 4340
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Grant Gitschlag
Running from Terror
America has been an ideal choice for immigrants to escape to. Some immigrants
chase after wealth while others escape from an oppressive force. Jewish
immigrants specifically during events that led up to and during World War 2
faced an absurd amount of scorn. Jewish people were forced out of their homes
and suffered by the hands of the Nazi regimen. My research paper is to go over
the hardships of the Jews who had escaped to America during World War 2.
One key thing to remember was that Jewish people were running for their
lives. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) states that Nazi
Germany had desired to end all the lives of Jewish people in Europe. Nazi
Germany had already killed a staggering 2 million Jews by November 25, 1942.
Despite the stagger number of victims, the United States focused on winning the
war rather than sending charitable aid. However, there were attempts to bring
Jews to America during this time. In January 1944, FDR formed the War Refugee
board. The point of creating this was to enforce a new US policy to rescue the
people in need from Nazis. Because of FDR’s innovative plan over tens of
thousands of lives were saved. However, what did the citizens of the United
States think of Jewish Immigrants coming over?
The discrimination didn’t end for Jewish people just by escaping to
America. Proof of this is a poll The Washington Post gives showing that in Juley
1938 over 67 percent of Americans believed that Jewish immigrants should be kept
out. Also, another poll shown by Washington Post asks if the government should
bring in 10,000 refugee children from Germany (most of them Jewish) and be taken
in American homes. A staggering 61 percent responded no to this idea. What one
can draw from this is that Jewish people struggled to find a haven in their most
dire time of need. This is due to the dominant culture at the time favoring
neutrality and prejudices against immigrants. But, what are the numbers of the
Jewish people that managed to escape to America?
Despite anti-Semitism being at an all-time high the United States managed
to get allow some Immigrants to squeeze in. The United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum states that roughly 200,000 immigrants were admitted between 1933 and
1945 that were fleeing from Nazis. However, there could have been up to
thousands more if US immigration visas had been completed during this point in
time. It also was bad timing for
Jewish people due to the economic annihilation of the great depression.
Discrimination was also a factor in not allowing Jewish people to migrate to
America. There was a picture in 1939 that equates Jews with Communism shown in
the Jewish War Veterans Museum. Therefore, there were economic and
discrimination motives to bar Jewish people from coming over.
America does have its history with discrimination. The readings made this
fact aware that Jewish people had gone through their own discrimination even
before arriving to America. That discrimination being the hate-fueled Nazi
regimen. It is heart breaking to say the least that many Jewish immigrants
during this time were turned away for the sake of maintaining neutrality.
Perhaps if people focused more on a little empathy than self-interests, more
Jewish lives could have been saved.
Citations
“The
United States and the Holocaust, 1942–45.” United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007094.
Tharoor, Ishaan. “What Americans Thought of Jewish Refugees on the Eve of World
War II.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Nov. 2015,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/17/what-americans-thought-of-jewish-refugees-on-the-eve-of-world-war-ii/?utm_term=.88b74c6ddf27.
