The Holocaust and Western Help
The Holocaust and Western Help"When they came for the gypsies, I did not speak, for I am not
a gypsy. When they came for the Jews, I did not speak, because I
wasn't a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I did not speak, for I
am not a Catholic. And when they came for me, there was no one left to
speak." -On the Wall at the Holocaust Museum in Washington
It is impossible to learn about the Holocaust and the Second
World War without the question of how it possibly could have happened
arising, and along with that question comes another. The question of
whether or not the Western World did enough to help the Jews in
Europe. What was their reaction to the campaign of systematic
persecution, robbery and murder the Third Reich inflicted upon the
Jewish people?
During the time leading up to the outbreak of World War II,
the Western Press consistently carried numerous reports of the
German's anti-Jewish policies and their purposeful victimization of
the Jews living in Nazi Germany as well as the annexed territories.
The general public cannot claim that they did not know what was going
on, that they were uninformed. Whether or not they chose to believe it
however, is a completely different story. The public were indeed
outraged in many of the cases but the governments of the major
European democracies felt that it was not for them to intervene for
they felt that the Jewish problem classified as an internal affair
within a sovereign state. The truth behind this is simply that the
governments were anxious to establish cordial relations with Germany
and didn't want to cause any hostility. Thus they stood idly by and
remained silent as Hitler went from denying the Jews of their civil
rights to denying them of their means of earning their daily bread.
As much as they wanted to remain neutral, the countries of the
Western World were finally forced to take a stand on the issue of
emigration of Jews from the Reich who were seeking refuge. The United
States maintained strict immigration quotas which severely limited the
number of Central and Eastern Europeans admitted to the country each
year. Even under such extreme circumstances, the US insisted on
adhering to these policies and refused to modify them even slightly.
Great Britain proved to be merciless as they blocked entry into
Palestine and limited the amount of entry permits. The states that had
the ability to absorb the immigrants such as Australia, Canada and
most countries of South America, accepted agricultural workers but
denied entry to professionals, merchants and skilled artisans. There
were actually protests in the US and Britain organized against the
admission of immigrant doctors.
The President of the United States initiated the...
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