One of difficult things to face about our involvement in World War II is America knew about the atrocities happening in Germany a few years before we officially entered the war. We were reluctant to get involved and people on all sides of the issue were counseling FDR on how we should respond.
For this week's blog, visit this website and read the article (it is called America & The Holocaust). At the end of the article you will find four questions about what you read. Choose ONE of the questions and answer it with 200 words for your blog response this week.
2. In the United States, Martha and Waitstill Sharp were among a small number of Americans who worked to aid refugees despite popular sentiment and official government policies. Dominican Republic, officially agreed to accept refugees from Europe; throughout the 1930s, other countries, including Bolivia, Switzerland, Shanghai and the British protectorate of Palestine, admitted Jewish refugees. In 1939, 83% of Americans were opposed to the admission of refugees. Some people who tried to keep the refugees out of the United States and who tried to give a bad idea about the refugees to theirs were, Coughlin which was known as “the radio priest,” preached anti semitism, accusing the Jews of manipulating financial institutions and conspiring to control the world. Industrialist Henry Ford was another prominent voice spreading antisemitism. Both sides had a point in which they believed; People who believe in bringing refugees into the states wanted to “share the wealth.” On the other hand people who were anti semitism were afraid that the economy might collapse and that people from other countries will be to dangerous and they might take over.
ReplyDeleteThe many who believed that there should be no refugees thought of them as a group of people that were outsiders and enemies of Germany, this included Jews, political opponents, homosexuals, and Roma and Sinti people. Also many feared that during the Great Depression, refugees would be to much of a burden on the nation’s economy. Many who thought that refugees should be welcomed into other countries usually had friends and relatives abroad. Also some people thought that killing someone was wrong; specially when you do it just because they might be different than you. Everyone is unique in their own way.
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I decided to go with question number one for the blog this weeks. When reading this article we get a better knowledge of understanding how difficult it was during that time and era especially during the time when there was debates and decisions being made on the topic of immigration. The United States is very protective over its country and who we let in. I think that the leaders itself wanted to make sure that they did what is best for the country in any way possible by making sure they go over every messages possible and make the best decision they believe would be best. The best way to shape a nation and makes the best choices to better shape our I think what the leaders did to make sure they made the right choice and to make sure it would help shape the United States for the better. When considering decisions like these the nations leaders need to consider everything And I mean everything to make sure that they are doing what is good and right and make sure to keep everything in order and safe. This is a hard decision and they needto make sure they do it right. (203)
ReplyDelete2.)Senator Robert Wagner and Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers sponsored a bill that proposed to allow German Jewish children to enter the United States outside of official immigration quotas. The bill caused a loud and bitter public debate, but it never even reached a vote in Congress. Eleanor Roosevelt supported liberalizing immigration laws and wrote. About it in her newspaper column. Some American government officials noticed the danger and looked for ways to bring more refugees into the country. There were many Americans who wanted to help the Jews because they understood what they were going through. There were many committees who wanted to help for example the Unitarian Service Committee, the American Friends Service Committee, the Committee for the Care of European Children, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
ReplyDeleteIn 1939, 83% of Americans were opposed to the admission of refugees. In the center of the Great Depression, many feared the difficulty that immigrants could place on the nation’s economy, refugees, who in most cases were prevented from bringing any money or assets with them, were an even greater cause for concern. President Hoover felt that it would be difficult for immigrants to find jobs. The feelings of fear, mistrust, and even hatred of those who were different was also a problem. Immigration policies were shaped by fears of communist infiltrators and Nazi spies. (Word Count:226)
Martha and Waitstill Sharp wanted to aid the immigrants, so they traveled over Europe to help the victims of the Nazi regime. There were very few Americans who worked to help refugees despite the official government polices. The group would overwhelm the government with rescue and relief work projects. Some of the US government officials saw the danger the immigrants were in and tried to find ways to help them into America, however if they didn’t have the right papers they were turned down. Mrs.Roosevelt also helped and successfully helped some individual refugees, mostly artists and intellectual however she was not able to change the national policies. But the list of who didn’t want them was much larger, in 1938 delegates from 32 nations met to discuss the refugee problem in the end only one nation agree to take in refugees. The US like many other country’s didn’t want the refugees,many feared the burden that immigrants could place on the nation’s economy ,Breckinridge Long was a State Department officer responsible for issuing visa he believed he was the “the first line of defense”. He was one of the men who turned away the SS St. Louis, and sent over 900 immigrants to their death. (210)
ReplyDeleteFor this week’s blog I decided to choose and answer question number two because it looked like the best question to answer out of the four listed from the website article. There were many people who supported the jewish refugees two of these people were Senator Robert Wagner and congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers who advocated for Jewish refugees to be allowed into the United States. There were also those who did not support jewish refugees for example. Breckinridge Long who was the State Department wanted to keep Jewish refugees out of the country of the United States and keep them from coming in to the country. Long went so far to keep out Jewish refugees from entering the country that he and some of the members of the State department turned away the jewish refugees on the Ss St louis back to their country. First lady eleanor roosevelt also supported jewish refugees coming in to the country. “Long believed that he was “the first line of defense” against those who would “make America vulnerable to enemies for the sake of humanitarianism.” Martha and Waitstill Sharp supported and somewhat help the jewish refugees as well. Henry ford did not support jewish refugees coming into the country. ( WORD COUNT: 205)
ReplyDeleteFor my blog for this week i chose to do question #2. Martha and Waitstill Sharp were among the small amount of people that agreed to travel to Europe to help out victims of the Nazi regime. They also worked to aid refugees despite the popular sentiment and official government policies. Most of the rescue and relief work done by people were people involved in groups such as: Unitarian Service Committee, the American Friends Service Committee, the Committee for the Care of European Children, and lastly the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They inundated members of Congress and other government officials with letters and telegrams. Also Senator Robert Wagner and Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers both sponsored a bill that proposed to allow German Jewish children to enter the United States outside of official immigration quotas. In July of 1938, delegates from 32 nations went to meet in Evian to discuss on how to answer the crisis of the refugees. Only the Dominican Republic agreed to officially accept refugees from Europe, unlike the United States. The United States did not welcome Jewish refugees at all. 83% of Americans were opposed to the admission of refugees. The people that didn’t want the refugees feared the burden they could place on the nation's economy and were prevented from bringing in money or assets with them. (222 words)
ReplyDeleteQ: What are some of the debates surrounding immigration policy today? What roles do concerns about the economy, security, and national identity play? To what extent are today’s conversations similar to or different from the debates during World War II?
ReplyDeleteA: Even today many people are still arguing about immigration policies and how to fix it. Most older generations are not happy with how many people have been illegally crossing the border and that is the source of why so many people want Trump’s wall funded and put up. Most Republicans are very angry with all the immigration and that nothing is being done to stop people from illegally crossing the border. Not only are they furious because the US is becoming so over populated by immigrants but they are also furious because of the money issues. We the Americans are the tax payers and have to pay for many things for the immigrants in many ways and most people are furious about it. Back in World War 2 many things were different dealing with immigration. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was an ally to the refugees. She supported liberalizing immigration laws, wrote about the crisis in her weekly newspaper and worked in many ways and areas to make changes for the refugees. Although she helped individual refugees she wasnt able to change any national policies. Although Mrs Roosevelt was different, most people in power were always trying to enforce the laws just like they still are today.
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ReplyDeleteQ: Who in the United States advocated for Jewish refugees to be allowed into the country? Who wanted to keep them out? What arguments did each side offer to support its opposition? What did each side believe was at stake?
A: Well, the Democrat Senator Robert Wagner of New York and Republican Congresswoman Edith Rogers of Massachusetts, where creating a bill for the America to let in the German-Jewish refugees and others like Martha and Waitstill Sharp going over to Europe and aiding the Jews. They tried to get the refugees in to the U.S. from the problem in German. The bill was not even recognized in court. The agreeing side was trying to help the refugees get away from Germany and what they were about to go through. The disagree side said it was too risky and dangerous. We wouldn’t know if there was a German spy in our midst of letting them in. So they both have good points but I would chose the disagree side. Just like now. We would never know what kind of people we are letting in our country. Maybe nice and innocent people, but also there might be soon to be killers and criminals that are coming in our country. Each side cared about one thing. The yes side was all for the letting them in and away from the Germans, the safety for them. The no side was all for the safety of our countries people. (246)
Q: What does this reading suggest about the way the United States defined its universe of obligation during this period? What factors shape a nation’s sense of responsibility toward the broader world? What do nations consider when making their decisions?
ReplyDeleteA: I believe America, at this point in time, was more focused on the fact that they were drowning in debt. They were all struggling as a country to stay strong. Now they are being asked to bring in 100s of 1000s if not millions of immigrants to come and try to start new life. Well the Americans are trying to do that themselves but in their own country. There was no possible way the immigrants were going to be happy in either situation they were put in. However we didn’t just ignore them, we still brought a large portion of immigrants to our country.When I nation is considering something they first ask themselves if it will be a benefit or will it hurt, well when America “turned its back” against the Jews they were making a hard decision to prevent a worse outcome. (147)I’m not saying that the decision they made was perfect in any way however America finally got back on its feet and was able to fight for immigrants freedom/rights/homes even. In the end yes it was a tragic event but realistically we would have failed as a country because after all about 2/3 of our country was unemployed.
Who in the United States advocated for Jewish refugees to be allowed into the country? Who wanted to keep them out? What arguments did each side offer to support its position? What did each side believe was at stake?
ReplyDeleteAround 1940 many of the members of the President’s Advisory Committee that worked with deciding many important things to do with refugees fought against the State Department to make the immigration process a lot easier for the refugees. This was shut down by many. The First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was an ally for the refugees. She supported liberalizing immigration laws and she even wrote about the refugee crisis in her newspaper column. She worked and did a lot of things to try and create change for the refugees. Although she helped many individuals like artists and musicians she wasn’t able to create a national shift and change as much as she hoped and dreamed too. The State Department is one of the ones she had to go up against and try and change their minds. The state Department insisted on enforcing the immigration laws as strictly as possible which is exactly the opposite of what Eleanor wanted. One of the main people who was against immigration was Breckinridge Long, who was a State Department officer that distributed visas and etc. He was determined to shut down as much immigration as possible and use the State Departments power to try and create as many walls as he could for the refugees to go through.
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Question
ReplyDeleteThe United States showed that they were not obligated to help the refugees during the 1930’s all the way to the 1940’s. In the beginning, America was a little skeptical of the jews, especially because they were coming from Germany. Moving on, America looked at the refugees in a troubled regretful way. It was mainly due to the Great depression as to why America declined entry for the refugees. Also, 83% of the American people said no to the jews. But mainly, the reason the people say no is because of fear. America is afraid. Everyone is afraid, and they're all acting upon their fear. Surprisingly, in the end America lets the refugees in. America wasn’t obligated to welcome them, they chose to. “During World War II (immigration was described) as “paper walls that meant the difference between life and death.” Despite the many obstacles to immigration, some 200,000 Jews did manage to reach the United States between 1933 and 1945. In order for a nation to thrive/survive is character. Adding on, a well functioning nation needs to have integrity, dignity, courage, selflessness, willingness, wisdom, love, and be led by the Holy Spirit. If a nation is shaped in this way, the responsibility will follow.They will be a helping hand to this world. It may not be the way the world wants it to be, but the Kingdom of God will spread and it’ll be what it needs to be. To close, I think nations look at the world in a perspective of, “how will this affect me; how will this benefit me? It’s a very self oriented perspective, and I believe a majority of nations look out from those type of lenses. (282)
I did question 1
ReplyDeleteAmerica and The Holocaust
ReplyDelete3. In the late 1930s, journalist Dorothy Thompson wrote that no democratic nation can “wash its hands of . . . [the problems of the refugees] if it wishes to retain its own soul.” She insisted that “democracy cannot survive” if people deny minorities “the right to existence.” How does she define the word democracy? Why does she believe that a democracy must protect the rights of minorities? Do you agree? :
Jews and other minority groups were treated very unfairly. Until 1941, just living in Germany was almost impossible for the Jews. They were stripped away of their citizenship and their basic rights of marriage. Democracy (as we see now for sure) is a successful way to run a nation. Democracy is control of an organization or group by the majority of its members. I think it’s clear that in America especially the government has never really been against immigrants because of racism as much as it has been for the safety of our economy and the people. I think you have to look at both sides of this issue. I think that it is way too hard to become a citizen of the United States. Honestly, I feel like most citizens would not even be able to pass the tests that have to be taken by people trying to become citizens. It seems to be a very unfair and long process. You also have to look on the other side of this issue, the United States has valid reason to be afraid of immigrants coming into the country. There is a pretty justified reason for the laws we have and just because things are going badly in other countries does not mean that the laws are unjustified it just means that we have to take into consideration those situations. (229)
First Post-Andrea
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