priority was the earliest pos-
sible victory over Germany;
incapacitating the extermina-
tion camps wouldn’t advance
that goal.
The American Jewish
community in the 1930s
was divided about how to
respond, Greene said. Some
American Jewish leaders
were outspoken advocates of
American intervention; oth-
ers worried about backlash if
they spoke out too forcefully.
“Some wanted to take to
the streets to protest and to
boycott German goods,” he
said. “Others wanted to work
quietly behind the scenes.”
Greene said tens of
thousands of civic groups,
churches and Jewish organi-
zations in a number of states
sent petitions in the summer
of 1933 urging the president
to express disapproval of the

WILLIAM EDWARD DODD PAPERS, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, MANUSCRIPT
DIVIISION, WASHINGTON, D.C.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM; COPYRIGHT: WALTER P.
REUTHER LIBRARY, ARCHIVES OF LABOR AND URBAN AFFAIRS, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY

UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, COURTESY OF DR. LIANE REIF-LEHRER

The largest number of petitions to the president
came from Detroit, after a drive organized by Philip
Slomovitz, then editor of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle.
Nothing came of the effort.

ABOVE: American diplomats in Germany were well aware
of the Nazi persecution of Jews, but the U.S. government
respected Germany’s right to govern its own citizens. U.S.
Ambassador William Dodd (in front of waiter) celebrates
Thanksgiving at the Hotel Esplanade in Berlin, 1934.

LEFT: Unemployed man with sign asking for work in
Detroit, Michigan, 1932. While the Nazis persecuted Jews in
Germany, the United States had already been suffering the
effects of the Great Depression and most Americans chose
to focus on problems at home.

FAR LEFT: U.S. officials process Alien Registration
documents (June-November 1940). After Germany annexed
Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938-39, hundreds of
thousands of Jews applied to immigrate to the U.S. but
visas were difficult to obtain.

BELOW: As part of the exhibit, a touchscreen gives access
to newspaper articles from the time, including this one
from the Detroit Jewish News.

persecution of Jews to the
German government. The
largest number of petitions
came from Detroit, after a
drive organized by Philip
Slomovitz, then editor of
the Detroit Jewish Chronicle.
Nothing came of the effort.
“Americans and the
Holocaust” connects the
Holocaust to current events
by encouraging visitors to
think about their roles and
responsibilities as citizens,
Greene said. Posters urge
visitors to think about what
they learned the next time
they see hatred or injustice.
These are difficult ques-
tions, he said. “What are our
responsibilities to refugees?
When there is war abroad,
how do we deal with the
question of when to inter-
vene and when to remain in
isolation?” •

details

Can’t make it to Washington, D.C.? The U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum’s website includes much of the information in the exhibit
as well as educational resources. Find it at ushmm.org/americans.

jn

June 7 • 2018

37

