American Response View 1

In an outside corridor, adjacent to the main exhibit, is a special display titled, “In America 1933-45; Response to the Holocaust”, which traces American reaction and involvement in events unfolding in Europe. The American response to the Nazi assault on Jews between 1933-1945 continues to be the subject of contentious debate. While there is no doubt that the United States played a dominant role in the ultimate defeat of Germany, questions remain about the government’s reluctance to offer a haven to Jewish refugees or take steps to aid Hitler’s victims. Although individual Americans and some organizations reacted to reports of Nazi atrocities with outrage, President Franklin Roosevelt, for the most part, turned away from the moral challenge. He condemned Nazi anti-Semitism but maintained that the defeat of Germany was the only way to put an end to its genocidal policies.