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During
the war, American Jewry found itself reacting to unprecedented and
unbelievable news – the murder of all the Jews of Europe – at a
time when ethnic assertiveness was unacceptable in American society
and when anti-Semitism was clearly on the rise in the United States.
Nevertheless, American Jewry organized to send funds and supplies
into occupied Europe through aid organizations such as the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They organized mass rallies at
Madison Square Garden in New York City, and at similar arenas,
condemning the murder and calling on the Allies to help. American
Jewish leaders pleaded with their government's leaders, including
the president, to act on behalf of European Jewry, and they prepared
rescue proposals, such as the one submitted jointly by eight
American Jewish organizations to the Bermuda Conference in the
spring of 1943. Rescue activities finally undertaken to a limited
degree by the government, such as those implemented through the War
Refugee Board in 1944, were largely funded by American Jewry.
However, American Jewry was unable to overcome its internal
differences and conflicts, which were both ideological and
organizational. Thus, they rarely presented the government with a
united front and united demands or requests, and the government did
not display great resolve to rescue the Jews of Europe. |
