Table of Contents
- About the Americans and the Holocaust Initiative
- The initiative aims to promote:
- Introduction to the Americans and the Holocaust Exhibition
- Americans and the Holocaust online exhibition
- Exhibition Panels
- Historical Background and Overview of New Research
- Guiding Questions
- What did Americans know?
- Did Americans Help Jewish Refugees?
- Why did Americans go to War?
- How did Americans respond to the Holocaust?
- Key Concepts
- Americans Had Information
- Americans Faced Many Competing Priorities
- Americans Debated
- Americans Responded
- Americans Focused on Winning the War
- Frequently Asked Questions About the Holocaust
About This Exhibition and the Museum’s Educational Initiative
The Americans and the Holocaust Initiative, a groundbreaking ten-year project of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is anchored in a special exhibition that opened to the public in April 2018 in conjunction with the Museum’s 25th anniversary. This initiative stems from a mandate in the Museum’s founding documents to reflect on “the American aspects of the Holocaust.” By examining this topic, the Museum poses challenging questions that encourage people to think critically about the past, as well as our role in responding to threats of genocide today.
The Initiative aims to promote:
- An examination of how all parts of American society – the government, organizations, the media, popular culture, and the general public – responded during the rise of the Nazi threat and as news of the genocide became publicly known.
- Self-reflection and critical thinking about the various factors that shaped attitudes and actions during that moment of crisis and the factors that influence us today.
Introduction to the Americans and the Holocaust Exhibition
Americans and the Holocaust online exhibition
Historical Background and Overview of New Research
Spanish translation of Traveling Exhibition
This exhibition raises challenging and important questions about this critical moment in American history. The introduction to the traveling exhibition reads: "What did Americans know? What more could have been done?”
Holocaust history raises important questions about what the international community, including the United States, could have done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe’s Jews.
By the time Nazi Germany forced the world into war, democratic civilization itself was at stake. The US military fought for almost four years to defend democracy, and more than 400,000 Americans died. American soldiers and civilians alike made enormous sacrifices to free Europe from Nazi oppression. Yet saving Jews and others targeted for murder by the Nazi regime and its collaborators never became a priority.
The United States alone could not have prevented the Holocaust, but more could have been done to save some of the six million Jews who were killed. This exhibition examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans’ responses to Nazism, war, and genocide.
Guiding Questions
In keeping with the thematic approach of the Americans and the Holocaust exhibition, we hope that host sites will engage their communities in some of the key questions posed by the exhibit.
Founding Museum Chairman Elie Wiesel said “There are no answers. And this Museum is not an answer; it is a question mark.” This idea has guided our thinking about this topic. We strive to provoke new inquiry and reflection among our visitors, both about history and about our roles and responsibilities today. The following questions, explored in the traveling exhibition, may be useful in framing your programs:
- What did Americans know?
- Did Americans help Jewish refugees?
- Why did Americans go to war?
- How did Americans respond to the Holocaust?
Key Concepts
- Americans Had Information
Americans could read, see, and hear news about Nazi persecution and murder of European Jews in their newspapers and magazines, on the radio, and in newsreels, as well as information about events of World War II as events were unfolding.
- Americans Faced Many Competing Priorities
Despite this information, public opinion polls show that most Americans did not want to accept more Jewish refugees into the country. Racism and antisemitism at home, war weariness from World War I, conditions during the Great Depression, fears of communism and spies, and eventually World War II all competed with the plight of endangered Jews for Americans’ attention. Also, even though Americans learned about atrocities, many were skeptical of the reports.
- Americans Debated
Americans debated their country’s role in the world. They argued over immigration policy, over whether the United States should remain isolated or intervene in World War II, and over whether the United States should make a concerted effort to rescue Jews, or simply try to win the war as soon as possible.
- Americans Responded
Some Americans reacted when they learned about the Nazi threat to European Jews. They took action as individuals, members of institutions, or government officials. These efforts were shaped by the time period and the resources they had available.
- American Focused on Winning the War
The United States and other Allied forces prioritized military victory over humanitarian aid during World War II. Although the United States could have done more to aid the victims of Nazi Germany and its collaborators, large-scale rescue was impossible by the time the United States entered the war.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Holocaust
FAQ for librarians and educations with embedded additional resources