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Americans and the Holocaust
Holocaust history raises important questions about what Europeans could have done to stop the rise of Nazism in Germany and its assault on Europe's Jews. Questions also must be asked of the international community, including the United States.
What did the US government and the American people know about the threats posed by Nazi Germany? What responses were possible? And when?
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. The American people -- 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. |