Existing comment:
Could the Allies Have Stopped the Killing?
The US Government learned about the systematic killing of Jews almost as soon as it began in the Soviet Union in 1941. Throughout the war, however, the Allied governments prioritized defeating Nazism, not saving Jews.
By November 1942, when Allied troops invaded north Africa, the Germans were operating six killing centers in Nazi-occupied Poland and had murdered four million Jews, most by gassing or mass shootings. By the time the western Allied armies landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day (June 6, 1944), more than five million Jews had been murdered, and two killing centers -- Majdanek and Auschwitz -- were still operating. Both camps were eventually liberated by Soviet troops.
What Could the United States Have Done?
Beyond the military goal of defeating Nazism, the United States could have publicized information about Nazi atrocities, pressured the other Allies and neutral nations to help endangered Jews, and supported resistance groups against the Nazis. Prior to the war, the US government could have enlarged or filled its immigration quotas to allow more Jewish refugees to enter the country. These acts together might have reduced the death toll, but they would not have prevented the Holocaust. |