Op-Ed: "Complicit": FDR's Refusal to Save the Jews on the MS St. Louis

INN ^ | Sunday, April 19, 2015 7:04 PM | Prof. Phyllis Chesler

[Olog-hai]

The more we learn about the Holocaust, even as it recedes into the “mists of time,” the more my blood boils, the closer I come to tears.

Last night, I traveled far out into Syrian-Jewish Brooklyn, where there are not only Syrian shuls but Egyptian, Lebanese, and Iraqi shuls as well—sometimes two or three on a single block. […]

Retired lawyer and filmmaker Robert Krakow was screening his film Complicit, which is about America’s and FDR’s refusal, in 1939, to allow the Jewish passengers on the German ship, the MS St. Louis, to enter the country. More than 900 Jews were on board the luxury liner that was sent back to the European death camps. […]

According to Robert Krakow, FDR’s “political ambitions won out over humanitarian need.” Roosevelt wanted to “win a third election.” He therefore decided that he had to convince American voters that he was strongly “isolationist and anti-immigration.” He was enabled in this undertaking by his anti-Semitic advisors, including diplomats such as Joseph Kennedy, FDR’s Ambassador to the UK, who hobnobbed with his Nazi German counterpart and conveyed that many Americans shared Germany’s anti-Semitism. …

[BroJoeK]

T-Bone Texan: "I am pretty sure that 'kicking German civilians out of their homes' thing is part of the historical record, but please feel free to cure me of my ignorance if I am off base."

You can be certain that Germans suffered terribly, both during and after WWII.
Yes, they did not suffer as horribly as some -- i.e., Poles, Jews, etc. -- but they did suffer, and suffering did not end on surrender in May 1945, it continued for years afterwards.

And we will never know the full suffering under Soviet occupation in Eastern Germany, possibly that's where your idea comes from of Germans kicked out of their homes to make room for "Jews" -- Soviet troops, politicos, etc.

In Western Germany, it was a different story, though Morganthau's basic plan, imposed not by Roosevelt, but by new President Truman, did apply for a few years.
Germany was to be de-industrialized and effective reparations extracted.

But all that ended as Stalin's "Iron Curtain" descended and the Cold War heated up.
By April 1948 the US Marshall Plan had reversed the process, Germany was beginning to re-industrialized, with the result that within 15 years, Germany's industry was a modernized envy of the world, restoring Germany as the preeminent economic power in Europe.

If you're wondering where I'm coming from on this, I'm just trying to be realistic, and not exaggerate or minimize pain and suffering by anyone on either side in those terrible days.

[BroJoeK]

LS: " Hitler was making “extermination” statements since 1920. Not in 'Mein Kampf.'. "

But the number of Americans who even read Mein Kampf and grasped Hitler's anti-Semitism, was miniscule.
The number who would know of his extermination statements was probably too small to be counted.
Did FDR know? We don't know...

But in the summer of 1939, just weeks before Hitler invaded Poland, FDR was still trying to negotiate the release of more Jews from Germany.
Of course, FDR would be satisfied if those Jews moved to Holland or Belgium, or France.
And the negotiations, such as they were, amounted to setting a price -- how many Jews for how much money to be exchanged?

Again, with perfect hind-sight we would have designed a different program.
My point, and Breitman's, is only that Roosevelt did, in all good faith, all he could reasonably be expected to do, given the circumstances.

[BroJoeK]

LS: "Ok, when I get time, I’ll have to read this book. No time right now, so I’ll defer."

Thanks! Will be most interested in your response, FRiend.

[Olog-hai]

Oh, the “enforce US laws” canard. Just like judges were concerned about “US laws” with respect to abortion and now same-sex so-called “marriage”. What a transparent liberal tactic.

Never mind openly lying about the fate of the Jews on board the St. Louis now. And defending the Drittes Reich by unabashedly implying that the intelligence of the British Empire and USA was so utterly incompetent that the fate of those who were slain in the Holocaust was “totally unknowable” even before 1939.

[Olog-hai]

This is not about “limited federal powers”, something that FDR did not respect anyhow—having issued the most executive orders of any president in history. Not that the act of taking on refugees would have required executive orders, which they would not have.

And again, this is not about immigration but refugee status. Nobody’s falling for that conflation canard, so let it go.

BTW, do not admit that FDR’s intelligence network was competent in one post (this one) and then imply it was not competent in a later post.

[af_vet_1981]

It’s time for these American-hating Jews to face reality

It will soon be time for Jew-hating Americans to be separated from the sheep, but until then, they will keep hating the Jews.

[Hostage]

There’s no general jew hating in this American.

But the label ‘jew’ applies to a group of people who are not all the same, not by a long shot.

There are Jews that love God and who love America and all its history.

Then there are Jews who loathe obedience to God and can’t find a single kind word to say about America. Some of these who have grown up in the Land of the Free even go so far as to call FDR a Holocaust denier. They have a right to their opinions but not to their version of the facts. They breed hate for America and are deservedly ignored by Americans and America loving Jews alike. They do not represent America loving Jews. They are outcasts in their own ethnic group identity.

The indifference shown them prompts them to extend their error by seeking attention in extreme provocative irrational ways which furthers their isolation. As they dig their hole deeper they claim they’ve been put in their hole by jew-hating Americans Which only serves to exacerbate the vicious cycle that they themselves created and keep going.

And of course they vote democrat which as their right reveals their penchant for blaming anyone but themselves for their problems. This subgroup of persons calling themselves Jews subscribe to a cult of victimization. They are the victims and the blame is always on someone else.

Of course if Americans of 1939 had been able to see into the future to the Holocaust to come they would have opened up the immigration gate to all that would suffer at the hands of this diabolical group called Nazis. But as it was Americans were suffering severe economic hardship and had already closed the mass immigration gates in the years prior. They are not at fault.

[af_vet_1981]

There’s no general jew hating in this American.

There is no tolerable wiggle room for any "Jew hating."

Of course if Americans of 1939 had been able to see into the future to the Holocaust to come they would have opened up the immigration gate to all that would suffer at the hands of this diabolical group called Nazis. But as it was Americans were suffering severe economic hardship and had already closed the mass immigration gates in the years prior. They are not at fault.

They can tell it to the Judge.

[Hostage]

> “There is no tolerable wiggle room for any “Jew hating.”

Yes there is.

George Soros is hated. He and his circle will wreck businesses, bring calamity upon national currencies, disrupt trade agreements and then turn around to offer to buy back for 10 cents on the dollar. If that doesn’t cause raging hatred, nothing will.

And then he says if he doesn’t ruin people’s lives for profit, someone else will.

Whereas American stars such as Sandy Koufax, Jackie Mason, David Horowitz, Mark Levin and so many other Jewish celebrities are loved by Americans because they love America, appreciate what America stands for and will fight for its ideals.

Whereas the Jewish Progressive feminist Phyllis Chesler who authored this pile of projection won’t even merit a footnote in American history.

> “They can tell it to the Judge.”

More than 400,000 of ‘they’ already gave up their hopes, dreams, and their best years of life by sacrificing their lives on the battlefield to stop the Nazi war machine. They don’t need to face any judge over accusations of the ungrateful who decades later ignorantly blame them for the woes of others.

[af_vet_1981]

More than 400,000 of ‘they’ already gave up their hopes, dreams, and their best years of life by sacrificing their lives on the battlefield to stop the Nazi war machine. They don’t need to face any judge over accusations of the ungrateful who decades later ignorantly blame them for the woes of others.

Singling out people to hate as Jews is against The Commandment. Everyone will face the Judge. "Did you die on a battlefield ?" is not one of the questions the Judge will ask.

[Hostage]

You should not be lecturing anyone on hate. Liberal Jews are masters of hatred:

http://gawker.com/5441576/why-do-the-jews-hate-sarah-palin-so-much

[LS]

I absolutely agree with this: "But the number of Americans who even read Mein Kampf and grasped Hitler's anti-Semitism, was miniscule. The number who would know of his extermination statements was probably too small to be counted."

I think it's safe to say "but the number of GERMANS who even read Mein Kampf (a paltry number) . . . was too small to be counted."

[x]

I think academic scholarship has already come around to the position that FDR screwed the Jews.

There was a controversy about this two years back.

My understanding was that there was still much disagreement, especially given the great differences between what people expect now and what was possible then.

[af_vet_1981]

You should not be lecturing anyone on hate. Liberal Jews are masters of hatred:

Hating Jews is very unprofitable in the long run.

[LS]

Apparently so I am going to catch up on some of the new stuff.

[BroJoeK]

Olog-hai: "Oh, the “enforce US laws” canard."

Canard? FRiend, you should look up definitions of big words before you throw them around willy-nilly.
A "canard" is: "1. An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story." There's nothing "unfounded", "false" or "misleading" about the fact that President Roosevelt enforced US immigration laws, even regarding the ill-fated MSS St. Louis.

Of course, you may not like the fact, may disapprove strongly of FDR's actions, but it's still a fact, not "canard".

Olog-hai: "Never mind openly lying about the fate of the Jews on board the St. Louis now."

FRiend, I have not accused you of lying, even though you're clearly mistaken on some important facts -- for example, contrary to your assertion, no passenger on board was returned to Germany, and no passenger committed suicide.
Go back and read the history again, you'll see that I am not mistaken, much less lying.

Olog-hai: "And defending the Drittes Reich by unabashedly implying that the intelligence of the British Empire and USA was so utterly incompetent that the fate of those who were slain in the Holocaust was 'totally unknowable' even before 1939."

Of course it was unknowable in 1939 that millions of Jews would die in specially designed killing centers, most Jews themselves did not know specifically what fate awaited them when they climbed into the rail transports.
Indeed, as late as the summer of 1941, the Nazis' big plan was to mass transport Europe's Jews to, yes, Madagascar!

So the Nazis themselves did not know in 1939 what fate awaited European Jewry during some potential future war.

As for how prescient were leaders like Roosevelt and Churchill, well, there's no record anywhere saying they knew ahead of time about death camps or Einsatzgruppen.

Truly, as a young person, you have much to learn.
I could recommend any number of good scholarly books on the Holocaust, but really, even Wikipedia will keep you straight on most of the basics.

[af_vet_1981]

There's nothing "unfounded", "false" or "misleading" about the fact that President Roosevelt enforced US immigration laws, even regarding the ill-fated MSS St. Louis.

Neither will there by anything "unfounded", "false" or "misleading" when the Messiah enforces immigration laws separating the sheep from the goats.

[BroJoeK]

Olog-hai: "And again, this is not about immigration but refugee status.
Nobody’s falling for that conflation canard, so let it go."

I don't buy your "immigrant vs. refugee" distinction.
First of all, what did the word "refugee" even mean in 1939?
What categories, if any, of people were being admitted to the US in 1939 as "refugees"?
Were Jews being admitted anywhere in the world as "refugees" versus as "immigrants"?

Again remember, in early 1939 the world was still at peace.
Yes, Hitler's words were full of bluster & threats, but peace had been kept by brilliant politicians such as Britain's own Neville Chamberlain -- don't you remember seeing him wave that paper showing "peace in our time"?

Surely such a brilliant negotiator as Chamberlain will find new ways to keep the peace beyond 1939, regardless of Hitler's huffing and puffing.

So, donchaknow, those MSS St. Louis passengers are not "refugees" (whatever that word means), they're just immigrants hoping to beat US laws intended to keep such people out.

Of course, FRiend, I'm not saying I agree with those 1939 mis-perceptions, only that, true or false, that's what they thought.

Olog-hai: "BTW, do not admit that FDR’s intelligence network was competent in one post (this one) and then imply it was not competent in a later post."

FRiend, I have whole books here at home which discuss FDR's "intelligence network", and none of them tell me he knew in advance of the coming Holocaust.
Of course we can assume he knew of Hitler's public pronouncements, such as his January 1939 Reichtag speech, from which I quoted above, but then, Hitler was so full of bluff and bluster that it was hard to tell if or when he was serious.

Indeed, as late as summer 1941, Nazis themselves were planning to transport European Jewry to the island of Madagascar.

Regardless, FDR continued to negotiate for the release of more Jews from Germany as late as the summer of 1939.
And indeed, by the time war started, virtually every Jew who could leave Germany (young, employable) had done so.
Sadly, many didn't move far enough away.

[af_vet_1981]

Again remember, in early 1939 the world was still at peace. Yes, Hitler's words were full of bluster & threats, but peace had been kept by brilliant politicians such as Britain's own Neville Chamberlain -- don't you remember seeing him wave that paper showing "peace in our time"?

Surely such a brilliant negotiator as Chamberlain will find new ways to keep the peace beyond 1939, regardless of Hitler's huffing and puffing.

So, donchaknow, those MSS St. Louis passengers are not "refugees" (whatever that word means), they're just immigrants hoping to beat US laws intended to keep such people out.

False, the Jews were not at peace. They were already refugees.

Kindertransport (Children's Transport) was the informal name of a series of rescue efforts which brought thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain from Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1940.

Following the violent pogrom staged by the Nazi authorities upon Jews in Germany known as Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) of 9–10 November 1938, the British government eased immigration restrictions for certain categories of Jewish refugees. Spurred by British public opinion and the persistent efforts of refuge aid committees, most notably the British Committee for the Jews of Germany and the Movement for the Care of Children from Germany, British authorities agreed to permit an unspecified number of children under the age of 17 to enter Great Britain from Germany and German-annexed territories (namely, Austria and the Czech lands).

Private citizens or organizations had to guarantee to pay for each child's care, education, and eventual emigration from Britain. In return for this guarantee, the British government agreed to allow unaccompanied refugee children to enter the country on temporary travel visas. It was understood at the time that when the “crisis was over,” the children would return to their families. Parents or guardians could not accompany the children. The few infants included in the program were tended by other children on their transport.

The first Kindertransport arrived in Harwich, Great Britain, on December 2, 1938, bringing some 200 children from a Jewish orphanage in Berlin which had been destroyed in the Kristallnacht pogrom. Like this convoy, most transports left by train from Berlin, Vienna, Prague, and other major cities in Central Europe. Children from smaller towns and villages traveled from their homes to these collection points in order to join the transports. Jewish organizations inside the Greater German Reich—specifically the Reich Representation of Jews in Germany, headquartered in Berlin (and after early 1939, its successor organization the Reich Association of Jews in Germany), as well as the Jewish Community Organization (Kultusgemeinde) in Vienna—planned the transports.

In the fight against Slavery, the British were first, while the United States lagged behind, clinging to slaves and guns. In the fight against Nazi Germany, the United States also lagged behind. The good news is the United States got their in the end, albeit there were more casualties.

[af_vet_1981]

their => there