Posted on 05/05/2005 7:00:02 AM PDT by manny613
Here is some info for you:
The NAZI campaign against the Jews began almost as soon as Hitler seized power in Germany. Even respected sientists were quickly dismissed from positions at universites and research institutes. Many of these individuals were able to emmigrte and take of their carrers America, France, and Britain. While many German Jews were unable to get visas, especially after Kristallnacht. Many scientists had the international contacts needed to obtain visas and most left Germany before it became more difficult to get out. This significantly increased the pool of talented sientists available tothe American atomic bomb program. Some of the best known were Hans Bethe (Alsatian-German Jew), Albert Einstein (German Jew), Enrico Fermi (Italian with Jewish wife), Lise Meitner (Austrian Jew), Leo Szilard (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), Edward Teller (Hungarian Jew working in Germany), and Eugene Wigner (Hungarian Jew working in Germany). Some like Bethe did not look on himself as a Jew. Some authors believe that the dismissal of competent scientists and appointment of Party hacks was a major reason in the failure of the German bomb program. [Walker] Many of these nuclear scientists emmigrated early in the NAZI era when the NAZIs were primarily concerned with dismissing Jews from universities and other official positions. Fremi came much later and managed to escape with his wife when he was allowed to go to Sweden to accept a Nobel Prize. Lise Meitner (1878-1968), escaped to Sweden just before the War with the help of Niels Bohr (another Nobel laureate). She later continued to work in the United States. History is full of unintended conseuence. The Jews were essentially an easy target for Hitler and his NAZI thugs. Few expected retribution for their actions against the Jews. There were indeed few adverse domestic consequences. In fact the NAZIs probably gained upport for these actions from anti-Semites as well as those who benefitted from the jobs opened up and the property seized. The NAZI anti-Semetic campaign not only helped President Roosevelt build support for his policies opposing the NAZIs, but help with providing the United States scientific talent which help build the atomic bomb. If the NAZIs had not surrendered in May 1945, the atomic bomb could have been used on Germany.
FDR made a famous speech on September 11, 1941, in which he referred to the "rattlesnakes of the Atlantic" meaning the Nazi ships (maybe specifically referring to the submarines). It was 60 years to the day before 9/11.
While this is certainly true, its worth emphasizing that until 1942, the Nazis goal was expelling Jews from their territory. Before the war, 90% of German Jews left Germany, for instance, many of them coming to the UK and the United States. Its not unreasonable to say that every German Jew who wanted to leave could leave. In late 1941, Germany declared war on the United States. And in 1942, Germany changed goals and started exterminating Jews rather than expelling them. But until that point, there had been no systematic extermination.
Before the US entered the war, German U-boats were harassing the sea lanes off the Atlantic coast of the US to such degree that Churchill sent a fleet of anti-submarine craft to try to protect British ships from attack. One of those craft, the HMS Bedfordshire, was torpedoed and sunk in "Torpedo Alley" just off the Outer Banks of NC. There is a cemetery for the dead crew of that ship in Manteo, which is actually British soil, given to them in honor of the sacrifice of these men. Their sacrifice is still honored.
Correction, shortly after the US entered the war, not before.
I'm reporting what the book I referenced said - which is that before Pearl harbor, entering WWII polled 20% in America. We didn't want to get into another world war any more than the British, who overwhelmingly cheered Neville "peace in our time" Chamberlain on his return from Munich, had.It's one thing to credit FDR for waiting to enter the war until he had public opinion behind doing it. And quite another thing entirely to realize that before Pearl Harbor FDR would have lost all semblance of public support if he had openly tried to do any such thing.
In fact, according to The New Dealers' War, the opponents of entry into WWII- having seen a Chicago newspaper report on Department of War plans to fight Germany and Japan - were in full protest mode on December 7, 1941. The book reports that the suspects in that leak from the War Department suffered no career impediment for it. Book points out that a week in advance, FDR had "Magic" transcripts predicting what the Japanese were planning to say on Dec 7 - and raises the question as to whether FDR ordered the leak of the War Department plan as a way to bushwhack the isolationists.
Strictly speaking the plan for genocide was set up in the Wanasee conference in 1941, not in 1942.
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