[wagglebee]

Wyman Institute director Dr. Rafael Medoff, commented: "The Roosevelt Museum is wrong to suggest that historians believe nothing could have been done by FDR to rescue Jews from Hitler. In fact, the opposite is true. Among scholars who specialize in this subject, there is an overwhelming consensus that Roosevelt could have taken many steps to save Jewish lives – as this non-partisan petition, signed by Jewish and non-Jewish historians alike, demonstrates."

I have always believed that FDR could have done more, he just didn't care.

[satchmodog9]

I really wonder why he didn't act.

[cynicom]

I do believe there are recorded instances of different Jewish organizations urging FDR to do nothing.

[vetvetdoug]

I bet these are the same historians that were against the Clinton Impeachment; they are so intelligent and know so much more than the average American.

[A.B.Normal]

As I understand it, FDR could have done more - possibly. I understand that a few boat loads of Jewish refugees were turned away from our shores. I do not know what became of those people, hopefully they survived.

However, the Jews were not the only ones to suffer from an American "tradition." 40000 Irish were turned away from US ports and dropped off on the rocks near Nova Scotia to die. There is also the fact that America was isolationist and adverse to foreign intervention... and it was up to Congress to declare War, if that is what is being inferred. One has to wonder if the previous harsh treatment of immigrants is the reason (in part) for the laxity of today.

The problem will never be resolved. I also saw a History Channel program that inferred wealthy Jews in the US, particularly those in Hollywood, should have done more but did not. Perceived class or ethnic differences?

[ml/nj]

Look. I'm Jewish. I don't like FDR. I am part of the family that fled from Germany.

But criticizing FDR because FDR because he didn't do "enough" to save the Jews is just so much 20/20 hindsight. His job was to save America, and he did a damn good job of it. (militarily)

ML/NJ

[jla]

FDR Apathetic to Holocaust

This is actually news to anyone? (I'm not including the errant liberal who may be looking in)

[opinionator]

1) FDR's socialistic economic policies both deepened and lengthened the worldwide depression.
2) Germany was one of the countries hardest hit by the depression.
3) The German people were so beaten down that they welcomed Hitler and his war.

Therefore, FDR caused the Holocaust. QED.

[genghis]

This is very encouraging. fdr was one of the worst presidents we have ever had. His economic policy starkly chronicled in "fdr's folly" lenghtened and worsened the depression, and yalta cost us and eastern europe untolled misery, this just further confirms the disaster that is the liberal agenda.

[Eagles6]

Uh, guess what. WWII wasn't just about the Holocaust. Could things have been done differently according to 20/20 hindsight? Probably. Are there still arguments about what happened and the validity of certain policies? We were fighting Japan also and it was Japan that first attacked us. We were not, in any sense, ready for a war of that magnitude. We supplied Britain and Russia, who were battling the nazis, well before we officially entered the war. Do the Chinese also have a claim against us as we "allowed" the Japanese to kill far more Chinese? How about the Serbs?

We lost 500,000 dead in WWII and whatever we do it's never enough. It's bad enough to get this crap from our enemies, it stinks to get it from our supposed friends.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Historians who specialize in the question of America's response to the Holocaust are urging the Franklin D. Roosevelt Museum to correct a panel in its exhibit that claims there was nothing President Roosevelt could have done to save many more Jews from the Holocaust."

Look, I am as about as far away from an FDR fan as one could get, but the 1940s were different in that information was not transfered as quickly as it is nowadays.

FDR I am sure could have done more but one must ask how sure were we(USA) what exactly was going on inside the German war machine.

I think we all know now what happened to the Jews now. However put it in the context of today's info capabilities and I am still not sure we could get a 100% consensus on what America should do about such. There are many on the left right now who believe Saddam was just a misunderstood leader of a poor nation and got steamrolled by President Bush so we could steal Iraq's Oil.

Face it the Holocaust was just too barbaric for rational people to comprehend without hard evidence and that kind of info was almost impossible to get in the early 40s.

I look at those pictures today and it still boggles my mind people could be so evil towards someone because of their religious beliefs and heritage.