"World Response to the Holocaust"

- CONTENT -
THE WORLD’S RESPONSE TO THE HOLOCAUST DURING WORLD WAR II, AND THE EVENTS THAT PRECEDED IT, IS PART OF THE HISTORICAL STORY OF THE HOLOCAUST.

DURING THE WAR, WHEN NEWS OF THE “FINAL SOLUTION” WAS DISTRIBUTED IN THE WORLD, NO ONE BELIEVED THEM AT FIRST. MANY JEWS, IN EUROPE AND ABROAD, REFUSED TO BELIEVE THE TERRIBLE EVIDENCE. IN DECEMBER 1942, WHEN HE WAS INFORMED OF THE NAZI EXTERMINATION PROGRAM, THE ALLIES DENOUNCED IT WITH HARSH LANGUAGE, AND ANNOUNCED THAT THE NAZIS WOULD BE PROSECUTED. THE EXPLANATION GIVEN IN RETROSPECT TO THE BASTION OF THE COUNTRIES TO THE HOLOCAUST WAS THEIR POSITION THAT A QUICK VICTORY IN THE WAR WOULD ALSO LEAD TO THE LIBERATION OF THE JEWS. AFTER THE END OF THE WAR, SURVIVORS WERE GIVEN ASSISTANCE, BUT THE DISCUSSIONS ON THE SOLUTION OF THE JEWISH REFUGEE PROBLEM IN EUROPE LASTED LONG.

BEFORE THE OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR

THE PERSECUTION OF JEWS UNDER NAZI RULE

JEWISH REFUGEES FROM GERMANY
AT THE OVIAN CONFERENCE, WHICH CONVENED IN JUNE 1938 TO DISCUSS THE PROBLEM OF JEWISH REFUGEES FROM NAZI GERMANY, MOST OF THE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AGREED TO EXPAND THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES RECORDED IN THEM BEYOND THE IMMIGRATION QUOTAS THEY SET. FOLLOWING THE SHOCK OF KRISTALLNACHT IN NOVEMBER 1938, BRITAIN AGREED TO ABSORB JEWISH CHILDREN UNTIL THE AGE OF 17 FROM NAZI GERMANY IN ITS TERRITORY IN OPERATION KENDRA-TRANSPORT. HOLLAND AND SWITZERLAND ALSO AGREED TO ABSORB JEWISH REFUGEES. IN TOTAL, 400,000 JEWISH REFUGEES FROM NAZI GERMANY WERE TAKEN OVER IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, DURING THE PERIOD BETWEEN THE NAZIS AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

WEST REACTION DURING THE WAR

UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN

ON DECEMBER 17, 1942, WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MASS MURDERS OF JEWS COMMITTED BY THE NAZIS, THE ALLIES LED BY BRITAIN, THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES PUBLISHED THE FOLLOWING ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THESE COUNTRIES "PROTECT ALL THE LANGUAGE OF CONDEMNING THIS ANIMAL POLICY OF EXTERMINATION IN THE WIND. THEY DECLARE AND SAY THAT SUCH ACTS ARE NOT IN THEIR POWER, BUT TO STRENGTHEN THE DECISION OF ALL THE PEOPLES OF FREEDOM TO EMBODY THE BRUTAL TYRANNY OF HITLER. THEY REITERATE THEIR SACRED DECISION TO ENSURE THAT THE ACCUSED OF THESE CRIMES WILL NOT BE PUNISHED.”

DURING WORLD WAR II, MOST OF THE PRESS REPORTS WERE DEVOTED TO BATTLES ON VARIOUS FRONTS. THE EXTENT OF THE MURDERS OF THE JEWS WAS ONLY GRADUALLY DISCOVERED. VARIOUS MEDIA OUTLETS IN ISRAEL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD HAVE REPORTED VARIOUS REPORTS OF THE MASSACRES OF JEWS, BUT ONLY LATER, THE COMPLETE PICTURE EMERGED.

BRITAIN ABSORBED MANY JEWISH REFUGEES IN ITS TERRITORY, BUT DID NOT WANT TO ENCOURAGE THE ABSORPTION OF REFUGEES IN THE U.S. AND MADE EFFORTS TO SABOTAGE THE DESPERATION. IN 1942, THE BRITISH REFUSED TO APPROVE THE SHIP "ROSUMA", WHICH WAS RELEASED FROM ROMANIA AND RAISED 769 PASSENGERS, TO DOCK ON THE SHORES OF THE COUNTRY, CLAIMING THAT PASSENGERS WERE ENEMY STATE SUBJECTS. DURING NEGOTIATIONS, THE BRITISH AGREED TO ALLOW THE CHILDREN IN THE SHIP TO REACH THE COUNTRY, BUT THE INITIATIVE WAS NOT USED IN TIME, AS THE SHIP WAS DROWNED BY A SOVIET SUBMARINE IN THE BLACK SEA. TOWARDS THE END OF THE WAR, THE BRITISH NEONATES OPERATE UNITS IN JEWISH BRIGADES, BUT THEY WERE DEFINED AS PART OF AN ALLY IN THE UNITED STATES AND NOT AS GROUPS AIMED AT SAVING JEWISH REFUGEES. THOUSANDS OF JEWS FROM THE SETTLEMENT JOINED THE BRIGADE AND FOUGHT IN EUROPE UNDER BRITISH COMMAND.

IN APRIL 1943, THE BRITISH-AMERICAN BERMUDA CONFERENCE WAS CONVENED IN ORDER TO SEEK SOLUTIONS TO THE JEWISH PROBLEM IN THE HOLOCAUST. AT THE BERMUDA CONFERENCE, IT WAS DECIDED THAT AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE SHOULD BE HELD (SIMILAR TO THE AVIAN CONFERENCE FROM 1938 TO DISCUSS REFUGEE AFFAIRS AND ESTABLISH A CAMP FOR REFUGEES FLEEING EUROPE. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT IS DETERMINED THAT THE WESTERN POWERS CANNOT HELP JEWS BECAUSE THE AID SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ALL REFUGEES AND NOT ONLY TO JEWS, AND THE WESTERN POWERS LACK THE MEANS OF PROVIDING SUCH ASSISTANCE. IT IS ARGUED THAT PROVIDING ASSISTANCE, SUCH AS SHIPPING SHIPS TO REMOVE REFUGEES FROM EUROPE