Closed Doors: America and the1938-1940 Refugee Crisis

Date
2016-05
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Prior to the Second World War, another lesser-known crisis rocked world affairs. In response to the rise of the Nazi Party, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, many Jews and other minorities sought refuge in countries around the world. This was the refugee crisis of 1938-1940. But, few countries, including the United States, agreed to let many refugees enter. While the United States and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took some action to aid the desperate refugees by initiating the Evian Conference and establishing a President’s Advisory Committee on Refugees, they did not aid a significant amount of Jews. Virulent nativist and anti-Semitic sentiments among the general public, as well as Congress’s refusal to increase immigration quotas and the State Department’s commitment to blocking immigration, limited the scope of American action. This thesis will explore the American action that was taken to save European Jews from a terrible fate and the many factors that limited such action.
Description
Keywords
refugee crisis, america, history
Citation