Closed Doors: America and the1938-1940 Refugee Crisis
Date
2016-05
Authors
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