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Post-Holocaust Politics: Britain, the United States, and Jewish Refugees, 1945-1948
Between 1945 and 1948, more than a quarter of a million Jews fled countries in Eastern Europe and the Balkans and began filling hastily erected displaced persons camps in Germany and Austria. As one of the victorious Allies, Britain had to help find a solution for the vast majority of these refugees who refused repatriation. Drawing on extensive research in British, American, and Israeli archives, Arieh Kochavi presents a comprehensive analysis of British policy toward Jewish displaced persons and reveals the crucial role the United States played in undermining that policy.
Kochavi argues that political concerns--not human considerations--determined British policy regarding the refugees. Anxious to secure its interests in the Middle East, Britain feared its relations with Arab nations would suffer if it appeared to be too lax in thwarting Zionist efforts to bring Jewish Holocaust survivors to Palestine. In the United States, however, the American Jewish community was able to influence presidential policy by making its vote hinge on a solution to the displaced persons problem. Setting his analysis against the backdrop of the escalating Cold War, Kochavi reveals how, ironically, the Kremlin as well as the White House came to support the Zionists' goals, albeit for entirely different reasons.
Kochavi argues that political concerns--not human considerations--determined British policy regarding the refugees. Anxious to secure its interests in the Middle East, Britain feared its relations with Arab nations would suffer if it appeared to be too lax in thwarting Zionist efforts to bring Jewish Holocaust survivors to Palestine. In the United States, however, the American Jewish community was able to influence presidential policy by making its vote hinge on a solution to the displaced persons problem. Setting his analysis against the backdrop of the escalating Cold War, Kochavi reveals how, ironically, the Kremlin as well as the White House came to support the Zionists' goals, albeit for entirely different reasons.
377 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2001
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April 16, 2020
Outstanding detail on one aspect of the Jewish refugee problem after WWII ... explores the evolution of British and US (Truman) policy which led to the UN declaration of a partition plan and the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine ...
... By late 1945 there were approximately 1,238,000 DPs left in the British, American and French occupied zones
... Summer of 1946 ... British intensify their efforts to halt illegal immigration to Palestine … transferring to Cyprus illegal immigrants who had been detained while attempting to enter Palestine … meanwhile there was an intensification Jewish illegal sailings to Palestine
... Truman's Yom Kippur statement (Oct 1946) … for the first time Truman went beyond the DP problem to express support for a Zionist proposal regarding Palestine's future … which suppress interpreted has lending support to the Zionist partition plan
... Funds were being raised in the US for financing illegal sailings of Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine … newspaper ads were placed to stimulate public fundraisers … organizations were formed to take advantage of tax deductions for charitable giving ... Ships were purchased and renovated in the US, and then manned by US citizens, left for Europe with the aim of transporting illegal immigrants to Palestine
... Pres. Truman demonstrated a determined stand in everything related to Jewish refugee problems … other leading American politicians and officials work unwilling to confront the president on this issue
... By late 1945 there were approximately 1,238,000 DPs left in the British, American and French occupied zones
... Summer of 1946 ... British intensify their efforts to halt illegal immigration to Palestine … transferring to Cyprus illegal immigrants who had been detained while attempting to enter Palestine … meanwhile there was an intensification Jewish illegal sailings to Palestine
... Truman's Yom Kippur statement (Oct 1946) … for the first time Truman went beyond the DP problem to express support for a Zionist proposal regarding Palestine's future … which suppress interpreted has lending support to the Zionist partition plan
... Funds were being raised in the US for financing illegal sailings of Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine … newspaper ads were placed to stimulate public fundraisers … organizations were formed to take advantage of tax deductions for charitable giving ... Ships were purchased and renovated in the US, and then manned by US citizens, left for Europe with the aim of transporting illegal immigrants to Palestine
... Pres. Truman demonstrated a determined stand in everything related to Jewish refugee problems … other leading American politicians and officials work unwilling to confront the president on this issue
Displaying 1 of 1 review