Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust

by Robert N. Rosen, Alan M. Dershowitz (Afterword), Gerhard L. Weinberg (Foreword)

Saving the Jews is a rigorously researched narrative and interpretive history of how FDR and his administration dealt with the Nazi persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust, 1933-1945. It disputes the generally accepted view that Roosevelt abandoned the Jews of Europe and that America was a passive, callous bystander to the Holocaust, and reveals the true story. The author has conducted new research that explains how the Roosevelt administration and American Jewry saved the passengers on the S.S. St. Louis; how American Jews (and the Jews of Palestine) opposed the bombing of Auschwitz and never asked Roosevelt to bomb the camps; how America and other western democracies saved over seventy percent of German Jewry from Hitler; how Rauol Wallenberg was sent to save Jews by the American government. The research done on this book has found no credible evidence that FDR was an anti-Semite but found that Roosevelt was personally close to many Jews. FDR secretly developed the strategy for the Wagners-Rogers Bill (allowing 20,000 German Jewish children to enter the U.S. in 1938, 1939). Yet most historians continue to accuse him of failing to support the bill.

Genres: History, Holocaust

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly good overview of American response to the Halocaust. The book naturally centers on FDR and his reactions and response to the crisis. As president, FDR faced many challenges. The country was isolationist, not wanting to get involved in European conflicts, and a strong strain of antisemitic feelings. He walked a tightrope of trying to prepare the country for war while abiding by the Neutrality laws passed by Congress. Once the war started FDR's main objective was to win the war. When word of the extermination of the Jews began to arrive to the Allies, it took awhile for the reports to be believed. The reality was just too hard to comprehend for people to assimilate. During all the events on the world stage, Roosevelt did what he could to rescue Jews from their Nazi fate. Even Jewish leaders were divided as to what actions to take. In 1944 FDR did establish on his own authority the World Refugee Board which managed to save some Jews. He also was the motivating force behind the Evian and Bermuda conferences to try to rescue Jews. The issues of the SS St Louis refugees and the bombing of Auschwitz were also discussed in detail none of the refugees on the St Louis were sent back to Germany and the majority survived the war. The bombing of the concentration camps raised the moral issue of killing many more Jews and whether it would have slowed the Nazi killing machine. In the end, the author contends that FDR did al he could considering the circumstances under which he had to operate.

[Les · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book brings a lot of new facts about Franklin Roosevelt and what he did concerning the Holocaust. It brings out the fact that it was his own State Department and some of the men in it who was against saving the Jews. We see a lot of in fighting with members of his own party who refused to save the Jews. If you read the book, do not over look the foot notes. You will find that the Quota system from the early twenties was a reason why more Jews and other people were not allowed to enter the US.
I still think that he could have still done more to help the jews, but the book does bring a lot of new information to light. It sheds a lot of information and should be read for its history of that period of our country.

[Trevor reads history · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I do not fully buy into this books thesis of FDR being bigoted against Jews as much as he was any other race I do think it does a good job countering the idea found in many works that FDR was exceptionally antisemitic in regard to war policy although now understood as linked and impossible to separate Roosevelt tried to end the war as fast as possible

[John Devlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fair minded representation of the problems, both physical and mental, behind the fact that the Allies didn't do more to save the Jews from the Holocaust.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Should be required reading--- Puts the reader right into the times of 1920's to 1945....

[Jane Mendelsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good explanation on USA and WWII. FDR faced so many problems - anti-Semitic State Department, Immigration laws, Isolationist feeling in the country.