Reaction to the Holocaust

By 1942, information detailing the slaughter of Jews became available to Allied leaders. The Canadian Jewish Congress organized protests and did publicity to raise awareness of the issue and to allow refugees into Canada. At the end of 1942, Canadian officials admitted that they knew 2 million Jews had been killed. Despite this, they argued that the solution was to defeat Germany militarily, not to admit refugees.

Reaction to the Holocaust in Canada In the 1930s German Jews fled Nazi Germany in order to escape persecution. The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 had removed the rights of Jewish citizens and Kristallnacht in 1938 was a government-sponsored attack on the Jewish community.

Reaction to the Holocaust Frederick Blair, King ’ s anti-Semitic minister of immigration, had effectively shut the doors to any Jews. When asked how many Jews should be allowed to immigrate, Blair responded, “ one is too many. ” Canada also turned away the steamship St. Louis that was filled with German Jewish refugees.

Reaction To The Holocaust As a result of Blair ’ s policies, Canada allowed fewer than 5000 Jews refuge in Canada during Hitler ’ s reign. This is in comparison to the USA (240,000) and Argentina (25,000). Canada during WWII was still a very W.A.S.P. country and anti-Semitic views were still very common. Though many people view Hitler ’ s systematic murdering of 6 million Jews and 5 million other “ undesirables ” (Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people, Slavs and leftists) as a key feature of WWII, it was not a primary concern for Canadians during the war.

Reaction to the Holocaust Due to anti-Judaism within the general population, there was little support for accepting refugees or immigrants. King was aware that pursuing a strong policy of refugee admission could possibly cause him to lose the next election.

Reaction to the Holocaust When a petition was put forward by the Canadian National Committee on Refugees, nativist and anti-Judaic groups mobilized against it. For example, the Canadian Legion’s paper wrote, “The future of Canada depends on the preservation of British institutions...there is no room in Canada for the cut throat competition of Japs or refugees” until all returned soldiers were re-integrated into Canada

Reaction to the Holocaust At the end of the war there were 250,000 Jews left in Europe looking for homes. They were among the millions of DPs (Displaced Persons) still in camps. In 1947 Canada allowed 8000 Jews into Canada under a few programs for orphans, first-degree relatives and needle trades/fur workers.

Reaction to the Holocaust On the positive side, this reversed the decades-old trend of refusal and represented a higher percentage of Jewish immigrants (15%) than the total population of Canadian Jews as part of Canadian society(1.5%) On the negative side, this total was pitiful compared with the demand. Also, it only came after the crisis of the Holocaust was over. Finally, and coincidentally, Canada only opened its doors at the time of the founding of Israel. Thus, many Jews decided to settle there instead.

Question: How did Canada respond to the Jewish crisis and displaced persons after the war was over? Was it enough? Why?