REACTIONS TO THE HOLOCAUST IN THE AMERICAS

Canada’s Reaction to Holocaust Not very sympathetic. 4,000 Jews were let in before the war U.S. accepted 240,000 Jewish refugees Unmoved and hostile towards Jews which caused the Anti-Semitism movement to rise Very few Jewish professionals- if they were hired they would have to hide their true identities Canada’s immigration restricted Anglo Saxon descent; however, British and American was preferred Example : St. Louis incident 1939 Jewish immigrants denied entry 907 Jews denied were forced to return to Europe and many died in concentration camps.

Canada’s Reaction In the late 1930’s Canada only took in 8,000, or one percent of the 811,000 Jewish refugees admitted into countries across the world. Mackenzie King (Prime Minister of Canada) stated that the crisis was not a “Canadian problem”. Between 1941 and ,275 Jewish immigrants were admitted into Canada During the period of 1946 and 1960, 46,000 Jewish immigrants were admitted into Canada.

Canada continued… Canadian officials admitted that they knew that 2 million Jews were murdered, but argued the solution was to defeat German militarily and not admit the refugees Little support for the refugees, strong Anti-Semitism The Canadian National Committee of Refugees faced opposition from Nativists and Anti-Judaic groups In 1947, 8,000 refugees were let into Canada under few programs for orphans, first-degree relatives, and needle trades/fur workers

Canada’s Policies Also followed appeasement policy: Canada went to war not because of Hitler or concentration camps but because Britain had gone to war. Not disturbed by the Holocaust. Minister of immigration (Frederick Blair) in Canada felt that “none is too many" so he shut the door towards Jews The murdering of 6 million Jews and 5 million other undesirables were not a primary concern of the Canadians during the war. In 1942 when the information detailing the slaughter of Jews came available to the allies the Canadian Jewish Congress organized protests and publicly raised awareness of the issue and to allow refugees into Canada.

Latin America After the Nazi seizure of power in Germany, resistance to acceptance of Jews and other foreigners increased Latin American governments officially permitted only about 84,000 Jewish refugees to immigrate between 1933 and 1945, less than half the number admitted during the previous fifteen years. As a result an official investigation in Argentina was opened into the collaboration between the government and Nazi officials during and after the World War II Refugees aboard the "St. Louis" wait to hear whether Cuba will grant them entry. Off the coast of Havana, Cuba, June 3, 1939.

Latin America Continued… Growing Anti-Semitism was undoubtedly one reason, as was fear of economic competition. There was resentment of the fact that some Jewish refugees who were admitted on the condition that they work in agricultural regions later drifted to the cities. Anti-Semitic attitudes were reflected in increasingly tight immigration laws introduced throughout Latin America in the late 1930s (Mexico in 1937; Argentina in 1938; Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay in 1939) Denied St. Louis immigrants as well as passengers on the ships Orduña, Flandre, and Orinoco Brazil proposed to take in several thousand non-Jewish refugees from Finland and German controlled territory, including Catholics defined as “non-Aryans” under the Nazi racial classification system

Latin America Continued… Latin America was an important destination for many survivors of the Holocaust. More than 20,000 Jewish displaced persons immigrated to the region between Their primary destination was Argentina, which became home to at least 4,800 Holocaust survivors. Others settled in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Panama, Costa Rica, among other countries. Jewish Immigrants in Latin America.