Beyond the Holocaust, Jewish Migration

“At the time of the initial stages of the war, the Allies were aware of Hitler’s plans for genocide against Jews and other groups. The Allies, however, were reluctant to use scarce ships needed for the war effort and wary of the effect such a large- scale influx of immigrants would have on the receiving countries. In 1943, for example, Romania proposed the evacuation of 70,000 Jews from within its borders, but no nation stepped forward to accept them.” pg 775 Use anti-Semitic material from History Alive

Maybe the President would welcome them to the United States “Roosevelt- “Roosevelt took no action to help stop the mass murders in Germany. In early 1944 under pressure from his wife and the wider American public, he finally created the War Refugee Board (WRB) to save Jews and other victims of the Nazis. However, Roosevelt gave the WRB little cooperation and almost no funding. Contributions from Jewish organizations covered 90% of the organization costs . Through dedicated work by a small number of people, the WRB helped save approximately 200,000 Jews and at least 20,000 non-Jews.” Teachers’ Curriculum Institute lesson guide Do you believe Roosevelt wanted the Jews and other victims to come to the United States ? Explain

Maybe the United States Citizens would welcome Survivors… “American anit-Semitism may have been one reason the general public lacked interest in the plight of Europe’s Jews. In January 1943, after the Allies issued a declaration condemning Nazi atrocities against Jews, more than half of the American polled did not believe that Nazis were deliberately killing Jews. A public opinion poll taken in December 1944 found that a majority of American were aware that Hitler had been cruel to the Jews, but few fathomed the extent of the killing: 12 % believed the stories of mass murder of Jews to be totally untrue, 27 % believed that it involved only 100,000 people, and only 4 % believed that over 5,000,000 Jews had been put to death.” Teachers’ Curriculum Institute lesson guide What could have the United States citizens done to help the Jews? Explain

Maybe the United States Congress would welcome Survivors… “In 1938, when the Nazis intensified persecution of Jews, four separate polls indicated that 71 to 85 % of Americans opposed increasing quotas and 67 % wanted all refugees kept out. In early 1939, 66% objected to a one-time exception for 10,000 Jewish orphans to enter the United States.” “Five year later, in the middle of the war, attitudes had not changed. Asked in January 1943 whether “it would be a good idea or a bad idea to let more immigrants come into this country after the war,” 78% of Americans polled thought it would be a bad idea. At the end of 1945, when the terrible conditions facing European displaced persons were widely known, only 5 % of the respondents thought the United States should “permit more persons from Europe to come to this country each year than we did before the war.” Reflecting the national mood, throughout the war years Congress repeatedly considered legislation that would have further limited the number of immigrants beyond what the quota system allowed.” Teachers’ Curriculum Institute lesson guide Where were the refugees to go, if the United States did not want them? Explain

The state of Israel was created May 14, 1948 for the Jewish Refugees Following the near destruction of European Jewry during World War II, the modern state of Israel was established in 1948. The Proclamation of the Establishment of the State of Israel states: "The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of the exiles..." Between 1948 and 1951 the Jewish population doubled with over 600,000 new immigrants. About half of these immigrants arrived as refugees from Nazi concentration camps and displaced person camps in Europe. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=321

Immigration chart

Immigration to Israel By Country (1948-1995) U.S.S.R. and C.I.S. 813,708 Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia 345,753 Romania 273,957 Poland 171,753 Iraq 130,302 Iran 76,000 United States 71,480 Turkey 61,374 Yemen 51,158 Ethiopia 48,624 Argentina 43,990 Bulgaria 42,703 Egypt and Sudan 37,548 Libya 35,865 France 31,172 Hungary 30,316 India 26,759 United Kingdom 26,236 Czechoslovakia 23,984 Germany 17,912 South Africa 16,277 Yugoslavia 10,141 Syria 10,078

Creation of Israel 1. You will make a flyer promoting the immigration to Israel. Your flyer must answer the following questions: What form of transportation will they take to Israel? What food will they eat once they are there? Where will they live? What other races and cultures will a new immigrant meet once they arrive in Israel? 2. Your flyer must have 3 different colors, 3 pictures and 1 slogan.