Concentration Camps
Glossary
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The United States ended World War II. But unfortunately they weren’t able to end the Holocaust any sooner than when it ended. It is estimated that five to six million Jews were killed. But what if the U.S never entered the war? The Holocaust could have been going on longer than when it ended. Others should be thankful and not criticize the U.S for how long it took them to invade Europe. If they were a country in isolationism they would have never been in the war. But they cared enough to go to war and try the best they could to end the war. The U.S clearly did not know the extent of loss of life in concentration camps in Europe. (Zirin, West Stood By)

If the U.S really knew every detail about Hitler and his Final Solution they would have done everything in their power to stop the mass killings. Also if other U.S citizens knew they would try to rally and get FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) to take action. If people did rally something would have been done. Regardless how FDR felt. His duty was to do what’s best for his country, and many others believe he did the best he could.

In 1933 Hitler became chancellor of Germany. In 1940 Jews started being sent to live in ghettos. Soon after they were being deported to concentration camps. (Labor camps) Mostly, men sixteen and up were ordered to register. But soon after all Jews had to register. Then Hitler threw his country into making arms for his master plan.
(Ellis, Shmuel Hitler in Power. Zirin ,West Stood By. One Survivor Remembers)

Hitler was also able to obtain the Supreme Court’s allegiance. But not to Germany, to him. The huge rallies that went all over Germany got the Germans support. The Germans that supported received the homes of the Jews that were sent away. The Germans that opposed were an immediate candidate for the first concentration camp. Hitler also succeeded in making the Nazi party legal. (Ellis, Shmuel Hitler in Power)

Before the Holocaust began, only 2.3 percent of Jews obtained professional positions. Such as doctors, lawyers, and dentists, so why would Hitler want to eliminate Jews? He thought there was a better race than the Jews. He thought the Jews were flawed in many ways. But there was one perfect race (to Hitler) the Aryans. They had a detailed description, blue eyes, blonde hair and light skin. But Hitler himself only possessed one of those and that was light skin.( Zirin, West Stood By)

If the U.S did concentrate on the Jews that were being killed everyday, then they would have lost the war. Many more Americans would have died. And it would have been for nothing. What if Hitler captured all the American soldiers, millions more would have died and not just Jews Americans too. They were busy with the war because they were worried about the U.S. People wouldn’t want to be forgotten because other things are more important. The U.S tried the best they could.

Let us say the U.S bombed all the concentration camps. The U.S guard would have been down. That would give Hitler a chance to us the famous attack style Blitzkrieg.
Roosevelt administration could do nothing but carry on the war until they were prepared to attack. The attack on Europe came as fast it could. It also took so long because they were preoccupied with Japan.

If the U.S bombed the tracks to the concentration camps, Hitler would have found a new way of getting Jews to concentration camps. By the U.S bombing them just gave Hitler ideas on how to get rid of Jews. But Hitler was very clever. He had people test out ways to kill the Jews. One way that Hitler eliminated Jews was that he used gas chambers. If the gas chambers were destroyed he would have probably use another place. Someone as clever as Hitler had to have a plan B.

Supposedly the whole world knew about the Holocaust by 1942, like in Russia and Japan. But the U.S didn’t know about the mass killings. If they had known they would have taken action. If letters from Germany would’ve made it to the U.S, help would have arrived. Maybe it might have taken them a little bit of time. But some people do understand that they were very preoccupied with the war. If they would have attacked Hitler, he could have went around the U.S soldiers and spread the war to the U.S. It might have taken Hitler a while but he could have traveled to the U.S and gotten more followers.
There were reports in Europe that two Jews escaped from Auschwitz. And that they gave all information they knew to the allies. But with the information the allies would have been able to end the war faster. But the allies said that they had no information from anyone. The Jews that escaped probably went into hiding. The people that claim they gave information shouldn’t take credit for something they did not do. (Zirin, West Stood By)

There are many people that believe the U.S could have done something to prevent the Holocaust. One of them is Arthur Morse. He wrote a book on how he thinks the U.S failed to learn about the Holocaust and didn’t rescue them fast enough. “ The U.S Government failed in implementing a rescue policy upon the discovery of the Nazi death camps”. Then there’s Annie Zirin. She said “The western governments failed to learn about the Holocaust until it was too late”. But they weren’t in the Holocaust, they weren’t in the army. And they wouldn’t like it if they were a soldier and they were told that risking their lives wasn’t enough. Because when you risk your life it must be hard to hear people say that they don’t appreciate it. And that’s what Mr. Arthur Morse and Ms. Annie Zirin are saying. And since they wrote a book and an article about it I guess they both did their research but obviously didn’t bother to see Truman and FDR’s point of view and the U.S governments.(Morse, Six Million Died and Zirin, West Stood By)

Could the U.S have prevented the loss of life in concentration camps in Europe in any way? The answer is no. They tried their best and unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save others lives. They had no choice but to carry on the war. And do the best they could. They now understand the extent of the Holocaust and Hitler’s evil plans. Once a dictator starts his ways it’s hard to stop him, but when his guard is down that’s when it’s time to attack. You may not always be successful but it’s always worth the shot.


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Glossary

Allegiance: n. a subject or citizen’s loyalty to a ruler or state, or the duty of obedience and loyalty owed by a subject or citizen.
Ethnic: adj. sharing distinctive cultural traits as a group in society.
Chancellor: n. the chief minister of government in some parliamentary democracies.
Hindrance: n. somebody or something that prevents or makes it difficult for somebody to do something.
Implement: n. something needed in order to achieve something.
Isolationism: n. a government policy based on the belief that national interests are best served by avoiding economic and political alliances with other countries.
Blitzkrieg: n. a swift military offensive using ground and air forces.
Auschwitz: site of the largest Nazi concentration camp, where between 1.4 and 4 million people were murdered between 1941 and 1945. Situated in southern Poland, southeast of Katowice, it is now a museum and archive.


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Mass Meeting for Hitler photo courtesy of Yad Vashem

Shaved Women Selected For Forced Labor photo courtesy of Yad Vashem
Slave Labor In Concentration Camps photo courtesy of Yad Vashem
Bibliography
Zirin, Annie. How the West Stood by While Six Million Died . Marxists. Febuary2007
http://www.marxists.de/fascism/holocaust/allies.htm

Ellis, Rabbi Eliahu and Shmuel, Rabbi Silinsky. Hitler in Power. Aish. February 2007
http://www.aish.com/holocaust/overview/hitler_in_power.asp

Morse, Arthur. While Six Million Died. A Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust. February 2007. http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/arts/litafter.htm