Impact of World War II on Jewish Americans

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Impact of World War II on Jewish Americans
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Introduction

• Jewish Americans, like all Americans, made
  sacrifices such as recycling metal, preserving
  food, buying bonds, growing victory gardens,
  and many joining the Military. Even with Jewish
  Americans making all of these sacrifices, they
  still faced faced anti-Semitism at home as well
  as being persecuted throughout Europe. Although
  they werent acknowledged at the time, they still
  fought to help Jews in Europe.

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Key Terms

• Anti-Semitism discrimination against Jewish
  people
• War Refugee Board Established by President
  Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S.
  executive agency created to aid civilians victims
  of the Nazi and Axis powers
• Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)
  Nazi-instigated
• riot against Jews in Germany, burning synagogues,
  
• smashing Jewish shop windows, and killing 90 Jews
  

National Origins ACt limited the number of
immigrants admitted yearly to the United States
down to 2 of the number of people from that
specific country already living in the United
States
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Knowledge of Jewish Suffering

• Jews were being murdered in Europe,
• and Jewish Americans felt great pain from this.
  They knew that their friends and family were
  being killed in Europe, but it was difficult to
  help them.
• However, American Anti-Semitism caused ignorance
  of the Jewish suffering
• Jews werent allowed to immigrate to the United
  States
• Many reports of Jewish murders were largely
  ignored by American news sources
• Stories that did make the news never made
  headlines

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Immigration Refusal of Jews

• Many Jewish people from Europe wanted to flee
  from those areas to America
• Because of the 1924 National Origins Act, many
  Jewish people could not migrate to America all at
  once
• Very few Americans wanted a flood of new
  immigrants into the country, especially right
  after the Great Depression
• All of this and the anti-semitism acts led to
  incidents like the St. Louis steamship.

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The St. Louis Steamship

• In 1939, the St. Louis carried 930 Jews from
  Germany all the way to Cuba. Cuba refused to
  accept the refugees so they were forced to go to
  Florida. President Roosevelt ignored the pleas
  from the ship. Running out of food and water, the
  St. Louis decided to head back to Europe. Some
  Jews ended up in France, and most ended up back
  in Germany, in the concentration camps.

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Jewish Americans Opportunities at Home

• Many Jews decided to take action to help family
  and friends overseas, such as join the military,
  boycott German supplies, hold public
  demonstrations, and raise money for refugees.
  These Jewish Americans also tried to plead to the
  legislature and the president to help Jewish
  immigrants but they were ignored until 1944 when
  President Roosevelt decided to create the War
  Refugee Board, which kept refugees in Italy and
  North Africa, gave many refugees food, a place to
  stay, and hope.

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Jewish Americans GIs Go to War

• Jews did whatever it took to help support the
  war.
• 500,000 Jewish Americans went into war at ages
  18-44
• Jewish Americans often felt the sting of
  prejudice in armed forces
• Many Jewish Americans were unaware of the life
  outside urban neighborhoods, but the opportunity
  to serve in armed forces changed their lives.
• Other Jewish Americans soldiers had different
  experiences that affirmed their faith in their
  country and its ideals.

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Created by

• Kaili Wilkins
• Derek Hsu
• Megan Sollenberger
• Shawn Williamson
• Jaden Ramos