Post-Holocaust America confronted its own creed being violated in practice

Evidence

The world was still reeling from the events of the Second World War in which unspeakable atrocities were perpetrated against Jews because they were Jews. The Holocaust, largely viewed as a crime against humanity, led many Americans to seriously question the morality of group-based prejudice. How could the nation fight against such crimes against humanity while, on its own soil, entire groups of people were denied rights and opportunities because of their skin color? Quite simply, the American Creed, although revered in the abstract, was being violated in practice. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2083 (#expands, via linked claim)

On 22 June 1941 the German army invaded the Soviet Union. In the occupied territories, mass murders began at once. News about them could be found, for example, in the extensive Chronicles' section of Contemporary Jewish Record, published by the American Jewish Committee. But it was also possible to find information on the terrible events in Europe even in the main newspapers in the USA. Complete elimination of Jews from European life now appears to be fixed German policy,’ wrote the New York Times on 28 October. The Jews, it reported, were being transported eastwards in goods trucks. The authorities abroad were also informed through ambassadors and diplomats about deportations and other evidence that the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe, prophesied by Hitler on 30 January 1939, was being seriously pursued. There were no changes in the United States’ restrictive immigration policy. Nazi anti-Semitism was constantly intensifying and being aggravated by unbelievable actions, which most people for a long time did not, in fact, believe. The Western democracies made no resolute protests or large-scale efforts to assist. The Soviet Union was an exception, but had been Hitler’s ally until he attacked. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 332 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Holocaust forced Americans to confront their own group-based prejudice — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2083; The Holocaust made American hypocrisy on racial prejudice publicly salient — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2083; Post-Holocaust shame remains morally binding regardless of practical impossibility — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 586 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The Holocaust forced Americans to confront their own group-based prejudice #expands (0.93) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2083
• The Holocaust was public knowledge in wartime America yet drew no policy response #complicates (0.78) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 332