The U.S. and the Holocaust

Congress reverses open borders; Hitler and the Nazis begin their persecution of German Jews, causing many to seek refuge; President Franklin D. Roosevelt is concerned but unable to coordinate a response to the crisis.

As World War II begins, Americans unite in their disapproval of Nazi brutality and work to help refugees escape; Germany invades the Soviet Union and secretly begins the mass murder of European Jews.

A group of government officials supports rescue operations; the public sees for the first time the scale of the Holocaust as Allies liberate German camps.

After decades of open borders in the United States, a xenophobic backlash prompts the passage of laws restricting immigration. In Germany, Hitler takes power.

Antisemitism in Germany continues to rise, causing Jews to flee to neighboring countries and the U.S. As FDR and others struggle to respond, the public is horrified by the events of Kristallnacht.

Jews in Europe are desperate to escape Hitler’s expanding reach. As World War II begins, Americans are united in their disapproval of the Nazis, but divided on whether or how to act.