Consequences of Inaction: United States Foreign Policy during the Holocaust

Abstract

During the Holocaust, the United States held true to the isolationist policy that it had long followed. This isolationist policy meant that when reports started coming in about the Nazis’ persecution of German—and ultimately European—Jews, the United States did not act in a way that would have helped to alleviate the plight of those being targeted. Instead, pleas for help were ignored, immigration quotas were not raised, and the United States Government enacted a boycott of Germany in lieu of taking a firmer stance against the Nazis. In so doing, the United States played a role in innocent people being murdered.