Jewish History

This lecture series addressed how the administration of President Franklin Roosevelt responded to the Holocaust—the greatest horror of World War II. Although the systematic mass murder of Jews did not begin until after Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, American citizens’ attitudes toward Jews and U.S. immigration policies directly affected the ability of many European Jews to flee persecution. As early as 1942, the U.S. government acquired credible evidence that Nazi Germany perpetrated genocide against Europe’s Jewish population. The program further considers what the United States could and should have done to destroy the machinery of death or to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. Through the examination of select primary sources, the program asks three broad questions:
1) What did the United States do (or not do)? (8/2/2023) To watch part 1 of the series click here

2) What (and when) did the United States know? (8/9/2023) To watch part 2 of the series click here

3) What should (or could) have the United States done? (8/15/2023) To watch part 3 of the series click here

Part 1 - "Anti-Semitism's Past - How have You experienced Anti-Semitism?" - click here to watch the recording
Part 2 – “Anti-Semitism's Today - How are Things Changing?” And a Post Mortem on the Washington Rally - click here to watch the recording
Part 3 - "Antisemitism's Future - What Can We Do?" -  click here to watch the recording

Figure Alef - Avner ben Ner

Figure Bet - Barzilai

Figure Gimmel - Ga'al

Figure Dalet - Doeg

Figure Hey - Hoshea Ben Aleh

Figure Vav - Vashni

Figure Zayin - Zattu