The U.S and the Holocaust: Could We Have Done More, or Did We Do All That We Could?

The U.S and the Holocaust: could we have done more, or did we do all that we could?

As many people know, and in many opinions, World War II was one of the most deadly wars in history. Horrific and unimaginable events took place and many innocent lives were taken. One specific group was targeted during this war, this group being Jewish people, simply because their morals and beliefs were different than the “Higher power”. Because of this, thousands upon thousands of Jews were murdered, burned, sent to concentration camps, taken from their homes and families, forced to work in horrible conditions with no food or clean water. In some camps the prisoners were forced to work around corpses that have been rotting for God knows how long. In many people’s opinion, the United States Army could have done a lot more to help the Jewish, but in other opinions, the Army did all they could.

World war II was very significant in the fact that it tore almost half the world apart, and that 60 million people, over three percent of the world's population were killed (22 to 25 millions of those were soldiers and 5 million were victims of captivity). Five to six million Jews were also killed during the Holocaust. Many people believe that the Holocaust could have been prevented completely while others believe that the United States Army could done slightly more to help the victims.

According to the United States Holocaust Memoria Museum, the rescuing of the Jewish population was not a priority for the U.S government during the war. In 1924, several new and restrictive laws were passed, limiting the number of immigrants allowed to enter the country each year. During the horrific Nazi period, many Jewish immigrants wished for admittance into the nation to flee Germany and Nazi-occupied territories. About 82% of immigrants were Jewish, seeking shelter and safety in 1940, however once the U.S entered the war in 1941, the nation closed their doors to most of Europe immigrants making to almost impossible to leave. Although more than 200,000 Jews escaped those horrific times, many were still victims to the cruelty of Adolf Hitler. (

According to "Biography", with Germany dealing with a great depression, Hitler's rise to power was pretty much handed to him. Hitler passed hundreds of laws and restrictions against the Jewish people. He boycotted any Jewish business, passed the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service in April 7, 1933. This law persecuted the Jewish population by excluding them from services by the state. After the law was passed, more restrictions were placed against the Jews, including limiting the number of Jewish students at schools and colleges, working at medical or law facilities, and licenses of Jewish tax advisors were revoked. In 1934, any Jewish actor was basically