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Stephen Wise Research Paper

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“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing” -Simon Wiesenthal (Simon Wiesenthal Quote). During the Holocaust, an estimated eleven million people died agonizing deaths from methods such as gas chambers, scientific experiments, beatings, and malnutrition (Concentration Camps 1933-1939). This staggering number is almost as much as the current population of the state of Ohio (United States). The big question is, why did the
Allied countries, such as America, do nothing about this horrific tragedy? Over the

years, there has been major speculation surrounding what America did or did not do

during these mass killings. There are three big topics that come to mind when thinking

of this question: how did America find out about …show more content…

Although the State Department (influenced by Anti-Semitism) tried to keep the

message (meant for Stephen Wise) a secret, Stephen Wise was finally informed by a British

leader the extent of what Adolf Hitler was doing.

Stephen Wise approached Secretary of State Sumner Welles and asked him to verify the

message before they publicized it (American Response to the Holocaust).In November 1942,

Sumner Welles confirmed the plan stating to Wise and other Jewish leaders, "Gentlemen, I hold

in my hands documents which have come to me from our legation in Berne. I regret to tell you,

Dr. Wise that these confirm and justify your deepest fears” (The Film&More: Sumner Welles). Information of the Holocaust was finally sent out to American citizens. The first source

was in the New York Times. Although this was a major step in informing the American

public, authorities and journalists still strove to hide what was really going on because

of the false information they were given during World War I. Therefore, they were even

more cautious about what information was true and what information was …show more content…

When the Depression hit America, government officials and citizens gained a mistrust of immigrants. Since there was already a loss of jobs, having immigrants come into the country meant that there would be even larger competition for open employment. During World War II this mistrust carried over and government officials were worried that immigrants could be blackmailed into working as spies for Germany. Also, visas were almost impossible to obtain. Possible immigrants would have extensive and almost impossible amounts of necessary documents to pass through (Obstacles to Immigration), including "five copies of the Visa application, two copies of the applicant’s birth certificate, two sponsors that had to be United States citizens, copy of a recent tax return, German certificate of good conduct, physical examination, proof of permission to leave Germany and proof that they booked a passage" (Documents Required to Obtain a Visa). The United States refused to make Visa applications easier to receive which resulted in many Jews not being able to find a safe haven. During the war, the State Department made immigration laws even stricter (Obstacles to

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