While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy
by Arthur D. Morse
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Description
In January 1944 President Roosevelt was shown the startling conclusions of a secret memorandum. Its title: Acquiescence of this Government in the Murder of the Jews. The untold and shocking story behind this report--never before described in full-- exposes the appalling apathy and callousness of our Government, particularly the State Department, in the face of Nazi genocide. This report finally forced the President to take the first steps to rescue the Jews--but why had it taken so long to show more act? This book details, through documents, official papers and interviews with participants and research in archives in key world cities the true narrative of what was known, and the unconscionable delay of active response to the Nazi declaration that they "intended to destroy every Jew in Europe." How this challenge was met is the subject of this book. If genocide is to be prevented in the future, we must understand how it happened, not only in terms of the killers, but of the bystanders show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Probably one of the best books I've read. And necessary to understand why FDR was no friend of the Jews.
In February 1973 I borrowed the book from our synagogue's library. I was 15 at the time, and so spellbound that I engineered my bedroom windows so my mother, coming home from a date with my eventual stepfather, couldn't see the lights on in my room from the road.
The book takes us from Hitler's early anti-Jewish policies to the Nuremberg Laws, to Kristallnacht, to the voyage of the St. Louis and the establishment of death camps. In the face of this impending slaughter, the U.S., Canada and to a lesser extent Britain actively prevented Jewish arrivals in safe countries.
During the war, FDR arranged matters so that he could maintain show more "deniability." Overall, an entrancing book that shook my roots as a budding young Democrat to the core.
I was reading another review of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. She states in part:
In a similar sense, this book really made Judaism a central part of who I am. show less
In February 1973 I borrowed the book from our synagogue's library. I was 15 at the time, and so spellbound that I engineered my bedroom windows so my mother, coming home from a date with my eventual stepfather, couldn't see the lights on in my room from the road.
The book takes us from Hitler's early anti-Jewish policies to the Nuremberg Laws, to Kristallnacht, to the voyage of the St. Louis and the establishment of death camps. In the face of this impending slaughter, the U.S., Canada and to a lesser extent Britain actively prevented Jewish arrivals in safe countries.
During the war, FDR arranged matters so that he could maintain show more "deniability." Overall, an entrancing book that shook my roots as a budding young Democrat to the core.
I was reading another review of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro. She states in part:
Midway through adolescence, I began wondering a bit which life event would finally make me feel like an adult. Of course I had the usual teenaged hypotheses, and acted accordingly to test some of them out. Getting drunk? Having sex? Driving a car? Going to college? None of these things did make me feel grownup; in many instances, their effect was the opposite. *************For the past few years I’ve had the sense of wearing an oversized grownup life that wasn’t actually mine, while that magical rite of passage into adulthood continued to elude me. Maybe when I have children things will click into place, I’ve mused, listening to Talking Heads with one ear and sort of doubting it.... Part of this might be generational; if thirty is the new twenty, it’s no wonder that I get that Lost Boys feeling, and shrug confusedly when overnight company makes fun of my teddy bear.
I’m pleased to announce that thanks to the glory of Robert Caro, this stage is basically behind me. Having finally finished The Power Broker, I feel much more like a grownup, and believe it or not, I’m pretty into that.
***********
But reading this book made me feel like a grownup because it helped me to understand the way the world works as I never had before.
In a similar sense, this book really made Judaism a central part of who I am. show less
Holocaust
Massacrati o sistematicamente sopressi, sei milioni di ebrei d'Europa perivano, dal 1940 al 1945 ad opera della Germania nazista e dei suoi comlici. Scopo di questo libro è la messa a fuoco delle responsabilità indirette: l'apatia delle nazioni dl mondo "libero" nei confronti della soluzione finale ebraica.Il crimine ebbe una sua meccanica, non solo quella che mosse dalla follia di Hitler per concludersi con i gasatori di Auschwitz e di Treblinka. Vi fu un concorso di colpa e lo scopo di questo libro è anche analizzare le responsabilità indirette; l'attestazione dell'indifferenza, della solidarietà retorica, dell'apatia - da parte delle nazioni del "mondo libero"- nei confronti della soluzione finale ebraica. Morse ha raccolto show more lettere, testimonianze, dati di fonte politica e diplomatica in un serrato attacco all'Occidente. Se però la documentazione relativa agli stati europei e di una precisa eloquenza, l'impegno di Morse è volto soprattutto a registrare le fasi di sostanziale non intervento degli Stati Uniti D'America. L'autore ha colto il contrasto tra l'immagine ufficiale di un'America libera e liberale e la realtà di un'America colpevolmente confusa o sorda all'appello dei perseguitati. Di qui la secca cronaca dei fatti: dall'opera di Riegner al velleItario umanitarismo di Roosevelt. Quali le cause? Acquiescenza, remore politico-strategiche, nevrosi individuali, resistenze di associazioni ed enti governativi? la xenofobia latente degli USA? Oppure il timore di aggiungere altre spese di guerra? Nessuna dio queste forze fu determinante: ognuna fu micidiale a modo suo. Le iniziative urtarono cosi contro il muro di gomma delle promesse d'appoggio e delle garanzie di attenzione concreta, la cui vacuità sembra provata dall'esito della Conferenza delle Bermude del 1943 indetta per fare il punto sulla situazione dei profughi ebrei show less
Sep 24, 2012 (Edited)Italian
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Holocaust
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THE WAR ROOM
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy
- Original title
- While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy
- Original publication date
- 1967
- People/Characters*
- Adolf Hitler; Hull Cordell; Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Important places
- USA
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945); Holocaust (1933 | 1945); World War II, American Home Front
- Dedication*
- A Joan, Anne e Jon
- First words*
- Il primo agosto 1942 la storia affidò a Gerhart Riegner, l'incaricato svizzero del Congresso mondiale ebraico, una terribile responsabilità.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Chi, le vittime potenziali?E chi gli spettatori?
- Original language*
- Inglese
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 940.531 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- World War II, 1939-1945 Social, political, economic history; Holocaust
- LCC
- D810 .J4 .M59 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania History (General) World War II (1939-1945)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 304
- Popularity
- 104,824
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.35)
- Languages
- 6 — Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål)
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 10
