In the 1939, on september 1st, germany invades poland, and world war ii breaks out that week. What is on americans mind in 1939 is staying out of war. And you see in this section of the exhibition, deep concern in the United States about spies. About nazi spies in the United States. At the time, called a fifth column. Americans are asked by gallup, do you believe germany has begun to organize a fifth column, 70 of americans say yes. You see these fear of spies play out and our Popular Culture and in our political culture. The First American movie, big studio move it to take on nazism is a warner brother movies from 1939, called confessions of a nazi spy. We are showing a trailer here, it is based on a true story of a nazi spy in the United States. I may not spy. I am one of thousands stationed in every part of the United States to steal the secrets of your national defense. There are spy stationed and all of their, the newport news and we the chief United States inspector is sending out secrets in. A trial in the federal court, first brought to the attention of a startled nation this amazing danger to its safety and freedom. So, even as americans are thinking about nazism and the threat of nazism in 1939 theyre worried about nazis here, nazi spies on our shores. And you see Jay Edgar Hoover here, the head of the fbi writing in popular magazines like the american magazine here about stamping out the spies. But the time we go to war, you will see posters like this, the warning from the fbi about spies all over the United States. We were fascinated to find reported in the Washington Post that the fbi was getting 3000 tips a day by 1940 about spies. So, this influence says american Popular Culture but also the state department as well. This man is the head of the subdivision for the state department. He is in charge of overseeing all of the issuance. Theres no doubt there is a deep antisemitism in the u. S. State department, long, himself, if you read his tire you see it really deeply anti semitic sentiment about wanting to keep jews out. Publicly, what the state department is effectively doing is citing this National Security concern to keep refugees out. So, cornell hall, the secretary of state, since this instruction to all of the consulates in 1940, saying every application for an immigration application has to be examined with extreme care, and if you have any doubt concerning the applicant, keep them out. The state department institutes a series of rule changes to our immigration procedure in the summer of 1941 that takes a door thats slightly open to refugees and slams it shut. They use these concerns about spies. They basically argue that we cannot be letting refugees and if there is any doubt that they might be spying for nazi germany, and that fear of spies really does get jammed up in the United States through the actions of hoover and the fbi, as well as through our Popular Culture. Also on americans mind is just staying out of a war. And americans get asked some version of this question almost every week between 1939 and pearl harbor of 1941. In may of 1940, as western european nations are falling to nazism americans are asked if we should declare war on germany, and 93 of them said no. In the aftermath, there is not appetite among the americans to go to war. The loudest are most influential isolationist organ is known as the America First committee. You see a propaganda poster for the America First committee saying that wars force casualty will be liberty itself. America first is founded by a group of students at Yale University in the fall of 1940, but they moved to chicago and find their rank and file in the midwest. America first is an isolationist organization that wants to stay out of war, protect the borders of the United States. Charles lundberg becomes the loudest spokesperson for the America First committee. He was one of the most famous americans, maybe the most famous american after his solo flight across the atlantic, and the kidnapping and murder of his child in the 1930s. Here, this is a really powerful artifact. Lundberg gone to nazi germany in october of 1938 to advise them on their air force, and on their air power. He meets with one of the top nazi officials and handsome this box, that hands him this pin. Its the Service Cross of the german eagle, and lindbergh says that, look, i did not know i was getting this, i was surprised to receive this award, but he receives it a month before kristallnacht, a month before the violent attack on jews, and he is pressured after kristallnacht to give this award back, which he never does. We have borrowed lundbergs diary also from the archives at Yale University, and what you see is lundberg right in about a speech that he gave in des moines, iowa, on september 11th of 1941. He asks who wants us to go to war . And he lists three groups. He says the british wants to go to war, and this makes sense, france has fallen, western european nations have fallen, the british are the last line of defense. He says fdr wants us to go to war, calls fdr a warmonger and argues that the administration has been lying to the american people. And then, third, he says and the jews want us to go to war. And he cites the fact, or his belief that america has been a tolerant land for jews and he basically issues a threat to jews in america. He says if we go to war that is perceived as a tolerance war, that will be our trade. Then he slips into antisemitic tropes, jews controlling a banking system. What he is doing there is saying out loud what Many Americans believe. And when its a lot of critics, one of the most effective critics is a political cartoonist name period or guys, all who we now know as dr. Seuss. But he was writing for this magazine, this newspaper out of new york called pm. And what you see in this newspaper and on this screen are multiple cartoons published by pm who show giesel attacking the isolationism of America First. Here is one of my favorites, where you see lindbergh on the top of a heaping pile that giesel calls nazi antisemitic stink wagon, lindbergh wearing a gas mask, and shoveling this nazi propaganda. So you see with giesel these fantastic attack on America First. Here, he is showing the ostrich of isolationism ringing the hands that should be bringing hitlers neck. And on the aftermath of giesel speech, he draws his concern about you see a grandmother figure wearing a scary children story called it off the wolf to these frightened children, and what she is reading out of the book is, the bull treat up the children and spit out their bones. But those were foreign children and it did not really matter. What we do in this film is take on fdrs president ial leadership. Between the period that the europe goes to war and pearl harbor in december of 1947. When europe goes to war, americans want to stay out of that war and americans did not want to let in refugees. And fdr spends all of his Political Capital during this period, 39, 40, 41, trying to move from isolation to intervention. He does this with the choice to run for a third time, which is unpopular. But the American Government does not spend any time trying to move Public Opinion on that refugee question. So this film looks at the president ial leadership, instituting the first peacetime draft in the u. S. History. For example, in the summer of 1940 running for a third time, trying to get americans to support the land lease bill to arm the allies, and ultimately moving us toward the brink of intervention by the time of 1941. This is the attack on pearl harbor on december 7th of 1941 that pulls us into war. And, what you see in this exhibition is one of our first responses to pearl harbor, to round up our own japanese american citizens and forcibly remove them from the west coast. Nearly 120,000 people of japanese ancestry are removed, forcibly, to ten and lent camps, two thirds our citizens and this speaks to National Security fears. This is one of fdrs worst moments as president , issuing the executive order that allowed these citizens to be forcibly removed. And it is done in the name of National Security, a fear of spies among these communities. Interestingly, some americans call these places concentration camps. You see congressman john rankin in 1942 saying im for catching every japanese america, alaska, and why now and putting them concentration camps. The crisis magazine, the naacp magazine writes about american concentration camps, and says color seems to be the only possible reason why thousands of american citizens of japanese ancestry are in concentration camps. The mainstream press, by contrast, life magazine, calls a camp, it calls it a scenic spot of lonely loveliness. And you see some of the really racist anti japanese propaganda. These are japanese hunting licenses, and pins encouraging people, as it says, to shoot a day, a defense way. Open season declared, december 7th, 1941. An american Public Opinion is very much for rounding up and, it says removing japanese aliens away from the pacific coast. You see that 93 of americans argue that that is the right thing to do. We want to show in the exhibition as well americans saw nazism during wartime, and here you see images of hitler that americans would have seen during the war, and there is a range of images. Were making fun of hitler out on the cover of that new york, or comparing him to the which is wicked witch of the west. Theres a pincushion that encouraging you to stick a pin and hitlers rear end. The tag that came with that figurine says it is good luck to find a pen here, heres an access to stick it in, or hitler is a skunk. It learned as a pincushion. Hitler on a toilet bowl. You also see american heroes like captain america, this is a reproduction of the first issue of captain america where kept america is punching out hitler. But then you also see hitler as a mad man and as a murderer. So a wanted poster for hitler, buttoned that show hitler wanted for murder and even one with a string on it that says, lets pull together, we are uncle sam, you can pull the string, and your lunch hitler. Theres a range of opinions on hitler and a range of images but he remains a key figure in our Popular Culture. The poster art from wartime i think is graphically fascinating, but also the messages are fascinating. What you see here in a poster like this one with a dagger going through is nazism being portrayed as an enemy of christianity, or nazism with this deliver us from evil, for trade is an enemy of american children. Nazi hasnt enemy of american values, but what you see is nazism as an enemy of europes jews. The key here is to understand that americans go to war to fight fascism, to defeat nazi germany, but the message is not to rescue jews, and the priority is never to rescue jews, and that is an essential question we ask, why rescue of juice did not become a priority during wartime. The nazis fight two wars, they fight a war against the allies and a war to destroy the jews. And in response, the allies decide to fight one war. They fight a war to fight nazism, but not a war to rescue jews. You see this in the poster art, in the messages that the government issued, you also see it in hollywood films. Most hollywood films did not mention juice specifically. There are some deeply anti nazi interventionist films that start to get made by 1941, 1942. Films like the moral storm, or formed correspondent, casablanca may be the most famous film, its a film about refugees stranded, waiting for visas. But what you dont see is a direct mention of jews. Theres a lot of coded messages in these films about jews but there is not a language of juice. The exception is charlie chaplain, a slapstick film in many ways which he makes in 1940, independent from the studio system. Heres a great clip coming up where chaplain plays a fictional dictator of a country, a fictional country. And here you see him addressing the nation. Using a combination of english german and nonsense. We were fortunate enough to borrow a costume that chaplain war from the great dictator, which you see here, as well as an oscar that gary cooper won for best actor for his portrayal of alvin york in sergeant york. Sergeant work is a wardrobe one film, or it is set in world war one but made and released in 1941, arguing that york began as a pacifist and learns that sometimes you have to fight to preserve democracy. And americans seeing that film certainly would have understood this world war one story as a commentary on the necessity to intervene in world war ii. One of the things you see in casablanca is a language of concentration camps without a specific mention of juice. So one of the best scenes in casablanca is when rick learns that victor last low is coming to victors cafe and says he has escaped from a concentration camp, the nazis have been chasing him. And his character is sure that they will figure out how to get visas. But the character does not read as a jewish, as many of the characters in casablanca i dont. So there was a reluctance among the Hollywood Studios system to specifically mentioned jews, even though you hear about a language of concentration camps and movies like casablanca. By 1942, america is at war, and our nation has changed significantly by going to war. Our military doubles in size. You have millions of women entering the workforce. We still go to war with a segregated army, but African Americans launched a Double Campaign for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home. One of the point we want to make to visitors is, its in 1942 that americans learn about what the nazis called a final solution. And we are showing how that information makes it from the u. S. Government to the American Public between august and november of 1942. This man, is the World Jewish Congress representative in switzerland. He learns, threw a german industrialist that the nazis have a plan to murder all jews in europe. He wanted to get to rabbi steven wise, one of the leading reform rabbis and the United States and the head of the World Jewish Congress. He writes this letter, trying to get the information to wise through the state department. The contents of this letter is very harrowing. He says, and hitlers headquarters, a plan is being considered to wipe out at one blow from there and a half million to 4 million jews this autumn. And what the state department writes here is the allegation has no information to confirm this rumor, and believes its one of the many unreliable war rumors circulating in europe today. This is august 1942. You see the state department has written, do not send. They block this information from making it to steve unwise because they dismisses as an unreliable remark. He had also sent the information to this man, and you see a facsimile of the telegram that then is sent to rabbi wise, you see in pencil there, august 29th, 1942. The information does make its two wives from silverman that there is a plan, as silverman right, to discuss all jews in germany. Three and a half to 4 million, at one blow, exterminated to resolve once and for all the jewish question. Why is it goes to the state department. He goes to see, under secretary of state sumner wells, and wells said, dont go public with this. Let me confirm first. The state Department Takes three months to conform throughout the fall of 1942, and wells tells wise back to the state department and says it is true. And he allows wise to talk to the press about this. By november of 1942, you get articles like this across the country. This is the l. A. Times from november 25th, 1942. Nazis wiping out jews in cold blood. The u. S. Government, in the next month, in december of 1942 issues a declaration of all the allied nations, issuing a declaration against what they call coldblooded extermination. So, that language is in this declaration in december of 1942. It is front page news for a short time in december of 1942. Americans will hear Edward Murrow and december 1942 saying millions of human beings, most of them jews are being gathered up with ruthless efficiency and murdered. So we cannot say that americans did not know. We did not have all of the details, but if you think about, what is the crux of the story . The story is that the nazis are deported due to the east for mass murder. That story we have, and that story was reported, even if all of the details of it were not known. It does not mean that all americans believed it. And americans are asked in january of 1943 by gallup, so just two months after this news goes public, they are asked if you believe the stories that 2 million jews, at this 0. 2 million jews had been murdered, and the results are about half and half, 48 of americans believe that it is true. What we are showing here is how the american magazine pick up that story. You see a chart like this in pm magazine from august of 1943 showing country by country how many jews have been murdered and how many remain. This case, you also see in this case pictures from Newsweek Magazine, soviet photos that had leaked out, covered and Newsweek Magazine of remains at one of the killing, one of the nazi concentration camps. Victims shoes, and even him, learned the architects of genocide, on the cover of Time Magazine in october of 1943. The article and interior reads that the gestapo had organized an extermination without parallel. Magazines are covering this story. We dont have a name for the crime. Winston churchill famously says, we on the presence of a crime without a name. We wanted to tell the story of this man, who coins the word genocide. He defines genocide is that the lord destruction of a nation or ethnic group. In 1944, the Washington Post runs an editorial simple he titled, genocide, which speaks about the atrocities going on. I think part of american runs america does doubt and their unwillingness to believe what was happening when it was happening was the effect that it didnt have a name for the crime until very late. Genocide is coined during the war as the mass murder of jews is going on. In this animated map we are mapping two things on each other. The nazi killing process and the movement of the allied troops. You see nazi troops murdered more than 5 million jews already. The swastikas are the six Major Killing centers that the nazis are operating. The blue is the advance of the allied troops. It was important for us to put the timeline of the holocaust and the war together. When news becomes public in november 1942 about what the nazis call the final solution, thats the moment that our troops are just landing in north africa in the operation. We dont have the military means to reach the death camps, to reach the killing centers. As you just saw, by june of 1944, when u. S. And other allied troops are landing on the coast of normandy, thats very late in the holocaust. When we ask in this exhibition, what more could have been done, we are trying to be careful about what about showing what was militarily possible. We frequently debate the question about whether the rail lines leading to auschwitz should have been bombed or the camp itself should have been bombed. We take up that question later, but what this map is supposed to do is provide a foundation of thinking about what was military possible. By 1944 it is absolutely possible. But the u. S. Government decides not to do it. We are looking in this last section of the exhibition. Individuals were trying to pressure the u. S. Government to take action, one of the Great Stories is this man, who works for the polish underground. He is 27 years old or in the late 20s in 1943. The underground smuggles him into the warsaw ghetto. He saw the transit of jews to belgium. Nine months later hes in the oval office, talking to fdr about this. You see fdrs appointment book, that the polish ambassador is coming to the white house. Tells him about these atrocities that he has witnessed and pleads with fdr at the end of the meeting, what can i tell the polish people. Fdr says, tell them we shall win the war. That speaks directly to u. S. Government priorities. The priority is always the defeat of nazism. The u. S. Government and forcefully sees what we would see as a humanitarian division that see today is a Man Government unfortunately sees what we would see as a humanitarian Mission Today as he writes this fantastic book about the story of the secret state, published toward the end of the war. This is a bookofthemonth club book. Hes writing in popular magazines, this Article Polish death camps about what he is seeing. The American Public could have picked up this in 1944 and read this article with really harrowing detail, deeply disturbing details about some of the atrocities he had witnessed. Another force of pressure on the government is this man. He works in many different ways to ajit tate to advocate for Government Action on behalf of jews. He worked with members of congress to get them to introduce a rescue resolution. Ultimately he is successful in getting members of commerce to get that rescue resolution through. He also stages a pageant called we will never die. He works with the leading work leading hollywood personalities of the era. The story of this pageant, you see a still of the pageant up here. He tells the story of jewish history in this pageant. And the end of the story, the end of this pageant is the murder of all the jews in europe area there is this haunting refrain, remember us, remember us, remember a speed there is this assumption that the nazis are going to successfully murder all the jews in europe, unless there is action. It plays in Madison Square garden, hollywood stadium, in the hollywood bowl. It played in Constitution Hall in the spread of 1943. Eleanor roosevelt goes to the pageant. Multiple Supreme Court justices go to the pageant. A couple hundred members of congress go. And he rewrites the end of the pageant for the performance in constitution home. He says, you are the people who have the power to do something about this, are you going to do something to rescue the jews of europe . He is also writing fullpage newspaper ads, incendiary fullpage newspaper ads to spur action. This is a response to a refugee conference. A conference between Great Britain and the United States, a gathering in april 1943 that was really for show. There was no intention of rate of changing refugee policy. They want to be able to say they had met. They are calling for mass action on behalf of the jewish victims in europe. We show here is he comes back to the story, the head of the Visa Division for the state department. He goes to congress in november 1943 and tells him the state department had already admitted 580,000 refugees. That claim is absolutely false. Long goes to conference to congress. He says, we were bound by immigration laws, we did everything we could possibly do. A congressman from brooklyn calls out long as a liar. He calls him out for lying about the number of refugees that had been let in. Gives this fantastic statement in december of 1943. We may as well take down that plaque from the statue of liberty and black of the lamp beside the golden door. He speaking to this tension that is so central to this exhibition. The tension between american ideals, thinking of ourselves as a land of refuge and nation of immigrants, but at this moment of crisis being so closed to immigrants and to rescue refugees. The Treasury Department, lawyers in the Treasury Department also discovered the state department is actively obstructing information about the murder of jews from making it to intended recipient in the United States, and actively obstructing aid. They go to their boss, the secretary of the treasury, with a report, a report they call is the acquiescence of this government. They asked him to take that information to fdr. Morgans outdoes he does. But the information here is harrowing. The first line, one of the greatest lines in history, the slaughter of the jewish people is continuing unabated. They are asking fdr for a refugee policy. The United States government did not have a refugee policy. After they take this report fdr in january of 1944, and on january 22 he issues an executive order that establishes the war refugee board. It is a joint effort, and their charge is to rescue jews. As long as it doesnt impede the war effort. And that, as long as it doesnt impede the war effort, is a key provision and key fact that will be debated. And will have deep implications for the remaining year of the war. The board coordinates with refugee organizations. They work with International Refugee aid organizations. And issuing visas and protection papers. The first is about the question about whether or not there should be direct bombing of auschwitz. The war refugee board was receiving recommendations from jewish organizations and from the American Public about how to save lives. Among these recommendations was bombed the rail lines leading to auschwitz, bomb the crematorium themselves. The war refugee board received this request many times. A lawyer who had become the head of the war refugee board, initially in the summer of 1944, for this to the War Department without comment. By november of 1944 hes convinced this should happen. He says i strongly recommend the War Department give series consideration to the possibility of destroying the execution chambers and crematorium through direct bombing action. You see here the assistant secretary of war. Mccoy responds as he always does, by saying this is not a war aim. The department consistently said we will study the problem, or we have studied the problem. There is not evidence the ward apartment deeply studied this problem. He always says its militarily not possible. We know that wasnt true. The War Department was authorizing and running bombing raids on german industrial targets less than five miles from auschwitz. So weve studied it, its impractical. And he only says its not a war aim, not a war priority. And that was true. They saw this as a diversion from the war effort. This is one of the most controversial and difficult topics in memory of americans in response to the holocaust. There is moral outrage about the americas failure to bomb the crematorium. What we are trying to show his what did happen. Not what we think should have happened. The war refugee board made these multiple requests, and the War Department always said thats not a priority. That was consistent with the u. S. Governments war effort. One thing the war refugee board does is bring in 982 refugees to a camp in new york. You are seeing footage of refugees arriving in this camp in new york in august of 1944. These are refugees that had been in italy and had been brought out outside of the immigration system. They are not admitted as immigrants. What you see here is a boy on one side of the fence talking to residents, all 982 had a sign papers that said they would go back to europe when the war was over. This was the only instance during the nazi period where the u. S. Government brings over a massive refugees outside of the immigration quota system. They hold him at this camp behind barbed wire fences. They hold him until february of 1946, until well after the war ends. Ultimately they are admitted to the United States has immigrants. Is the only time the united State Government makes an exception outside of our immigration policy to admit a mass of refugees. This is a piece of a fence that has been led to us, the barbed wire fence that surrounded those refugees. They published their own newspaper called the ontario chronicle. You are seeing a cartoon from the ontario chronicle showing the before and after, the excitement of the refugees as they arrived in new york harbor, seeing the statue of liberty. One year later they are still held behind us barbed wire fence and the promise of liberty seems to be at such a distance. This is an illustration that appeared in the newspaper in august of 1945. This speaks to the contrast we want to get out through the exhibition between the promise of liberty and the idea of america as a land of refugee and the political reality on the ground that made it difficult for americans to make good on that progress. We end the exhibition with a number of contrasts in april and may of 1945. April you see here that american soldiers and counter nazi concentration camps. Will see eisenhower walking through a sub camp in april of 1945. This is happening at the same moment fdr dies. Many americans, its hard for them to imagine fdr not being president. You have that contrast going on. In may you have americans here developing the defeat of germany. American celebrate that, the sacrifices that are made during war. What we wanted visitors to think about at this point in the exhibition is that winning the war doesnt solve the refugee problem. You are left with millions of displaced persons in europe. Americans are still very reluctant to let them these displaced persons. Showing that only 5 of americans by december of 1945, 6 months after the defeat of nazism, want to let in more refugees than we did before the war. The other key at the end of the exhibition to think about, this is times square in may of 1945. We are showing some of the press coverage. Americans are so putting the fact that hitler is dead. You have an american such a giving a mocking nazi salute. This magazine spread on atrocities found in german concentration camps is may 7, 1945. There are some key things to think about here. You see a believe looking on the side of the road, littered with victims. The right side of the spread and life magazine science in this article that americans have a hearing stories about german brutality for 12 years, and now they can no longer doubt it. We finally have visual evidence. What you have seen threat the exhibition is americans had a lot of information about the threat of nazism, about the persecution and murder of james. Not a lot of it was visual evidence. I think americans in the 1940s, seeing is believing. Americans start to see images like this would they may go to the newsreels in april 1945. Msx furnaces, each holding a buddies used in creating the dead did become a six furnaces, each holding bodies, used in creating the dead her unbelievable but. True to they took pride in their concentration camps. Here a mere handful were found alive. War is not a pretty thing, but no words can express that worlds discussed at germanys organized carnage. This starts to push against that doubt that had always been there. Americans were asked in 1944, for example, do you believe the germans are murdering jews in concentration camps . By the end of 1944, 76 of per test sunday 6 of americans say they believe it. They are asked about the numbers, and what the pulling shows is americans cant grasp the scale and the scope of the crime until its over. Unfortunately that doubt remains. Life magazine as saying for the first time now we have irrefutable evidence. Speak to that doubt. The other key to this is that the captions refer to the victims that you are seeing as prisoners of all nationalities. But they never mention jewish victims. That thread even remains as nazism is defeated. Not putting jewish victims front and Center Remains in some of the american press. At the close we go back to rafael, the man who coined the word genocide. He himself is a refugee from poland, jewish, who lost 49 relatives. He spends all of his energy trying to get genocide recognized as a national crime. In his autobiography, which he wrote in pieces over the course of the late 1950s, one of the things he wrote was about the importance of telling the story to the american people, that they were writing the book of death. And importance of repeating the story, it is important central to the mission of the u. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to continue telling the story as a warning. The hunting parties lemkin saying, im sure they would understand me. Part of what is central to this accident to this americas lack of understanding of this crying as it was happening have a lot of information, that information didnt translate to clear understanding. We have a clear understanding, but the sixth contrast so hard to push against hindsight, and say what do americans understand at the time, how do they understand their roles and responsibilities as american citizens to fight against nazism as its happening . This was part two of a twopart american artifacts. You can view part one and all other American History tv programs online at cspan. Org history. For those of you who are joining us for the first time, my name is jason and i am the direct of the center for history and the Public Interest here at villanova university. How many of your joining us fo