FDR and the Holocaust

by NA NA, Kenneth A. Loparo (Editor)

Overview

The contributors to this volume take a hard look at Roosevelt's reaction to the Holocaust.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230619487
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	01/28/2010
Series:	The World of the Roosevelts
Edition description:	1996
Pages:	278
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

VERNE W. NEWTON is the former Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library. He is the author of The Cambridge Spies and the writer/producer of Harry Hopkins: At FDR's Side, a PBS special.

Table of Contents

PART I: THE HYDE PARK CONFERENCE
• PART II: THE HOLOCAUST, AUSCHWITZ, AND WORLD WAR II

Editorial Reviews

This collection gathers together talks delivered at a two-day conference of Roosevelt and Holocaust scholars held in 1993 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in Hyde Park, N.Y. Discussion revolved around FDR's reactions to Hitler's policies against the Jews; the president was often quoted as stressing that the way to end the slaughter was to defeat Hitler. Historian Richard Breitman argues that negotiations with Germany over the question of refugees should have been conducted as early as 1938; historian Michael Marrus emphasizes the importance of understanding FDR's options at the time; historian Robert Dalek defines the limitations on the president's power to act on behalf of the persecuted; Arthur Schlesinger Jr. comments on the negative change in attitude of American Jews toward Roosevelt since 1945. The old question of whether the Auschwitz gas chambers should have been bombed is reopened. The military feasibility and likely effectiveness of such bombing are explored by James Kitchens, an Air Force archivist, and Richard Levy, a retired nuclear engineer, both of whom conclude that bombing was not a practical option. Newton is director of the FDR Library. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

How much the President knew and when, and what he did about it, have been one of the most mysterious and controversial aspects for scholars of Franklin Roosevelt's career. Specialists in his life and in the Holocaust converged at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in November 1993 to share perspectives and information. They discuss Roosevelt as a foreign policy leader, the possible failure of the American Jewish community to make the Holocaust an issue, the failure to provide a safe haven, the bombing of Auschwitz, and other topics. Historian Arthur Schlesinger is among the contributors. Two of the 13 essays have been published elsewhere. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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