FDR and the Jews

Abstract

FDR and the Jews, by Breitman, Richard and Allan J. Lichtman, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2013,433 pp.Reviewed by Adrien DallairThere is an on-going, contentious and passionate debate concerning Americas response to the Holocaust, and, specifically, about President Franklin Delano Roosevelts record with regard to the Jews of Europe from 1933 to 1945. This debate features two seemingly irreconcilable viewpoints that leave little room for nuance. On the one hand, critics of FDR condemn the then-president for having stood by while Hitler and the Nazis persecuted the Jews of Germany and subsequently attempted to carry out their "Final Solution." On the other, defenders of Roosevelt argue that the president did everything in his power to save the greatest possible number of Jews.Richard Breitman and Allan J. Lichtman, co-authors of FDR and the Jews "challeng[e] both extremes in this dispute" (p. 2). Averring that "[n]o simple or monolithic characterization of this complex president [FDR] fits the historical record," Breitman and Lichtman argue that "FDR was neither a hero of the Jews nor a bystander to the Nazis' persecution and then annihilation of Jews" (p. 315). They endeavour to strike a balance and to provide a non-partisan assessment of President Roosevelt's record with regard to European Jewry. Unfortunately, they do not succeed.At first blush, Breitman and Lichtman appear to remain faithful to their stated goal of arriving at a neutral assessment of FDR's record. The authors are at their best when they discuss the pressures exerted upon, the conflicting priorities of, and the challenges faced by FDR. The book traces the phases FDR went through on Jewish issues-what the authors call the "four Roosevelts," as he responded to the changing circumstances of his presidency. Thus, they show the way in which Roosevelt at various times throughout his time in office paid particular attention to some matters, while relegating others to lower priority.The "first Roosevelt"-corresponding to FDR's first term-did very little, if anything, to assist the Jews of Germany. In fact, according to Breitman and Lichtman, Roosevelt's first term marked the only moment in FDR's twelve-year presidency in which the president was a veritable "bystander to Nazi persecution" (p. 3). In the midst of a worldwide depression, FDR placed priority on economic reform and recovery. Restoring the health of the American economy was Roosevelt's foremost objective, taking precedence over all else. As a result, FDR remained silent in the face of the escalating Nazi persecution of German Jewry. Not wanting to find himself on the end of a public antisemitic backlash in the United States, Roosevelt refused to expend any political capital in order to ease U.S. immigration restrictions against refugees. European Jewry, it would appear, had drawn the short straw.The "second Roosevelt" emerged after the landslide election of 1936. With his election secured and the economy continuing to improve, FDR changed course-taking a greater interest in, and putting a greater emphasis on Jewish concerns. This more decisive and "now-activist Roosevelt" (p. 3) attempted to use his executive powers for the benefit of the Jews, namely, by loosening U.S. immigration restrictions and promoting the resettlement of Europe's Jews to foreign lands. Nevertheless, in the absence of domestic and international support, FDR proceeded with caution and, ultimately, tempered his aims.The outbreak of war in Europe in the fall of 1939 triggered the emergence of the "third Roosevelt." FDR's activism with regard to Jewish issues rapidly took a backseat to more pressing concerns: protecting the United States from potential enemy subversives and aiding the Allies in their struggle against the Axis powers. When the United States entered the war in December 1941, rescuing Europe's Jews became a matter of even less concern. The overriding priority was achieving a military victory over the enemy. …