THE U.S.A. & GREAT BRITAIN

        Most of the world free nations did little or nothing to aid the Jews as they were destroyed. They cannot plea ignorance because they all knew quite soon after the war started. They could have saved thousands if not millions of lives if they had chosen to but they did not.

THE FIRST YEARS

        The anti-jewish character of Hitlers government was known by all the world as early as 1933 when it came to power. Emigration increased between 1933 and 1939. the USA allowed 25,957 a year from Germany but in the years 1933-1938 it was never filled. Only about 11,000 had emigrated by 1937. They were considered on one survey, that Jews were the least desirable residents in America. In July 1939, over 39% thought Jews had too much power and 10% thought they should be deported. The emigration laws were very strict.

MEETING AT EVIAN   

        In July 1938, representatives from 32 countries met at a luxury hotel on Lake Geneva. The USA said it would allow its full quota to be filled from then on. Netherlands and Denmark said they would continue to let them in. Most said they did not want racial problems imported from other countries. What was needed was to find a place for the refugees to go. It was doomed to failure from the start, as most countries didnt want them. No-one was really interested, at the first meeting after Evian, not many countries attended.

THE RIEGNER TELEGRAM]

        By September 1941, all Europe and Britain were at war with Germany. In October, Jews were forbidden to leave and on December 8^th, the first Jews were gassed at chelmno. The allies knew what was happening. Before and through 1941, reports had reached the USA and Britain about mass murders. The public werent concerned, neither were the government. In May 1942, reports came through tracing Nazi steps month by

month. It described everything. 700,000 had already been murdered. In England the public were informed and spoke of outrage. The Government did nothing. In USA they did the same, nothing.

        In August 1942, a telegram from Gerhardt Reigner was received by Britain and the USA. It said :- received alarming report that in Fuhrers headquarters a plan discussed and under consideration, according to which all Jews in countries occupied or controlled by Germany numbering 3-4 million should, after deportation and concentration in the east, be exterminated.

        Nobody was interested, a US poll in 1942 still stated that Jews had too much power. In Britain they talked but still nothing was done.

WHAT WERE THE REASONS

        There were at least 5 good reasons why the meeting accomplished nothing and why the Bund report and Reigner telegram caused no action.

1)    At the time, in 1938 a worldwide depression was on. Unemployment was very high and money was not very good. It is understandable that thousands of new residents would not be a good idea.

2)    Information about Jewish mass murders were just not believed. Many Jews called the reports irresponsible.

3)    Stories that were repoted in the First World war were proved to be wrong about Germans. Twenty years later people werent ready to believe another load of lies.

4)    Arabs had revolted against the Jews in 1936 and Britain were afraid that the Arabs would support Germany.

5)    The allies were more interested in putting money and reserves into winning the war than worrying about the mass murder of Jews.

In 1943 when it was realised that Germany would loose the war the object was an earlier possible victory over Germany. The only thing was, at this rate there would be no Jews left in Europe.

THE BOMBING OF AUSCHWITZ.

On April 10^th 1944, two Jews escaped Auschwitz and dictated a thirty page report. They spared no details. By mid-june everyone knew what Auschwitz was about. It might not stop the killing but it would slow it down. Auschwitz had been bombed by accident while bombing took place on a nearby rubber factory. Planes flew over the camps and photos were taken. The British refused saying that further lives would be lost. What value the Jews then.

        The USA said it would be an unnecessary divertion of essential resorses needed elsewhere. It is also considered opinion that more vindictive action would ensue if these were bombed. More terrible, blood-thirsty and cruel than Auschwitz? Nothing was done.

POSSIBLE CONCLUSION

        Many things were attempted by the people to help the Jews. But the results were always the same nothing was done perhaps the hideous enormity of the massacre could not be understood, then it became clear nobody really knew what to do with all these Jews. One picture becomes clear, would something have been done if the 1,2, or 6 million had been Protestants or Catholics. One wonders!!

                        ORDINARY GERMANS AND THE HOLOCAUST

        The shock of ordinary Germans, forced to tour nearby concentration camps by Allied soldiers in 1945 was captured on film. Surely, they could not have known. The scale of the holocaust defies belief, audiences around the world were stunned to silence by the newsreels of Auschwitz. It seemed easier, for humanitys sake to believe that this was the work of an evil regime, conducted in secret away from its own people.

        At his trial, Albert Speers defence of I could have known, I should have known but I did now know, seems plausible. It established the idea that even among the higher men of the Nazi regime, full awareness of Hitlers evil deeds knowledge that amounted to complicity was restricted to his most notorious henchmen.

        Efforts soon got underway to narrow the circle of guilt further. Respected commanders of the Waffen SS argued that they were quite distanced from the concentration camp guards. They claim to be pure front line soldiers. The full extent of the Nazis crime was certainly known to Hitler and his inner circle, Bormann, Himmler, Heydrich and the attendees at the Wansee conference. The decision to undertaker the slaughter of Jews in the camps was to be kept secret, just like the mass shootings in Poland and Russia during 1941.

        Army units could not help learning about the killings, often dressed up as anti-partisan operations. Some battalions sent detachments to assist and a minority of soldiers developed a grisly form of recreation, photographing the killings.

        Before suggesting who knew about the killings, it is worth remembering why the camps were built in the first place. The killing centres were deliberately built out of sight, in occupied Poland where security could be enforced with ease. Local Poles were warned not to breathe a word to anyone.

        The ethnic violence in Rwanda during the mid 1990s escalated until, at its peak, over 250,000 people were being killed per month, a faster rate of murder than was achieved at Treblinka or Auschwitz. This was accomplished with knives and axes.

        In spite of the best efforts at concealment, many ordinary people knew about the Holocaust not through rumour but because they were involved, in its administration. The transport of more than 6 million people across Europe involved thousands of civilian railway personal.

        The camps ordered their specialist equipment from civilian engineering companies and put some out to tender. The true purpose of the gas chambers, gurneys for bodies, gratings for fires, fire bricks and all other hideous equipment was not disguised.  Improvements at the crematoria to enable them to burn at higher temperatures for longer and to avoid the fires getting clogged with unburned fat.

        Groups of people sat round desks making these decisions . The steel and glass spyhole on the gas chamber at Majfenak was stamped Auert, Berlin It had been manufactured by men who took pride in their work.

        Albert Speer denied he knew about the holocaust but could not conceal his involvement with the slave labour camps. In late 1944, he visited the underground factory Dora where V2 rockets were assembled. Here, mortality rates soared to the point that some authors claim the deaths of the workers were intentional.

        He and others did know about the horrors involved in the labour camps.

Most people denyed the holocaust because talking about it could and did lead to them being put in the camps. Children were encouraged to report on their parents if they ever voiced anti-Nazi sentiments.

        The radios did not broadcast it, although it was known about, all wartime propaganda avoided crimes against the Jews. Most Germans knew something of the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis but few would admit it, even to themselves. In the crazy world of the Third Reich, it was too dangerous to talk about.