Allied Response to The Holocaust

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Actions Speak Louder than Words: Allied Response to the Holocaust The extermination of Jewish people during World War II was a horrific and merciless event that was effectively stopped by the Allies. Once the Allies became aware of the Holocaust, they immediately took action to end it. There have been countless suggestions of what the Allies could have done to prevent the Holocaust, however those would not have been as effective as the solution the Allies had put in place. Despite arguments that the Allies did not make a strong attempt to saving the Jews, by putting all their resources into the complete defeat of Nazi Germany, they were essentially doing all they could. The Allies became aware of the Holocaust in 1942 due to numerous factors (Vanden Heuvel). “The world knew, our government knew, Roosevelt and Churchill knew that Hitler's genocide had begun. So therefore by 1942, everyone knew!” (Vanden Heuvel). Not only did the big powers know, but at this time the free world and its people became aware as well. First of all, the British were able to gain possession of German police reports, which provided some of the first information about the extermination of the Jews (Bard). In December 1942, the Allies issued a statement claiming that they were against the extermination of the Jews and would punish the culprits (Bard). At this point in time, the Allies were aware that Jews were being murdered, but they were not quite aware of the proportion and extent of these murders. In 1943, the Allies realized that there were specific locations that Jews were being sent to, concentration camps (Gilbert). In 1944, they became aware of the fact that these camps were mass murder sites for the Jews due to the escape of two Jewish prisone... ... middle of paper ... ...t the Holocaust?" Jewish Virtual Library. N.p., 1998. Web. 08 Feb. 2014. Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know. Canada: Little, Brown and Company, 1993. Print. Berenbaum, Michael. "Why Wasn't Auschwitz Bombed?" Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. Gilbert, Martin. "Churchill and the Holocaust." BBC News. BBC, 17 Feb. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. Gilbert, Martin. "Churchill and the Holocaust: The Possible and Impossible." The Churchill Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Izrael, Asher. "No, the Allies Couldn't Have Stopped Auschwitz." Haaretz.com. N.p., 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. "The Vrba-Wetzler Report." PBS. PBS, 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Feb. 2014. Vanden Heuvel, William J. “The United States and Its Leaders Were Not to Blame for the Holocaust.” World War II. Don Nardo. Michigan: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Print.

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