FDR and the Holocaust

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.)