The US and the Holocaust Project Group

Ignorance
Keren Wexler examined whether Americans took an ignorant stance to the Holocaust.
Through extensive research she learns that Americans were not provided with
accurate information from the Nazi regime. Furthermore, she makes the claim that if
German commanders who worked in the Holocaust daily were unaware of the true
realties than it is believable that Americans were greatly unaware of the realities of the
Holocaust. She based her information off the books Beyond the Belief: The American
Press and the coming of the Holocaust written by Deborah Listadt and Robert
H. Abzug, America Views the Holocaust: 19933-1945 A Brief Documentary History.
It was, in fact, the reports, pictures, and newsreels taken by Allied journalists, Signal
Corps photographers, and liberating soldiers and brought home the reality of Nazi
brutality and mass murder. Some who suspected that prior reports had been
exaggerated or were simply propaganda felt compelled to admit, So it was true!
Others simply exclaimed, we didnt know!
America Views the Holocaust, (Abzug, p. 111).
Were Americans Really Ignorant?
It is debatable as to whether the American press was provided with valid information
about the tragedies that occurred during the holocaust. If we the idea that the

American press was not given correct information, it is fair to state that it was
not in denial about the realities, but instead as ignorant. It is proven in various
articles, memoirs, and novels that Eastern Europeans who worked in the concentration
camps as generals and SS soldiers were not aware of the harsh realties that occurred
where they worked. Consequently, it is fair to state that if those who worked in close
proximity with the nazi regime were not aware of the Nazis actions then it is
impossible to believe that those who lived continents away had access to the reality of
the situation.
American Knowledge of the Beginning of the War
The holocaust occurred between the years 1933 and 1945. As the years of the war
increased so did the severity of the Nazis actions. Consequently, it may be believe
that the information disclosed to the American press was closer to reality in the
beginning of the war than later. Furthermore, some believe that as their persecution of
Jews increased so did their misinformation to the American press for fear that it might
publicize the harsh realities. During the earlier years of the holocaust the violence
factor was not as severe because the nazi ideology was not fully organized or
strengthened. Consequently the information given to the American press by the nazi
regime was more accurate in the beginning because there were not major acts of
violence that needed to be hidden.
The Final Solution: German Tactics that Lead to Ignorance

However when the final solution, the act of putting all Jews into death camps, was
enacted in the latter years of the holocaust, the information given to the American
press was censored. Yes, the American public was aware of the anti-Semitic
sentiment and actions that were portrayed in the newspapers because these were acts
that occurred openly. But, the final solution was something that was shielded not only
from the majority of the Eastern European population but also from the outside
world. The Germans were extremely tactful with the information they disclosed
through the usage of multiple forms of deception. For example, as stated in the
book, Beyond Belief, when massive acts of deportation were enacted the Germans
expressed their acts to American reporters as, economic requirements of the
war,(Lipstadt, p.136). Furthermore, they fully denied their actions to American
reporters and went as far as to state that they were not uprooting Jews from their
homes and forcing them into concentration camps. The Germans even tried to
convince American reporters that Stalin of Russia was a worse leader than Hitler so as
to deter the American quest for accurate information. It is proven that the Americans
press was not successful in investigating beyond the information they were given and
consequently small fractions of what truly occurred was portrayed.
What Did American Press Really Know?
As evident from what is written above, the American press was not given insider
information as to what really occurred during the holocaust nor did they explore

beyond the information given to them. They were aware that mass murders were
occurring in Eastern Europe but they did not directly associate this act solely with
Jews. Rather, articles and editorials focused on all people who were being persecuted
by the Germans because the Nazis did not publicly expose their ideology as directly
linked to anti Semitism. Consequently, for a long while American papers did not
express that thousands of Jews were being gassed and burned daily and forced to
perform hard labor during all hours of the day. Consequently, it is fair to state that the
lack of truthful information portrayed in the American press was not based on denial
but on ignorance. It is evident that American reporters tried to gain inside
information, however there were many hidden places where Germans conducted such
acts, and to which reporters had no access. Furthermore, the Nazis euphemized most
of the information that they were willing to share, which in turn did not allow for
valid portrayals of information, thereby contributing to American ignorance.