America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference is a documentary film which premiered on US television (PBS) in 1994. It is an episode of the long-running program American Experience (season 06 episode 06).
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writer, producer and director: Martin Ostrow
** Narrator: Hal Linden
** Released on DVD in 2014
** Subtitles: English (turn on-turn off)
** Run time: 83 minutes
Several persons are interviewed in the film. Many of them were already old when they were interviewed. Today they are no longer alive. Here are the names of the participants (listed in alphabetical order):
** Viola Bernard, MD (1907-1998) – Non-Sectarian Committee for Children
** Edward Bernstein – US Treasury Department 1941-1945
** Ruth Fein – American-Jewish Historical Society
** Arnold Forster (1913-2010) – Anti-Defamation League
** Arthur Hertzberg (1921-2006) - historian – Vice President, World Jewish Congress
** Jan Karski (1914-2000) – Polish diplomat
** Herbert Katzki (1908-1997) – refugee relief worker
** Kurt Klein (1920-2002) – Jewish immigrant – served in the US Army 1942-1945 – in 1946 he married Gerda Weissmann (1924-2022)
** Max Lerner (1902-1992) – journalist and historian
** John Pehle (1909-1999) – US Treasury Department 1940-1944
** Will Rogers, Jr. (1911-1993) – politician - member of US Congress (Democrat – California) 1943-1944
** Harvey Stoehr – Patriotic Order, Sons of America
** Sophie Weinfield - secretary
** Lewis Weinstein (1905-1996) – attorney at law
** David Wyman (1929-2018) – Professor of History, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
** Leona Zarsky (1922-2013) - physician
Archive footage (old clips and photos) is used between the talking heads.
Archive footage is used to supplement and support the statements made by the participants.
Archive footage is used when the narrator is talking.
The main title (America and the Holocaust) can be seen as a question: How did America respond to the Holocaust?
The subtitle (Deceit and Indifference) provides a short answer to the question: America responded with deceit and indifference.
In this film about the American response to the Holocaust there are two story-lines which are closely connected with each other:
# 1. A micro-history: this line follows the history of the Jewish immigrant Kurt Klein and his family.
# 2. A macro-history: this line follows the actions and decisions made by American politicians in Congress and by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his administration.
THE MICRO-HISTORY
Kurt Klein was born in Germany in 1920. His parents (Ludwig and Alice) had three children. Kurt had an older sister and a younger brother.
When Hitler and the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Kurt and his family soon understood that they had to leave Germany. They wanted to immigrate to the US. They wanted to go at once and they wanted to go together. But this was not possible. Therefore, they made a plan to go step by step.
The older sister travelled to the US in 1936. Kurt followed her in 1937 and the younger brother followed him in 1938.
Once all three children were safe in the US, they wanted their parents to join them. But this was not easy. The parents had to get an exit permit to leave Germany and they had to get a visa to enter the US.
Since 1924, US immigration policy had many restrictions. Asians were excluded. For other nations there was a quota. The number of people who wanted to leave Germany was much higher than the annual quota allowed by US immigration.
To get a visa, the parents needed a sponsor. The three children wanted to sponsor their parents. But in order to accepted as sponsors, they needed to have a certain amount of money.
They had to prove that the parents were not going to be a burden on the US. All three children had jobs, but since they were young, their salaries were low and they were not able to save up much money.
There was a long line of Germans who were waiting for a visa. Because of the limited annual quota, it might take several years before the parents could get a visa, and time was something the German Jews did not have. Time was running out for them.
While the parents were waiting for a visa to the US, they were in contact with the children in the US. Letters were sent back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. The children in the US did what they could; the parents in Germany did what they could, but there was still no visa. They were told to be patient and wait.
In 1939, when World War Two began in Europe, the parents moved from Germany to Vichy France, the southern part of France which was not occupied by Germany. But they were still in Europe and it was still difficult to get out.
To leave Vichy France they needed a transit visa for Spain, a transit visa for Portugal, a ticket for an ocean liner and a visa to the US.
All these documents had to be acquired within a period of four months. If the process took longer than that, the documents were regarded as too old and you had to start over!
The history of the family is presented by Kurt Klein himself. He was still alive when this film was made.
He reads excerpts from letters written by his parents while they were trying to get a visa to the US.
THE MACRO-HISTORY
This film explains how the question of immigration was seen by the US government, by politicians in Congress and by the American public.
Immigration was a part of the political game.
Many Americans were opposed to more immigration. Many politicians in Congress and President Roosevelt could not or would not ignore the mood of the general population.
This is why the US government responded with deceit and with indifference when Jewish organizations asked the administration to help by accepting more refugees from Europe.
The Treasury Department was positive. The staff wanted the US to open its doors and accept more refugees from Hitler and the Nazi Party.
The State Department was negative. It was dominated by people who did not want Jewish refugees to come to the US.
And this department controlled the number of visas which could be issued!
There were many political and bureaucratic intrigues. They are too many and too complicated to be presented here. When you watch the film, you will learn the details. You will learn what happened and who was responsible.
REVIEWS AND RATINGS
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 77 percent which corresponds to 3.9 stars on Amazon. There are three user reviews on IMDb. Here are the ratings and the headlines:
** 100 = What every American should know about the Holocaust
** 100 = Plenty of shame to go around
** 90 = This one might make you really mad or really depressed
These user reviews offer ratings which are higher than the average rating on IMDb. The average rating of these three reviews is 97 percent.
On Amazon there are at the moment 23 global ratings and 13 global reviews. The average rating is 4.6 stars which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.
In my opinion, the average rating on IMDb is too low, while the rating on Amazon is more appropriate. I agree with the three user reviews posted on IMDb.
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
** Paper Walls: America and the Refugee Crisis, 1938-1941 by David Wyman (1968)
** The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust, 1941-1945 by David Wyman (1984)
Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust, 1933-1945 by Deborah Lipstadt (1985)
# 2. A US government document
Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews
This document is a memorandum prepared by officials in the US Treasury, including John Pehle. Date: 13 January 1944.
#
3. Websites and online resources
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum (several items)
** Americans and the Holocaust
** Kurt Klein describes some of the difficulties involved in emigrating from Germany
** Kurt Klein describes a group of death march survivors in a Czechoslovak village
** ID Card: Gerda Weissmann
American Experience (PBS) – America and the Holocaust
** Article: Kurt Klein’s Story (chronology and family letters)
** Article: Will Rogers, Jr. (1911-1993)
** Article: Raoul Wallenberg (1912-?)
** Article: The Bergson Boys
*****
Kurt Klein
(1920-2002)
*****
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