Americas Response to the Holocaust

Mckenna Brownell Junior Division Individual Website

Choosing a topic that I would spend a solid amount of time on proved difficult, for I needed something that would not only interest me, but fit the theme as well. Last year, I had tried to incorporate the Holocaust into the theme somehow, but as it turned out, few sources were available. This year, however, worked out perfectly; after only a few days of research, I knew I wanted to focus on responses to the Holocaust. At first, I tried researching the international reaction to the genocide, and although it affects Americas decision, I eventually had to narrow my topic down to just Americas response. Research is the most valuable and hardest component to History Day. I started out by researching at my local libraries and online to get a feel for my topic and imagine what some of the final outcome would contain. America and the Holocaust, an informative DVD, provided me with a lot of great background knowledge and then led me to find various other sources, both primary and secondary. Websites from online museums about the Holocaust directed me to various primary sources from videos to pictures to audio recordings. From there, I visited the Museum of Tolerance, providing me with a personal interview. Lastly, personal accounts from books, letters, and newspaper archives helped me sympathize with individuals who were affected. In this technological era, websites are a great way to share information because it provides so many unique ways to exhibit material. For the past two years, I have presented my topic in a website display and have loved dealing with the technology and figuring out distinctive means to interpret the theme and the topic. First, I drafted the outline of my website on paper and established key points to focus sections on. I used Microsoft Word to help with the typing of my narrations and then simply copied and

pasted the text into NHD Weebly. Audio, picture, and video aspects were then added to enhance the viewers interest. To help edit the audio and video I used iMovie. Throughout the project, I continuously added sources and annotations to my bibliography and constructed my process paper at the end. America first learned about Hitlers persecution of Jews in 1935; however, not until a few years later did official action begin. The delayed reaction of the world governments caused public outcries for many years, and many national regimes have been blamed for their failure to step in. America also responded deleteriously by tightening their immigration laws and encouraging anti-Semitism throughout the country. Protest groups, such as the Bergson group, demonstrated that there were those who were willing to speak out against the U.S. government, but resulted in controversy and failed reform. It was not until President Roosevelt finally established the War Refugee Board in 1944 that the U.S. government officially started to reform its policies. Americas response shows how a delayed reaction and sudden reform can affect the lives of millions and the course of history.