The Jews should keep quiet : Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and the Holocaust

"Based on recently discovered documents, The Jews Should Keep Quiet reassesses the hows and whys behind the Franklin D. Roosevelt administrations fateful policies during the Holocaust. Rafael Medoff delves into difficult truths: With FDRs consent, the administration deliberately suppressed European immigration far below the limits set by U.S. law. His administration also refused to admit Jewish refugees to the U.S. Virgin Islands, dismissed proposals to use empty Liberty ships returning from Europe to carry refugees, and rejected pleas to drop bombs on the railways leading to Auschwitz, even while American planes were bombing targets only a few miles away-actions that would not have conflicted with the larger goal of winning the war. What motivated FDR? Medoff explores the sensitive question of the presidents private sentiments toward Jews. Unmasking strong parallels between Roosevelts statements regarding Jews and Asians, he connects the administrations policies of excluding Jewish refugees and interning Japanese Americans"--Publisher's description. Includes bibliographical references and index. xvi, 387 pages ; 24 cm.