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— U.S. Army Major Irving Heymont, in a letter to his wife from postwar Germany, October 22, 1945 “The waste and horror of war can’t be appreciated by the people back home. It is one thing to have an academic understanding and another to see it all around you ...”
Jewish soldiers in the American Army attend High Holiday services on a hillside in Kornelimünster, Germany. September 18, 1944
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he Holocaust was primarily a European story in which the Jews of that continent were targeted for total destruction. Yet, many Jews in the United States were also part of this history— whether as vocal citizens publicly protesting for a more humane refugee policy or as patriotic members of the U.S. armed forces. After the war, tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors emigrated to the United States and built new lives in their adopted homeland. Explore the links on this page to learn more about the history of American Jews and their varied roles during the Holocaust era.— Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD)
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Four-year-old twins Ellinor and Evelyn Perl in a summer camp in upstate New York. The girls and their parents had fled from Germany to Lisbon via Paris. They were able to leave for the United States, on the SS Nyassa, in May 1941. The family arrived in New York on June 13. There the girls attended a pre-school for Jewish refugee children. #29885 USHMM see more photos >
Anti-Nazi protest
Chicago, Illinois May 5, 1933 [Silent] Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Soon thereafter, terror actions against opponents of Nazism began: Jews were a major target in these campaigns. Many Jews were subjected to public humiliation or arrest, and others were forced to quit their posts. Anti-Jewish measures climaxed with the April 1, 1933, boycott of Jewish-owned businesses. This footage depicts a Jewish anti-Nazi march in Chicago. National Archives Film see more video >
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