why didn't the allies of world war 2 help the Jews?

Question

its probably a stupid question but everything i hear about the germans and the jews in ww2 there is one question that i havent heard anyone ask and this is it [ why didnt the allies of ww2 help the jews] aswell as bombing the german cities and trying to stop the germans invading surrounding countries

Answer 1

Well, let's see, they liberated the concentration camps where millions of Jews (and Poles and Gypsies and priests and nuns and other people considered generally "undesireable") died and lived in slavery, and then set up the country of Israel.

Looks like help to me.

Answer 2

Because no one outside of the Jewish Community believed that the Germans where exterminating the unwanted people of Europe and Western Asia.
There was no conclusive evidence from any source about the death camps, because no one came back from them except the Guards, the Concentration Camps did have some releases especially earlier on in the 40's but each person released was sworn to secracy and knew that if they where caught talking about the camps it would be straight back and death, that was made quite clear to them.
The USAAF and RAF did have plans to bomb some camps later in the war, but these where only some of the more productive camps and then only the satellite factories.
Even when the Soviets overrun places in Poland did some of the horrors become plain to the Allied goverments, but they though the Soviets where exaggerating claims and pictures until Belsen was liberated in April of 45, by then it was too late to do much.
One Major player who could have influenced the big three and diverted some resources to a bombing campaign was the Pope, but again there was the frightening aspect that if he or the Roman Church spoke out against the actions, the Catholics would become persecuted as well, plus the Vatican was a Neutral State in a Fasicst Run country until late 1944.
I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Hold on-the Germans DID give Britain the chance to have the Jews transported here, but at our expense. The British government were told what would happen to them if they didn't, and they saw it as too expensive and of no value so they said 'do what you want with them.' So they did.
The Germans TRIED to keep the death camps a secret (esp. experiments) but to say our government didn't know about it is false. They even had funding from America (J.D.Roccafella gave them money and oil to set up Bergen Belsen, Auzwitch, etc.,) and Britain knew this.
It wasn't until the truth came out that Britain started taking them in-a lot were shipped to Isle of Man, but by then it was too late. America wasn't a very powerful country then in terms of war (16th) and the reason why they took so long to enter the war is because they were undecided what side to join.
Russia could have helped-didn't.
Scandanavia could have helped-didn't.
The list goes on. German people might be ashamed about what happened to the Jews in the holocaust, but some blame could be put on us-and others.

Answer 4

andrsj3 is right. No one really cared, just like many people ignore genocides, famines, etc. that have taken place in Darfur, Somolia, Rowanda, the Congo, etc. The general public in America was largely anti-semitic at the time. While the American government knew the killings were happening, nothing happened until the allies reached the camps in 1945. Americans even contributed to some of the killing, such as the case in the fire-bombing of the city of Dresden. Many POW's, concentration camp prisoners, and others were packed into that city just before its horrific destruction.

Answer 5

andjrb3 (or something like that) is right--all except for the part that America was pushing into the Pacific! Japan had invaded Korea, China, Indonesia, and Indochina. Only when Tojo insisted upon attacking Pearl Harbor, did the Americans finally declare war upon Japan and Germany!! I hate to admit that he's absolutely RIGHT re the world turning their back upon the Jews!!!

Answer 6

There wee many reasons why the allies were unable to help the Jews. The first point to be made is that when stories of what the Nazis were doing to the Jews began to filter out, they were thought unbelievable. How can this be happening?

Of course the British and the Americans knew full well that the Nazis had it in for the Jews - we're not entirely stupid in that respect.

The major problem which the British and Americans had to deal with was the breaking of the Enigma Code[s] being used by the Nazis and German armed forces.

In particular, the SS were using the self same enigma codes to send traffic detailing their activities - trains full of Jews going to such as Auschiwtz etc.

If the Allies had then done something about this situation, it is pretty obvious that the Germans would know almost at once that we, the allies, were breaking the Enigma code[s].

If you want to know what the British did to the Nazis, visit the following site, you'll find it a real eye opener : -


The secrets of the London Cage | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited
I do not know what had happened to him at the London Cage," Dr Whitehead wrote. ... The London Cage was used partly as a torture centre, inside which large ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/secondworldwar/story/0,,1640942,00.html

Something which you probably do not know is that the SAS were sent back into Germany in c1946 and were active there until nearly 1948, rounding up and killing former officers and members of the SS, SD and Gestapo.

You have to understand that Europe was in almost total chaos following WW2 and the immediate aftermath was extremely difficult, even for us here in UK.

When I joined the British Army in 1957 aged then 15, I had a troop sergeant who had been in the SAS during WW2. He told me that his troops of SAS had gone back to Germany in c1946 and had managed to track down an SS sergeant who had been in charge of the ovens at Belsen. This SS Sergent was taken into the woods by the SAS and killed. It took them six hours to kill this bastard. I will not explain the details here, but let's just say his death was very slow and very painful.

This SS bastard had been responsible for putting the famous SOE Agent, Odette Churchill into the ovens while she was still alive. She had bitten him hard on the right wrist and this is how the SAS identified him.

I should also explain to you of an incident in Germany which took place in the closing days of WW2. A friend of mine had been in the Black Watch a world famous Scottish regiment. He told me that his regiment had been sent to a railway yard and when they got there a train of cattle wagons drew up and when the doors were opened, hundreds of captured SS troops came. This friend of mine [now gone] told me that his officer ran past him yelling his head of and began striking at these SS troops with his heavy Claymore Scottish broadsword. The men were encouraged to join in and the killing began. My friend told me that about 500 SS troops were thus killed in repisal for their killing of Britsh prisoners of war while in their custody.

Enough said.

SPELL CHECKER BUST...

Answer 7

The camps were no secret , the Red Cross and the Catholic church new all about them.

However when the Red Cross were allowed to inspect the camps (after much international pressure) they were shown workshops and quarters that had been set up to fool them into thinking the Jews were being well cared for .

Another issue was the for most of the war the allies were on the back foot until the Americans joined late in the war.

France had been taken over and half had become Nazified,Russia had an alliance with Germany and Stalin was no lover of the jews either. The British had retreated from Dunkirk and most of Europe was under the jackboot.

The war was nearly 4 years old before the Americans joined in militarily even though they had been supplying oil , munitions and food to England for most of the 4 year period.and for most of that 4 years , England and Europe were worried about their own survival never mind trying to help out the Jews.

To be honest anti-semtism wasn't just a German thing or a Nazi thing, Jews had been murdered in vast numbers in Spain during the time of the Inquisition, and the blessing of the Roman church.

They had been hated and thrown out of most countries during the time of the middle ages,There were the Albagensian crusades of the 11th century that set out to eradicate the Jews, and the cathars from the Southern areas of France and the Langedoc.

Stalin gave Hitler a hand and dealt quite harshly with his own Russian and LithuanianJews.

There have been several purges in many countries of the Jewish population through out most of europe at one time or another.

The general feeling is that whilst the Catholic Church was not a supporter of Hitler or his regime (even though they had signed a Concortdat in 1933.) it was not seen to have done a great deal to help the Jews either.

This has been a source of debate for many years and it has finally been shown that the Catholic Church did move to get the jews in Rome to freedom where they could.

It is also worth remembering that the biggest criminals in the Nazi's final solution were the Kapo's!, Jews who helped run the camps , even acting as guards and toruturers and finally as executioners of their fellow people.

Answer 8

The only way to help the jews was the beat the Germans - and that's what they were doing. You can't walk into a country in the middle of a war and tell your enemy to close down his concentration camps.

Answer 9

Hate to say it, but it's sort of like Darfur; they didnt really care. The only reason the allies got involved is because the Nazi power was growing, and it would soon have overthrown the world. Britain and all the other powers were under direct attack from the Germans, so they had no choice, and if they fell, America would have had to fight the Axis alone. So America pushed into the pacific so Japan would attack them and they could jump in. Japan messed up and got crushed, Hitler messed up and turned its back on Russia at the wrong moment. Nazi's lose and the world keeps going. The Jews were never a cause for going to war for any of them, and they were subjects that never were in the equation. Of course once you see that they have prison camps, you'd try to get the prisoners out, but that was never a main objective. Maybe an objective used in propaganda, but not in the main military agenda. In short terms, America and most other western countries dont go to war to 'help' other people, unless they see something in it for them....sounds terrible, I know...

Answer 10

The countries in which the jews were persecuted were occupied by german forces.
Until those countries were liberated they could not be helped

Answer 11

......because no one believed that it was taking place. One man tried to stop the holocaust, Jan Karski of Poland, by sharing documents, evidence and reports, as well as eyewitness accounts. He went to London and Washington such that the allied leaders could confront the horror of the jewish people and shake the concious of anyone who would listen. Ironicly, not even the Jewish community in the US during WWII believed that this horror was happening ...........