Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust (Paperback)

~ (Author), Alan M. Dershowitz (Afterword), Gerhard Weinberg (Foreword) "The tragic, complicated story of the Holocaust embraced millions of people and myriad events..." (more)
Key Phrases: cautious crusade, rescue advocates, rescue resolution, New York, American Jews, American Jewish (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Was FDR an indifferent or possibly anti-Semitic president who abandoned European Jews, or was he a pragmatic leader who understood that the key to saving the Jews was winning WWII as swiftly as possible? This bloated, repetitious volume reads like one long apology as it takes on the so-called "revisionist" historians who question FDR's good will; it concludes that he should be "honored for [his] actions during World War II, not defamed." According to Rosen (The Jewish Confederates), FDR may have told ethnic jokes about Jews, but he also surrounded himself with Jewish friends and advisers like Henry Morgenthau Jr. FDR didn't have the political clout to change American immigration laws, and two-thirds of the refugees on the SS St. Louis, who were refused entry to the U.S. in 1939, are believed to have survived the war. Roosevelt probably didn't know about requests by various Jewish leaders to bomb Auschwitz, an action that, Rosen says would have killed Anne Frank and other innocents. Although Rosen is able to debunk some of the more overheated claims put forth four decades ago by Arthur Morse in While Six Million Died, his often simplistic arguments don't undo landmark works like David Wyman's The Abandonment of the Jews. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

What was once a controversial, revisionist view of the U.S. role in the Holocaust has recently achieved disturbingly wide acceptance. That view asserts that the Roosevelt administration, including FDR himself, was indifferent to the fate of European Jewry, motivated by crass political concerns or even outright anti-Semitism. Rosen has written a passionate, well-researched, and convincing response. The most troubling accusation, that of anti-Semitism, is refuted by the unprecedented participation of Jews in the upper echelons of the Roosevelt administration, as well as Roosevelt's personally warm relations with many Jews. Roosevelt had spoken out forcefully about Nazi persecution of the Jews since the late 1930s, and with the death camps in full operation, he made it clear that Nazi leaders would be held accountable. Rosen also deals effectively with other controversial actions, including the refusal to bomb railroad lines leading to the death camps. This strong, counterrevisionist work will not end the debate, but it will help balance the scales. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (May 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560259957
• ISBN-13: 978-1560259954
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #325,651 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Hagiography - Franklin D Roosevelt., August 28, 2009

By	Sheila H. Mclaren "Sheila McLaren" (Tasmania, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Impossible for me to agree with the Cohen review. Franklin D Roosevelt was as interested in saving the Jews as I am in saving the Australian Funnel-Web Spider. Why, if FDR claimed that so "many of my friends are Jewish", was he busy during the pre-war years lobbying to keep Jews out of Harvard? That alone is an indication of his aims - leaving aside the manner in which America - led by FDR - watched while most of Europe's Jews were stripped of citizenship, livelihood, professions, all human dignity; then starved, ghettoized, and finally murdered in cold blood. Wake up: This man and his people allowed 75% of Europe's Jews to be annihilated while they certainly had more than enough power to stop the persecution and the process. Sheila McLaren.

33 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting history right, March 13, 2006

By	M. S. Cohen (Arlington, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust (Hardcover)

This book is both an enormously engrossing read and a well-argued and researched correction of history. The correction is necessary because of "revisionist" historians who have claimed that FDR was not only anti-Semitic, but failed to take actions that could easily have saved countless Jewish lives during the Holocaust. Rosen combines a careful look at the facts, including previously unexamined original documents, with incisive analysis and common sense, to to conclude that the truth is just the contrary. FDR's efforts to protect Jewish lives and rights were genuine, often proactive, and almost always as much or more as could reasonably be expected within daunting military and political constraints. Rosen's attitude toward FDR is not worshipful, but by giving us a richer understanding of the historical context, he heightens appreciation of Roosevelt's character and of what Roosevelt did accomplish. The book may also serve a more general purpose: It is an antidote to the paranoia caused by both historians and pundits who apply perfectionist standards to events viewed in hindsight. Equally important, it is a great story very well told.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Roosevelt did NOTHING to help the Jews, May 21, 2009

By	Margrete O'connor "1920's woman" (CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

All one has to do is to read about what he did with the St. Louis. That in itself is unforgiveable. He knew what was happening, he knew about the train tracks and what did he do? Nothing. There was a strong isolationist feeling in the U.S., and pro-German sentiment as well, and he was up for re-election. So much for him.

His wife begged him to let in the people on the St. Louis. She deserves the credit for caring about humanity; FDR, none.