HARRY HARELIK
Board of Associates
Some see history as a pendulum that swings in one direction, then the other, as if to describe the movement towards and away from certain social values and norms. The startling divide in the United States in the early 21st century could be a time when the pendulum not only swings, but also shows a remarkable comparison to the United States in the early 20th century. American award-winning historical documentarian Ken Burns produced a new documentary, “The United States and the Holocaust,” which aired three nights last week on PBS. It tells the story of the United States in World War II, a story that may sound eerily like America today.
As a Jewish American who knows that part of my mother’s family died in the furnaces of Nazi-run concentration camps during World War II, I never really knew or understood the politics of the United States during the Nazi era. Detailed information about Nazi Germany had been available for years, but detailed information about the US position for the same period was not as well known.
Produced in collaboration with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the USC Shoah Foundation and in collaboration with writers Sarah Botstein and Lynn Novick, Burns’ documentary includes photographs, tapes of reports and letters, some read by celebrities such as Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson . The production begins long before Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany were brutally relevant, revealing the backdrop of America’s right-wing extremist political climate framed by “Jim Crow laws.”
Jim Crow laws in early 20th century America were designed to enforce racial segregation after Reconstruction ended in 1877. Jim Crow was the name given to a minstrel routine, specifically “Jump Jim Crow,” as coined by pioneer Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice . Today, the term “Jim Crow” refers to efforts to restrict or deny blacks their rights, including the right to vote in free elections. In America in 2020, some would say that many states are once again trying to limit or control the black American vote as a result of the 2020 election, which some say was fraudulent or “stolen.” The parallel movement of restrictions on voting rights in the early 20th century compared to the early 21st century conjures up for some a frightening vision of democracy, or the lack of it, in modern times.
After Jim Crow came the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which banned Chinese immigration for a 10-year period; the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, which limited citizenship-based immigration to 2% of the United States population of each nationality; and the creation of the First American Committee, founded in 1940, an anti-Semitic organization of more than 800,000 American isolationists. Its membership included Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, who espoused pro-fascist and anti-Jewish views. It was the site of America’s long delay in recognizing the atrocities of Nazi Germany, a delay that lasted long enough for the world to witness the slaughter of 1.25 million Jews, well before the construction and operation of concentration camps that housed another 4.75 a million Jews, women and children lost their lives.
America, the land of immigrants and the American dream, was also the land that turned away the MS St. from its shores in 1939. Louis, carrying 900 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-held territory. Fully one quarter of these 900 souls later died at the hands of the Nazis after being forced to return to Europe.
Interestingly, America during World War II, where most Americans believed in isolationist and nationalist views of “America First,” is no different than America in the world today. The recent increase in anti-Asian rhetoric and attacks, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the surprising increase in anti-Semitic attacks as a result of growing membership in far-right organizations somewhat mimic Germany before and during the years of World War II.
In addition, the concern of Americans in the 1940s about immigrants “replacing” the white majority, to some extent, reflects the current views of some Americans about many minorities in the United States, who until now have spoken up and spoken out about their rights under the United States Constitution.
The fact is that in America in the 1940s, as there are today, there were certainly some who spoke out against the rhetoric and actions of limiting individual rights. Then, as now, many were hesitant to speak out for fear of making things worse for those minorities already on trial, or for fear of upsetting friends and family with opposing views. More certainly, they hesitate because of fear of personal or family harm from the vengeance of those whose zeal is so widespread. The undoubted dilemma of fighting against what one perceives to be wrong or remaining silent to stifle debate is a human dilemma that defies time. Does silence in the face of a perceived injustice make someone complicit in that wrong?
Perhaps this new documentary will be a lesson in righting wrongs and learning from history. While there may be valid arguments on both sides of the issue, history can offer illuminating perspectives.
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Wacoan native Harry Harelik was a self-employed CPA and foundation executive until his recent retirement. He is a longtime supporter of local non-profit organizations. Harelik is a member of the Tribune-Herald’s Board of Contributors.
