North America
German Jews fled to North America to escape persecution during the Holocaust.
Gertrud Gerda Levy's passport. Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
|
Jews emigrating from Germany during the Holocaust. Source: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
|
"And you have to remember that I came to America as an immigrant. You know, on a ship, through the Statue of Liberty. And I saw that skyline, not just as a representation of steel and concrete and glass, but as really the substance of the American Dream." -Daniel Libeskind
|
Canada and the US were desirable locations because they had constitutions that guaranteed religious freedom. |
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guaranteed religious freedom. Source: Random House
|
" You may or may not realize how deeply this government is committed to finding a solution of the problem of German refugees and how strong an interest in it the President and Mr. Welles have." -U.S. Foreign Services
The United States only accepted 190,000 of the 300,000 German Jewish immigrants that arrived in America. Canada only allowed 8,000 Jews into their country during a 12 year time span. Numerous Jewish immigrants encountered and persevered through hardships to reach a safe haven, and when they arrived to explore a new nation, they were rejected.
“Like the other western liberal democracies, Canada cared little and did less. When confronted with the Jewish problem, the response of government, the civil service and, indeed, much of the public wavered somewhere between indifference and hostility." -Abella and Troper
Source: American Institute of Public Opinion
|
Source: Fortune
|
|
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society existed to help the German Jews ease into American culture. Building Jewish schools and offering financial aid helped diminish anti-semitic feelings in North America.
The front page of The Canadian Nationalist, the anti-semitic newspaper of Canadian National Party (January, 1938). Source: Manitoba Historical Society
|
A flyer for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in New York. Source: Library of Congress
|
Canadian and American Jewry became intertwined as part of a North American Jewish population. Jewish organizations, schools, cuisine, and traditions rose all over North America. This form of cultural diffusion is still prevalent today.
The University of Delaware Hillel. A hillel is the center of Jewish life on college campuses. Source: Jewish Federation of Delaware
|
The Jewish Community Centers of North America Association Logo. Source: JCC
|
Blintzes, a popular Jewish American food. Source: New York Times
|