Bystanders to the Holocaust: Skepticism in the American Press, 1942-1945

• Other Authors: Farrell, Kelly M. (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: History
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-4498

Historical scholarship has certainly condemned the mainstream American press for their indifference towards the news of Jewish persecution under Adolph Hitler in Europe from 1933 to 1945. It has been documented that the major American presses perpetuated apathy among their readers from the outset of Nazi control in Germany. Building on previous scholarship, this thesis focuses on the coverage of the liberations of the concentration camps in the American press. It attempts to address why the American press, who practically ignored news of the Holocaust throughout the war, did not announce the liberations that were so thoroughly documented by American troops, politicians, and reporters. The introduction focuses on establishing the historical precedent for studying this problem. It presents the historiography of the topic to this point and analyzes the shortcomings of prior works and sources. The first chapter examines the period from January 1942, when Hitler announced his plans for the "Final Solution," to April 1945, when American troops liberated their first concentration camp at Ohrdruf. Chapter two analyzes the imperative months of April and May 1945. For Americans, this was the first evidence they physically encountered, even though confirmation of the Holocaust had been established many years prior. Even at this point, when Americans and more importantly American journalists had physical proof, the stories presented in the American press were lacking and buried in the back pages of major newspapers and magazines. The last chapter, the conclusion, analyzes this phenomenon and attempts to examine how American attitudes changed from May 1945 to October 1945, when the Nuremberg Trials were carried out to convict those who participated in the massacre. It was not merely anti-Semitism that caused the colossally important story of the Holocaust to be buried by the American press; rather, it was a multitude of motives including doubt, skepticism, selfish purposes, and a hesitancy to the report unverified accusations. === A Thesis submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. === Spring Semester, 2006. === March 17, 2006. === Concentration Camp, Liberation, Nazi Germany, American press, Holocaust, World War II, Anti-Semitism === Includes bibliographical references. === Jonathan Grant, Professor Directing Thesis; Robert Gellately, Committee Member; William Oldson, Committee Member.