This is an excerpt from my MA thesis. It regards the knowledge of the Western Allies:

By the time of the war, the nature of the anti-Jewish persecutions was better known through the reporting about such events as Reichskristallnacht and the publication of documents regarding the murder of Jews in Poland. However, in spite of the barbarity of the events, the attitudes toward the anti-Jewish policies of Germany remained the same—that although the persecutions were wrong, other diplomatic realities took precedence. The United Press reported the following in the aftermath of Reichskristallnacht, “Germany’s extreme anti-Jewish measures again monopolized the attention last night of European diplomats. But most of them are keeping discreetly silent, so-far as the public is concerned. They are fearful that any comment may disturb the delicate balance of European diplomacy at a time when general appeasement is hoped for.” Once again, the political repercussions of speaking out against the anti-Jewish actions effectively muzzled official protests against such actions. Soon after this, on November 21 of 1938, the consulate in Leipzig gave a detailed report on the night which again increased the coverage of the event in the US and led to the recalling of the US ambassador, but did not result in the cutting of diplomatic relations. This does not, however, suggest that public protests did not occur, but only that they were not organized by or associated with governmental entities. Furthermore, when reports of the Nazi atrocities in Poland surfaced by December of 1942, such as in a report by the Polish Government-in-Exile, the response was a Joint Declaration which stated,

"The above-mentioned Governments and the French National Committee condemn in the strongest possible terms this bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination. They declare that such events can only strengthen the resolve of all freedom- loving peoples to overthrow the barbarous Hitler tyranny. They re-affirm their solemn resolution to ensure that those responsible for these crimes shall not escape retribution, and to press on with the necessary practical measures to this end."

Such a response in a time of war demonstrates that, once again, the policy of the US was one of pity for the victims and a desire for punishment of the perpetrators combined with the belief that more pressing issues existed. Additional evidence for this exists in the decision of the Western Allies not to bomb Auschwitz in 1944. However, in the 1940s the choice by military planners not to target Auschwitz’s killing facilities in the summer and fall of 1944 was hardly known. Indeed, in spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, their existed a myth in Western Democracies that the governments did not know about Final Solution. This myth was fostered by some to such a degree that in the 1960s, a number of books would be published which sought to overcome this misunderstanding.

Together, American society during both the pre-war and the war years saw the persecution of the Jews as a secondary issue in Europe. During the pre-war years, the persecutions were secondary to the diplomatic issues of the day, such as disarmament conferences and the stabilization of central European politics. Even during the war years, the extermination of the Jews was seen as secondary to defeating the Axis powers. However, it does seem that although the reaction to the persecutions did not change drastically, the perception of the persecution did change between the two periods so that by the end of the war, the persecution of the Jews was seen as something new, rather than as the “generic” persecution of a minority. This is primarily due to the reporting of the increasingly violent actions against the Jews, especially Reichskristallnacht and the racial reorganization and displacements taking place in Poland.

Sources

Noakes, Jeremy, and G. Pridham, eds. Nazism:1919-1945. Vol 2. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1984.

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1942.