Havurah Shalom

Book Discussion of Saving the Jews: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Holocaust, by Robert N. Rosen – Was FDR an indifferent, possibly anti-Semitic president who abandoned European Jews? Or was he a pragmatic leader who understood that winning WWII as swiftly as possible was key to saving the Jews? Saving the Jews is a rigorously researched narrative and interpretive history of how FDR dealt with the Nazi persecution of the Jews, 1933-1945. It disputes the accepted view that Roosevelt abandoned the European Jews, that America was a passive, callous bystander to the Holocaust. For example, Rosen describes how Roosevelt and American Jewry saved S.S. St. Louis passengers, and how American and Palestinian Jews opposed bombing Auschwitz and never asked Roosevelt to bomb the camps. Rosen found no credible evidence that FDR was an anti-Semite. Still, the controversy about Roosevelt continues.

The discussion will be led by Art Boussel. Questions? Email Marjorie Walters at marjoriewalters@gmail.com.