Just found something called the Évian Conference; would probably make for an interesting read. It failed IOTL, but whether it does ITTL, Long’s absence and subsequent lack of further immigration restrictions could mitigate that failure.
To Regain Your Lost Shadows: A Better U.S. Response To Holocaust Refugees
- Thread starter Esotariot2002
- Start date
Sorry if I’ve been a bit… anal with procrastination on historical accuracy on what FDR and others would do without Breckinridge’s influence considering their already problematic views.
Edited for grammar.
Edited for grammar.
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When I first saw the opening, I was wondering if Meyer Lansky has asked his Italian mob friends to arrange an accident for Breckinridge Long?
I have often wondered what would have happened if Meyer has passed the word that money and votes would be available to anyone who would arrange for the quotas for Jews being filled in a timely manner. I have always had the impression that the Mob's ability to provide cash and voters gave them influence with many politicians. Also, the Mob knows the dirty secrets that many politicians did not want out in public. If money does not motivate someone, then threatening to release photos of someone with an underage girl or with a boy in bed could change their mind.
In addition, I would if the US military would be interested in what Jewish refugees know of Germany's plans for new tanks and planes?
I am very interested is seeing how this timeline develops.
I have often wondered what would have happened if Meyer has passed the word that money and votes would be available to anyone who would arrange for the quotas for Jews being filled in a timely manner. I have always had the impression that the Mob's ability to provide cash and voters gave them influence with many politicians. Also, the Mob knows the dirty secrets that many politicians did not want out in public. If money does not motivate someone, then threatening to release photos of someone with an underage girl or with a boy in bed could change their mind.
In addition, I would if the US military would be interested in what Jewish refugees know of Germany's plans for new tanks and planes?
I am very interested is seeing how this timeline develops.
Considering Cordell Hull’s insecurity about his wife’s Jewish heritage being damaging to his political career (which played a part in his support for anti-immigration policies), Lansky might try the blackmail route to get him to collaborate.
In regards to the US military, without Breckinridge Long to make it harder for even German Jewish VIPs to receive Visas to get out of Europe and into the US, some of these VIPs (however viewed with suspicion they might be) could hold useful information about Germany’s military, especially military defectors.
The Refugee High Commissioner Resigns (December 29, 1935)
Excerpts from League Of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees James G. McDonald’s letter of resignation, denouncing the lack of support and action on Germany’s persecution of the Jews and other “non-Aryans” (December 29, 1935):
“The Secretary General Of The League Of Nations,Geneva, Switzerland.
Sir,
On October 26th, 1933, the President of the Council of the League of Nations did me the honour to appoint me High Commissioner for Refugees (Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany, to "negotiate and direct" the "international collaboration" necessary to solve the "economic, financial and social problem" of the refugees. I hereby beg to submit through you to the Council of the League my resignation from this office, to become effective as from December 31st, 1935.”
“2. In the period of over two years since the establishment of the office, conditions in Germany which create refugees have developed so catastrophically that a reconsideration by the League of Nations of the entire situation is essential. The legislation and administrative and Party action against "non-Aryans" were steadily intensified, and culminated in the autumn of 1935 when a series of new laws and decrees initiated a fresh wave of repression and persecution of a character which was not envisaged in 1933.
The intensified persecution in Germany threatens the pauperization or exile of hundreds of thousands of Germans-men, women and children-not only Jews but also the "non-Aryan" Christians treated as Jews, and Protestants and Catholics who in obedience to their faith and conscience dare to resist the absolute will of the National Socialist State.”
“3. Apart from all questions of principle and of religious persecution, one portentous fact confronts the community of states. More than half a million persons, against whom no charge can be made except that they are not what the National Socialists choose to regard as "Nordic", are being crushed.
They cannot escape oppression by any act of their own free-will, for what has been called "the membership of non-Aryan race" cannot be changed or kept in abeyance. Tens of thousands are to-day anxiously seeking ways to flee abroad; but except for those prepared to sacrifice the whole or greater part of their savings, the official restrictions on export of capital effectively bar the road to escape, and the doors of most countries are closed against impoverished fugitives. Nevertheless, if the present pressure is not relieved, it is inconceivable that those who can flee will remain within Germany.
The task of saving these victims calls for renewed efforts of the philanthropic bodies. The private organizations, Jewish and Christian, may be expected to do their part if the Governments, acting through the League, make possible a solution. But in the new circumstances it will not be enough to continue the activities on behalf of those who flee from the Reich. Efforts must be made to remove or mitigate the causes which create German refugees. This could not have been any part of the work of the High Commissioner's office; nor, presumably, can it be a function of the body to which the League may decide to entrust future administrative activities on behalf of the refugees. It is a political function, which properly belongs to the League itself.”
“9. Again, as so often during their long heroic and tragic history, the Jewish people are used as the scapegoat for political and partisan purposes. The National Socialists level against them charges of the most outrageous and untenable kind. They ignore all of the facts of the continuous loyalty of the Jews in Germany: for example, during the Empire when Jews helped to unify Germany and to make it strong; during the War when a percentage of Jewish youth as high as that of any other religious community in the Reich gave their lives for the Fatherland, and Jewish scientists and men of affairs helped so notably to enable Germany to prolong the struggle; and under the Republic when Jewish leaders aided in saving Germany from some of the worst effects of defeat. Instead, it has been found useful to attribute to the Jews the responsibility for the misery and dejection which the German people suffered during the last years of the War and the decade that followed.
Though less than a one-hundredth part of the total population, the Jews are held responsible for all the adversity which the German people had to undergo. As in the Middle Ages, when they were massacred and expelled from German States as the cause of the Black Death, so to-day they are eliminated from the economic and cultural life of Germany and degraded on the ground that they were the cause of the German humiliation. So far does this hatred extend that even the Jewish war veterans who fought and were wounded in the front line trenches have been forced from their positions in the public services, and the names of the Jewish war dead may no longer be engraved on war memorials.”
“10. The attitude of the German Government is based not only on the theory of "Nordic race" supremacy and the desire to eliminate "foreign racial" elements from the life of the country; it rests also on the conception of the absolute subordination of the individual to the State. An influential section of the Party is actively promoting a revival of neo-Paganism which sets itself against both the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament. The conceptions of "blood, race and soil", propagated with fanatical enthusiasm, menace not alone the Jews, but all those who remain defiantly loyal to the old ideals of religious and individual freedom.
Party leaders violently attack religious freedom in the State, and threaten the Church with political domination. Outstanding thinkers of the two great Christian communities in Germany and abroad raise their voices in protest against this attack which threatens to increase the number of refugees.”
“17. I feel bound to conclude this letter on a personal note. Prior to my appointment as High Commissioner for Refugees Coming from Germany, and in particular during the fourteen years following the War, I gave in my former office frequent and tangible proof of my concern that justice be done to the German people. But convinced as I am that desperate suffering in the countries adjacent to Germany, and an even more terrible human calamity within the German frontiers, are inevitable unless present tendencies in the Reich are checked or reversed, I cannot remain silent. I am convinced that it is the duty of the High Commissioner for German Refugees, in tendering his resignation, to express an opinion on the essential elements of the task with which the Council of the League entrusted him. When domestic policies threaten the demoralization and exile of hundreds of thousands of human beings, considerations of diplomatic correctness must yield to those of common humanity.
I should be recreant if I did not call attention to the actual situation, and plead that world opinion, acting through the League and its Member-States and other countries, move to avert the existing and impending tragedies.
“2. In the period of over two years since the establishment of the office, conditions in Germany which create refugees have developed so catastrophically that a reconsideration by the League of Nations of the entire situation is essential. The legislation and administrative and Party action against "non-Aryans" were steadily intensified, and culminated in the autumn of 1935 when a series of new laws and decrees initiated a fresh wave of repression and persecution of a character which was not envisaged in 1933.
The intensified persecution in Germany threatens the pauperization or exile of hundreds of thousands of Germans-men, women and children-not only Jews but also the "non-Aryan" Christians treated as Jews, and Protestants and Catholics who in obedience to their faith and conscience dare to resist the absolute will of the National Socialist State.”
“3. Apart from all questions of principle and of religious persecution, one portentous fact confronts the community of states. More than half a million persons, against whom no charge can be made except that they are not what the National Socialists choose to regard as "Nordic", are being crushed.
They cannot escape oppression by any act of their own free-will, for what has been called "the membership of non-Aryan race" cannot be changed or kept in abeyance. Tens of thousands are to-day anxiously seeking ways to flee abroad; but except for those prepared to sacrifice the whole or greater part of their savings, the official restrictions on export of capital effectively bar the road to escape, and the doors of most countries are closed against impoverished fugitives. Nevertheless, if the present pressure is not relieved, it is inconceivable that those who can flee will remain within Germany.
The task of saving these victims calls for renewed efforts of the philanthropic bodies. The private organizations, Jewish and Christian, may be expected to do their part if the Governments, acting through the League, make possible a solution. But in the new circumstances it will not be enough to continue the activities on behalf of those who flee from the Reich. Efforts must be made to remove or mitigate the causes which create German refugees. This could not have been any part of the work of the High Commissioner's office; nor, presumably, can it be a function of the body to which the League may decide to entrust future administrative activities on behalf of the refugees. It is a political function, which properly belongs to the League itself.”
“9. Again, as so often during their long heroic and tragic history, the Jewish people are used as the scapegoat for political and partisan purposes. The National Socialists level against them charges of the most outrageous and untenable kind. They ignore all of the facts of the continuous loyalty of the Jews in Germany: for example, during the Empire when Jews helped to unify Germany and to make it strong; during the War when a percentage of Jewish youth as high as that of any other religious community in the Reich gave their lives for the Fatherland, and Jewish scientists and men of affairs helped so notably to enable Germany to prolong the struggle; and under the Republic when Jewish leaders aided in saving Germany from some of the worst effects of defeat. Instead, it has been found useful to attribute to the Jews the responsibility for the misery and dejection which the German people suffered during the last years of the War and the decade that followed.
Though less than a one-hundredth part of the total population, the Jews are held responsible for all the adversity which the German people had to undergo. As in the Middle Ages, when they were massacred and expelled from German States as the cause of the Black Death, so to-day they are eliminated from the economic and cultural life of Germany and degraded on the ground that they were the cause of the German humiliation. So far does this hatred extend that even the Jewish war veterans who fought and were wounded in the front line trenches have been forced from their positions in the public services, and the names of the Jewish war dead may no longer be engraved on war memorials.”
“10. The attitude of the German Government is based not only on the theory of "Nordic race" supremacy and the desire to eliminate "foreign racial" elements from the life of the country; it rests also on the conception of the absolute subordination of the individual to the State. An influential section of the Party is actively promoting a revival of neo-Paganism which sets itself against both the Old Testament and parts of the New Testament. The conceptions of "blood, race and soil", propagated with fanatical enthusiasm, menace not alone the Jews, but all those who remain defiantly loyal to the old ideals of religious and individual freedom.
Party leaders violently attack religious freedom in the State, and threaten the Church with political domination. Outstanding thinkers of the two great Christian communities in Germany and abroad raise their voices in protest against this attack which threatens to increase the number of refugees.”
“17. I feel bound to conclude this letter on a personal note. Prior to my appointment as High Commissioner for Refugees Coming from Germany, and in particular during the fourteen years following the War, I gave in my former office frequent and tangible proof of my concern that justice be done to the German people. But convinced as I am that desperate suffering in the countries adjacent to Germany, and an even more terrible human calamity within the German frontiers, are inevitable unless present tendencies in the Reich are checked or reversed, I cannot remain silent. I am convinced that it is the duty of the High Commissioner for German Refugees, in tendering his resignation, to express an opinion on the essential elements of the task with which the Council of the League entrusted him. When domestic policies threaten the demoralization and exile of hundreds of thousands of human beings, considerations of diplomatic correctness must yield to those of common humanity.
I should be recreant if I did not call attention to the actual situation, and plead that world opinion, acting through the League and its Member-States and other countries, move to avert the existing and impending tragedies.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
James G. McDonald,
High Commissioner for Refugees
(Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany.”
Sources: Library Of Congress
James G. McDonald,
High Commissioner for Refugees
(Jewish and Other) Coming from Germany.”
Sources: Library Of Congress
1936 State Of The Union Address (January 3, 1936)
An Excerpt from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s annual message to Congress (January 3, 1936):
The 1936 Annual State Of The Union Address
“Were I today to deliver an Inaugural Address to the people of the United States, I could not limit my comments on world affairs to one paragraph. With much regret I should be compelled to devote the greater part to world affairs. Since the summer of that same year of 1933, the temper and the purposes of the rulers of many of the great populations in Europe and in Asia have not pointed the way either to peace or to good-will among men. Not only have peace and good-will among men grown more remote in those areas of the earth during this period, but a point has been reached where the people of the Americas must take cognizance of growing ill-will, of marked trends toward aggression, of increasing armaments, of shortening tempers—a situation which has in it many of the elements that lead to the tragedy of general war.”
Source: The American Presidency Project, YouTube
Note: Sorry I couldn’t find a video of higher quality; this was the only directly relevant video I could find. Also, some of FDR’s words about financial and industrial reform are so relevant nowadays…
The 1936 Annual State Of The Union Address
“Were I today to deliver an Inaugural Address to the people of the United States, I could not limit my comments on world affairs to one paragraph. With much regret I should be compelled to devote the greater part to world affairs. Since the summer of that same year of 1933, the temper and the purposes of the rulers of many of the great populations in Europe and in Asia have not pointed the way either to peace or to good-will among men. Not only have peace and good-will among men grown more remote in those areas of the earth during this period, but a point has been reached where the people of the Americas must take cognizance of growing ill-will, of marked trends toward aggression, of increasing armaments, of shortening tempers—a situation which has in it many of the elements that lead to the tragedy of general war.”
Source: The American Presidency Project, YouTube
Note: Sorry I couldn’t find a video of higher quality; this was the only directly relevant video I could find. Also, some of FDR’s words about financial and industrial reform are so relevant nowadays…
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The Death Of A King (January 20, 1936)
Excerpts from The Times’ report of His Majesty King George V’s passing the day before (January 21, 1936):
Death Of The King
(June 3, 1865—January 20, 1936)
A Peaceful Ending At Midnight
Royal Family’s Long Vigil
Parliament To Meet This Evening
“It is with the most profound regret that we have to announce the death of His Majesty King George, which occurred at 11.55 last night.
The official bulletin announcing the end was in the following terms:—
Death came peacefully to the King at 11.55 p.m. to-night in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.”
Death Of The King
(June 3, 1865—January 20, 1936)
A Peaceful Ending At Midnight
Royal Family’s Long Vigil
Parliament To Meet This Evening
“It is with the most profound regret that we have to announce the death of His Majesty King George, which occurred at 11.55 last night.
The official bulletin announcing the end was in the following terms:—
Death came peacefully to the King at 11.55 p.m. to-night in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Duke and Duchess of Kent.”
FREDERIC WILLANS
STANLEY HEWETT
DAWSON OF PENN
STANLEY HEWETT
DAWSON OF PENN
“Parliament will meet at six o'clock this evening.
The B.B.C. has cancelled its programmes for to-day, and wireless announcements will be confined to the weather and shipping forecasts, and to statements and news bearing on the situation created by the death of the King.”
Sources: The Gale Review, Wikipedia
The B.B.C. has cancelled its programmes for to-day, and wireless announcements will be confined to the weather and shipping forecasts, and to statements and news bearing on the situation created by the death of the King.”
Sources: The Gale Review, Wikipedia
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Sorry for asking you guys, but what specific date did Breckinridge Long advise FDR against an oil embargo during the Italo-Abyssinian War?
The Onslaught in Abyssinia (January-April 1936)
New
Narration by Paul Sorvino from History’s Mussolini’s Italy - Episode 3: The Invasion Of Abyssinia (April 28, 1998):
“Only months after Mussolini’s approval on military use of poison gas, reports of gas bombing against both military and civilians, attacks on hospitals and medical personnel, and massacres of civilian villages, would emerge starting from December 30th, 1935 and continue into March the next year. Emperor Haile Selassie would repeatedly protest to the League, calling for assistance against the the onslaught; unfortunately, League negotiations between both parties would ultimately fall through. Italy’s armies continued to sweep through the unprepared military forces of Abyssinia and seize swaths of territory as league sanctions proved to be inadequate.”
(In spite of Breckinridge Long not being alive to advise FDR against an oil embargo on Italy, other barriers like neutrality laws may mean an embargo may still not go through…)
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica
Sorry for the delays and having to speed things up a bit.
“Only months after Mussolini’s approval on military use of poison gas, reports of gas bombing against both military and civilians, attacks on hospitals and medical personnel, and massacres of civilian villages, would emerge starting from December 30th, 1935 and continue into March the next year. Emperor Haile Selassie would repeatedly protest to the League, calling for assistance against the the onslaught; unfortunately, League negotiations between both parties would ultimately fall through. Italy’s armies continued to sweep through the unprepared military forces of Abyssinia and seize swaths of territory as league sanctions proved to be inadequate.”
(In spite of Breckinridge Long not being alive to advise FDR against an oil embargo on Italy, other barriers like neutrality laws may mean an embargo may still not go through…)
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica
Sorry for the delays and having to speed things up a bit.
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Abyssinia Falls To Italy (May 1936)
New
Narration by Paul Sorvino from History’s Mussolini’s Italy - Episode 3: The Invasion Of Abyssinia (April 28, 1998):
“Following crushing defeats at the battles of Shire, Maychew, and Ogaden—Emperor Selassie would ultimately be forced to flee the capital of Addis Ababa to Djibouti, which was then under French rule, on May 2nd, 1936. Just three days later, Italy would seize the capital and shortly after, annex the nation of Abyssinia. Selassie would flee to Palestine and eventually to England.”
“Back in Rome, The King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III would be declared the emperor of Abyssinia, with General Badoglio appointed as his viceroy. However, in spite of the annexation, military resistance would continue until December 18th, when Italy declared Abyssinia ‘pacified’ upon Ras Imru’s surrender at the Gojeb River.”
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica,
Sorry for making this a bit short.
“Following crushing defeats at the battles of Shire, Maychew, and Ogaden—Emperor Selassie would ultimately be forced to flee the capital of Addis Ababa to Djibouti, which was then under French rule, on May 2nd, 1936. Just three days later, Italy would seize the capital and shortly after, annex the nation of Abyssinia. Selassie would flee to Palestine and eventually to England.”
“Back in Rome, The King of Italy Victor Emmanuel III would be declared the emperor of Abyssinia, with General Badoglio appointed as his viceroy. However, in spite of the annexation, military resistance would continue until December 18th, when Italy declared Abyssinia ‘pacified’ upon Ras Imru’s surrender at the Gojeb River.”
“Through the lack of effective sanctions and assistance, in addition to a general lack of interest in imposing them, the cracks in the authority of The League Of Nations became visible…and would only continue to grow in the years leading up to WWII.”
(End of Episode)
(End of Episode)
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica,
Sorry for making this a bit short.
Germany Hosts The Olympics (Winter-Summer 1936)
New
A summary of narration by Olympic Gold Medalist Heather Fujiwara [1] from History’s Olympia 1936 (February 6, 1996):
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 (February 1936):
“After Germany removed anti-Semitic signs and allowed the half-Jewish athlete Rudi Ball to participate in its ice hockey team to soften their political appearance prior to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympic Winter Games, a series of articles —written by William L. Shirer, the Berlin correspondent for the Universal wire service—described these preparations, writing ‘I had written… that the Nazis at Garmisch had pulled down all three signs saying that Jews are unwanted (they’re all over Germany) and that the olympics visitors would thus be spared any signs of the kind of treatment meted out to Jews in this country.’ Shirer was, however, impressed by their propaganda efforts, writing that ‘This has been a more pleasant interlude than I expected. ... On the whole the Nazis have done a wonderful propaganda job. They've greatly impressed most of the visiting foreigners with the lavish but smooth way in which they've run the games and with their kind manners, which to us who came from Berlin of course seemed staged.’”
“Just twelve days after the Games closed, Hitler would carry out his first violation of the Treaty Of Versailles by ordering the remilitarization of the Rhineland, setting the stage for Europe to become the epicentre for World War Two as the Western powers stood by.”
Berlin 1936 (August 1936):
“Through the unprecedented publicity of the 1936 Summer Olympics brought on by broadcasting, the Nazis were given an opportunity to propagandize the events; Not only were the ideals of Aryan superiority promoted through the emphasis on athletes’ physical health and prowess, further efforts were made to whitewash Germany’s image in the eyes of the world, including the removal of antisemitic signs, the censorship of newspaper rhetoric and, under the order of the Ministry of the Interior, the roundup of Romani to ‘cleanse’ the streets of Berlin. However, most athletes of Jewish and Romani descent were excluded from competing for Germany in many events; the only exception was half-Jewish fencer Helene Meyer. In spite of pressure to participate in a failed boycott of the Olympics, many Jewish athletes chose to participate in the games, most of them unaware of the true extent of the persecution of their German brethren… and how much it would escalate.”
[1] ITTL character. Sorta stealing from YandereDev (‘cause seriously, fuck that guy)
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica, Holocaust Encyclopedia.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 (February 1936):
“After Germany removed anti-Semitic signs and allowed the half-Jewish athlete Rudi Ball to participate in its ice hockey team to soften their political appearance prior to the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Olympic Winter Games, a series of articles —written by William L. Shirer, the Berlin correspondent for the Universal wire service—described these preparations, writing ‘I had written… that the Nazis at Garmisch had pulled down all three signs saying that Jews are unwanted (they’re all over Germany) and that the olympics visitors would thus be spared any signs of the kind of treatment meted out to Jews in this country.’ Shirer was, however, impressed by their propaganda efforts, writing that ‘This has been a more pleasant interlude than I expected. ... On the whole the Nazis have done a wonderful propaganda job. They've greatly impressed most of the visiting foreigners with the lavish but smooth way in which they've run the games and with their kind manners, which to us who came from Berlin of course seemed staged.’”
“Just twelve days after the Games closed, Hitler would carry out his first violation of the Treaty Of Versailles by ordering the remilitarization of the Rhineland, setting the stage for Europe to become the epicentre for World War Two as the Western powers stood by.”
Berlin 1936 (August 1936):
“Through the unprecedented publicity of the 1936 Summer Olympics brought on by broadcasting, the Nazis were given an opportunity to propagandize the events; Not only were the ideals of Aryan superiority promoted through the emphasis on athletes’ physical health and prowess, further efforts were made to whitewash Germany’s image in the eyes of the world, including the removal of antisemitic signs, the censorship of newspaper rhetoric and, under the order of the Ministry of the Interior, the roundup of Romani to ‘cleanse’ the streets of Berlin. However, most athletes of Jewish and Romani descent were excluded from competing for Germany in many events; the only exception was half-Jewish fencer Helene Meyer. In spite of pressure to participate in a failed boycott of the Olympics, many Jewish athletes chose to participate in the games, most of them unaware of the true extent of the persecution of their German brethren… and how much it would escalate.”
[1] ITTL character. Sorta stealing from YandereDev (‘cause seriously, fuck that guy)
Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica, Holocaust Encyclopedia.
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