To Regain Your Lost Shadows: A Better U.S. Response To Holocaust Refugees

[Esotariot2002]

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…​

 

[Esotariot2002]

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.”
​

FREDERIC WILLANS
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​

 

[Esotariot2002]

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.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

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.”

“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)​

Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica,

Sorry for making this a bit short.
​

 

[Esotariot2002]

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.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

European Politics:​

• Nazi Germany embargoes its own currency (December 6)​
• The execution date of accused Lindbergh kidnapper Richard Hauptmann is set for January 13th (December 13)​

• Barasch Brothers' Department Store is forcibly closed by police in Nazi Germany ostensibly due to executives sexually coercing female employees (December 13)​

• Pope Pious XI creates eighteen new cardinals (December 16)​

• The British Boy Scouts remove the swastika from two of their badges due to Nazi connotations (December 17)​

• Nazi Germany forces Jewish doctors to resign from private hospitals (December 21)​

Tragedy:​

• German commentator Kurt Tucholsky dies by suicide, two years after fleeing to Sweden (December 21)​

Notable Film Premiere:​

• A Tale of Two Cities (December 27)​

Sources: Wikipedia, German Militaria, Kurt Tucholsky Literature.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Source: Wikipedia​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Nazi Germany:​

• March 3 - Jewish doctors are banned from practicing medicine at German institutions.​
• March 29 - A rigged reichstag election is held regarding the approval of the Rhineland occupation, with a supposed 98% voter approval.​
• June 17 - Heinrich Himmler is appointed chief of German police.​

• July 12 - The Sachsenhausen concentration camp is established in Oranienberg.​
• August 28 - Mass arrests of Jehovah’s Witnesses are carried out in Germany, with most sent to concentration camps.​
• October 25 - Hitler’s and Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis.​

• November 26 - Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact.​

• November 27 - Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels declares a ban on film criticism of the Nazi party.​

Europe:​

• February 4 - Swiss Nazi Party leader Wilhelm Gustloff is assassinated by a Jewish student angered by Germany’s anti-Semitic policies.​

• March 9 - Antisemitic violence occurs in Poland during the Przytyk pogrom.​
• April ?? - French Prime Minister Léon Blum becomes the subject of antisemitic criticism from conservatives, with the slogan “Better Hitler Than Blum” becoming popular.​

Other Countries:​

• The February 26 incident - Members of the Imperial Japanese Army attempt a coup d’état to purge the government and military of political opponents; the coup fails, but allows the military to tighten its control over the government.​

• July 17 - The Spanish Civil War begins after a Nationalist-led coup.​

• October ?? - Joseph Stalin begins The Great Purge in the Soviet Union, weakening the Soviet Military.​

Sources: Wikipedia, Holocaust Encyclopedia, Jewish Virtual Library, Museum Of Tolerance.​

 

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Film:​

• January 2 - Actress Thelma Todd, having recently recovered after being found passed out next to her car, mysteriously disappears.[1]​
• January 9 - Silent film star John Gilbert dies suddenly at 38.​
• February 5 - Charlie Chaplin retires the Tramp in the classic, Modern Times.​

• February 15 - Republic Studio releases its first serial, Darkest Africa.​

• March 22 - The Great Zeigfeld premieres in Los Angeles; it would go on to win three Oscars and gross over $3 million.​

• May 29 - Fritz Lang makes his directorial debut with Fury.​

• September 14 - “Boy Wonder Of Hollywood“ and film producer Irving Thalberg dies at 37.​

Top Grossing Films Of The Year:

The Great Zeigfeld - MGM ($3,089,000)
San Francisco - MGM ($2,868,000)
The Plainsman - Paramount ($2,278,533)
After The Thin Man - MGM ($1,992,000)
Modern Times - United Artists ($1,800,000)
Anthony Adverse - Warner Bros. ($1,783,000)
Rose Marie - MGM ($1,700,000)
Swing Time - RKO ($1,624,000)
Libeled Lady - MGM ($1,601,000)


Music:​

• January 1 - Bing Crosby becomes full-time host of The Kraft Music Hall.​

• January 4 - Billboard publishes its first Music Hit Parade.​
• ????? ?? - The Duke Ellington Band release their popularly covered song, Caravan.​

10 Top Songs Of 1936:

Pennies From Heaven - Bing Crosby
The Way You Look To-night - Fred Astaire
The Glory Of Love - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocals by Helen Ward)
Alone - Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra
Goody Goody - Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocals by Helen Ward)
A Fine Romance - Fred Astaire
The Music Goes Round and Round - Tommy Dorsey and His Clambake Seven
Did I Remember? - Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra
It's a Sin to Tell a Lie - Fats Waller and his Rhythm
Is It True What They Say About Dixie? - Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra


Animation:​

• April 4 - Porky Pig gets his first starring role in Tex Avery’s The Blow Out.​

• June 20 - Mortimer Mouse debuts in Mickey’s Rival.​

Comics:​

• February 17 - Lee Falk’s The Phantom makes his first appearance in newspaper comic strips, introducing the hallmark skintight costume.​

• November ?? - The Clock is the first fully-masked hero to appear in American comics.​

Radio:​

• January 31 - The Green Hornet debuts on WXYZ.​

• ????? ?? - Eddie Cantor stars in Texaco Town.​

[1] IOTL, Thelma Todd is the subject of many Hollywood conspiracy theories due to her untimely death on December 16, 1935. This ITTL mystery could be mentioned later on (...?)

Source: Wikipedia (1936 in Film, Music, Animation, Comics, & Radio), TV Tropes, Looney Tunes Wiki, Flickr.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Excerpts from the Second Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 20, 1937):

FDR once again stands at a podium, his second term as President of the United States beginning on January 20th (in accordance with the 20th amendment):

“When four years ago we met to inaugurate a President, the Republic, single-minded in anxiety, stood in spirit here. We dedicated ourselves to the fulfillment of a vision--to speed the time when there would be for all the people that security and peace essential to the pursuit of happiness. We of the Republic pledged ourselves to drive from the temple of our ancient faith those who had profaned it; to end by action, tireless and unafraid, the stagnation and despair of that day. We did those first things first.
Our covenant with ourselves did not stop there. Instinctively we recognized a deeper need--the need to find through government the instrument of our united purpose to solve for the individual the ever-rising problems of a complex civilization. Repeated attempts at their solution without the aid of government had left us baffled and bewildered. For, without that aid, we had been unable to create those moral controls over the services of science which are necessary to make science a useful servant instead of a ruthless master of mankind. To do this we knew that we must find practical controls over blind economic forces and blindly selfish men.
We of the Republic sensed the truth that democratic government has innate capacity to protect its people against disasters once considered inevitable, to solve problems once considered unsolvable. We would not admit that we could not find a way to master economic epidemics just as, after centuries of fatalistic suffering, we had found a way to master epidemics of disease. We refused to leave the problems of our common welfare to be solved by the winds of chance and the hurricanes of disaster.
In this we Americans were discovering no wholly new truth; we were writing a new chapter in our book of self-government.”

“In this process evil things formerly accepted will not be so easily condoned. Hard-headedness will not so easily excuse hardheartedness. We are moving toward an era of good feeling. But we realize that there can be no era of good feeling save among men of good will.
For these reasons I am justified in believing that the greatest change we have witnessed has been the change in the moral climate of America.
Among men of good will, science and democracy together offer an ever-richer life and ever-larger satisfaction to the individual. With this change in our moral climate and our rediscovered ability to improve our economic order, we have set our feet upon the road of enduring progress.
Shall we pause now and turn our back upon the road that lies ahead? Shall we call this the promised land? Or, shall we continue on our way? For ‘each age is a dream that is dying, or one that is coming to birth.’
Many voices are heard as we face a great decision. Comfort says, ‘Tarry a while.’ Opportunism says, ‘This is a good spot.’ Timidity asks, ‘How difficult is the road ahead?’
True, we have come far from the days of stagnation and despair. Vitality has been preserved. Courage and confidence have been restored. Mental and moral horizons have been extended.
But our present gains were won under the pressure of more than ordinary circumstances. Advance became imperative under the goad of fear and suffering. The times were on the side of progress.
To hold to progress today, however, is more difficult. Dulled conscience, irresponsibility, and ruthless self-interest already reappear. Such symptoms of prosperity may become portents of disaster! Prosperity already tests the persistence of our progressive purpose.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, YouTube, The Avalon Project.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Excerpts from the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (With Burning Concern) (March 14, 1937):

(The following excerpts are from an encyclical originally published on 10th March, 1937, protesting the racist ideology of Nazism and violations of the Reichskonkordat Treaty, including the persecution and detainment of Catholics. It was written in German rather than the usual Latin and smuggled into Germany to dodge censorship. On one of the Church’s busiest Sundays, Palm Sunday (21st March), Mit brennender Sorge was read from the pulpits of all German Churches. Here are the excerpts condemning Nazism.)
​

“Venerable Brethren, Greetings, and Apostolic Blessing.

It is with deep anxiety and growing surprise that We have long been following the painful trials of the Church and the increasing vexations which afflict those who have remained loyal in heart and action in the midst of a people that once received from St. Boniface the bright message and the Gospel of Christ and God's Kingdom.”


“7. … Whoever identifies, by pantheistic confusion, God and the universe, by either lowering God to the dimensions of the world, or raising the world to the dimensions of God, is not a believer in God. Whoever follows that so-called pre-Christian Germanic conception of substituting a dark and impersonal destiny for the personal God, denies thereby the Wisdom and Providence of God who "Reacheth from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly" (Wisdom VIII. 1). Neither is he a believer in God.

8. Whoever exalts race, or the people, or the State, or a particular form of State, or the depositories of power, or any other fundamental value of the human community - however necessary and honorable be their function in worldly things - whoever raises these notions above their standard value and divinizes them to an idolatrous level, distorts and perverts an order of the world planned and created by God; he is far from the true faith in God and from the concept of life which that faith upholds.

9. Beware, Venerable Brethren, of that growing abuse, in speech as in writing, of the name of God as though it were a meaningless label, to be affixed to any creation, more or less arbitrary, of human speculation. Use your influence on the Faithful, that they refuse to yield to this aberration. Our God is the Personal God, supernatural, omnipotent, infinitely perfect, one in the Trinity of Persons, tri-personal in the unity of divine essence, the Creator of all existence. Lord, King and ultimate Consummator of the history of the world, who will not, and cannot, tolerate a rival God by His side.

10. This God, this Sovereign Master, has issued commandments whose value is independent of time and space, country and race. As God's sun shines on every human face so His law knows neither privilege nor exception. Rulers and subjects, crowned and uncrowned, rich and poor are equally subject to His word. From the fullness of the Creators' right there naturally arises the fullness of His right to be obeyed by individuals and communities, whoever they are. This obedience permeates all branches of activity in which moral values claim harmony with the law of God, and pervades all integration of the ever-changing laws of man into the immutable laws of God.”

Sources: Wikipedia, The Holy See.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

A Summary of narration by Lynda Carter from History’s Terror Blanco (November 20, 2005):

“At the behest of Spanish nationalists led by General Francisco Franco, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sent their respective Luftwaffe Condor Legion and Aviazione Legionaria carried out Operation Rügen, bombing the Basque town of Guernica—allied to the republican resistance—in Northern Spain, killing and injuring as many as 1,654 civilians and utterly destroying the town. Although international law on aerial warfare at the time defined Guernica as a legitimate military target, the aerial raid attracted international attention, with many condemning the attacks as an indiscriminate slaughter intended to demoralize, while the nationalists and their fascist allies either denied any involvement, with Luftwaffe Field Marshall Wolfram von Richtofen claiming that the Mundaca River bridge had been the original target despite little damage to it, if at all.”

“The Pablo Picasso artwork, Guernica, was painted in response to the atrocity and was exhibited at the 1937 Paris International Exposition and then at other venues around the world, raising funds for Spanish war relief and bringing worldwide attention to the civil war.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Britannica, PBS.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Herbert Morrison’s WLS radio broadcast[1] on the disaster (May 7, 1937):

“It's practically standing still now they've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship; and (uh) they've been taken ahold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's... the rain had (uh) slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it (uh) just enough to keep it from...It's burst into flames! Get this, Charlie; get this, Charlie! It's fire... and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my! Get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames and the... and it's falling on the mooring mast and all the folks between it. This is terrible; this is one of the worst of the worst catastrophes in the world. Oh it's... [unintelligible] its flames... Crashing, oh! Oh, four or five hundred feet into the sky, and it's a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. There's smoke, and there's flames, now, and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers screaming around here! I told you; it – I can't even talk to people, their friends are on there! Ah! It's... it... it's a... ah! I... I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest: it's just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk and the screaming. I... I... I'm sorry. Honest: I... I can hardly breathe. I... I'm going to step inside, where I cannot see it. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah... I can't. Listen, folks; I... I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed.”

Ultimately, of the 36 passengers and 61 crewmen aboard the airship, 13 of the passengers and 22 crewmen would perish; the disaster heralded the sudden end of the age of airships.

[1] The radio broadcast would not be paired with the newsreel footage of the disaster until decades later.

Sources: Wikipedia, Airships.net.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Narration by Brandon Lee[1] from History’s Empire Of The Sun (September 2, 2006):

“After the July 7th Marco Polo Bridge Incident saw the Chinese garrison’s refusal to allow an Imperial Japanese search of Wanping culminate in violence that worsened tensions, Imperial Japan carried out a full-scale invasion of the rest of China. Unfortunately for them, the Chinese Nationalist Government and nearly—if not—all regional military and political groups rallied together to oppose the Japanese imperialism. One such battle of resistance marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War; the Battle of Shanghai, which saw the use of chemical weapons and aerial bombings—both deliberate and accidental— inflict severe collateral damage on the city and heavy casualties on both sides, before the Japanese captured Shanghai. Horrifically, the capture of Shanghai would ultimately pave the way to the horrors of Nanjing.”

[1] Lee is still alive IITL.

Sources: Wikipidia, Britannica, Department Of Education Washington.​

 

[Esotariot2002]

Excerpts from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Quarantine Speech (October 5, 1937):

“I am glad to come once again to Chicago and especially to have the opportunity of taking part in the dedication of this important project of civic betterment.
On my trip across the continent and back I have been shown many evidences of the result of common sense cooperation between municipalities and the Federal Government, and I have been greeted by tens of thousands of Americans who have told me in every look and word that their material and spiritual well-being has made great strides forward in the past few years. And yet, as I have seen with my own eyes, the prosperous farms, the thriving factories and the busy railroads, as I have seen the happiness and security and peace which covers our wide land, almost inevitably I have been compelled to contrast our peace with very different scenes being enacted in other parts of the world. It is because the people of the United States under modern conditions must, for the sake of their own future, give thought to the rest of the world, that I, as the responsible executive head of the Nation, have chosen this great inland city and this gala occasion to speak to you on a subject of definite national importance.”

“The political situation in the world, which of late has been growing progressively worse, is such as to cause grave concern and anxiety to all the peoples and nations who wish to live in peace and amity with their neighbors. Some fifteen years ago the hopes of mankind for a continuing era of international peace were raised to great heights when more than sixty nations solemnly pledged themselves not to resort to arms in furtherance of their national aims and policies. The high aspirations expressed in the Briand-Kellogg Peace Pact and the hopes for peace thus raised have of late given way to a haunting fear of calamity. The present reign of terror and international lawlessness began a few years ago. It began through unjustified interference in the internal affairs of other nations or the invasion of alien territory in violation of treaties; and has now reached a stage where the very foundations of civilization are seriously threatened. The landmarks and traditions which have marked the progress of civilization toward a condition of law, order and justice are being wiped away. Without a declaration of war and without warning or justification of any kind, civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered with bombs from the air. In times of so-called peace, ships are being attacked and sunk by submarines without cause or notice. Nations are fomenting and taking sides in civil warfare in nations that have never done them any harm. Nations claiming freedom for themselves deny it to others. Innocent peoples, innocent nations, are being cruelly sacrificed to a greed for power and supremacy which is devoid of all sense of justice and humane considerations. To paraphrase a recent author ‘perhaps we foresee a time when men, exultant in the technique of homicide, will rage so hotly over the world that every precious thing will be in danger, every book and picture and harmony, every treasure garnered through two millenniums, the small, the delicate, the defenseless—all will be lost or wrecked or utterly destroyed.’
If those things come to pass in other parts of the world, let no one imagine that America will escape, that America may expect mercy, that this Western Hemisphere will not be attacked and that it will continue tranquilly and peacefully to carry on the ethics and the arts of civilization.
If those days come ‘there will be no safety by arms, no help from authority, no answer in science. The storm will rage till every flower of culture is trampled and all human beings are leveled in a vast chaos.’ If those days are not to come to pass—if we are to have a world in which we can breathe freely and live in amity without fear—the peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort to uphold laws and principles on which alone peace can rest secure. The peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality. Those who cherish their freedom and recognize and respect the equal right of their neighbors to be free and live in peace, must work together for the triumph of law and moral principles in order that peace, justice and confidence may prevail in the world. There must be a return to a belief in the pledged word, in the value of a signed treaty. There must be recognition of the fact that national morality is as vital as private morality.”

Source: Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Miller Center (You can listen to the speech at this link).​