|
OPEN
|
|
Universal
Newsreel
200 UN
18-393-1
Cut 10/
Nordhausen
April
1945
|
(NAT/NEWSREEL
ANNOUNCER)
"For
the first time, Americans can believe what they thought was
impossible propaganda."
|
|
Abe Rosenthal
|
"If
you look through the coverage, it was wrong, it was morally
and journalistically wrong!"
|
|
(MUSIC)
|
|
SOT/ ANDY
ROONEY
1:02:08
— 2:12
|
Coming
on them was a surprise and a shock to everyone.
|
|
Universal
Newsreel
Cut 10/
Buchenwald
|
(NAT/
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER)
"Don’t
turn away, look!…Horror unbelievable.
|
|
SOT/ Abe
Rosenthal
1:11:10
— 11:29
|
Oh I was
shocked alright… and the pictures turned your stomach,
turned your soul, rotted your heart really to look at them."
|
|
liberation
— film & photos
|
THE COMMON
BELIEF THAT HITLER’S DEATH CAMPS WERE A SECRET —
IS A MYTH. (:06)
|
|
SOT/LIPSTADT
|
The claim//
that Americans didn’t know is simply not true.
|
|
|
NEWSPAPERS
KNEW THE NAZIS WERE MURDERING MILLIONS OF JEWS, BUT EDITORS
STILL BURIED THE STORY ON THE BACK PAGES. (:08)
|
|
SOT/ MICHAEL
BERENBAUM
2:25:36
|
It’s
the difference between saying // a million people have died,
and //saying A MILLION PEOPLE HAVE DIED!
|
|
SOT/ KALB
|
There
is no doubt in my mind that lives could have been saved if
the press focused on this story…
|
|
SOT/ NESSIE
3:06:39
— (6:47) — 6:59
2nd
half can stand alone
|
Why did
I have to wait all those years as a kid and cry my eyes out
to be free? // What happened to the world? Why did they not
speak up?
|
|
|
"HOLOCAUST:
THE UNTOLD STORY." (:06)
|
|
|
OPEN
ANIMATION MUSIC
|
|
BA Color
film of Hitler at Buckeberg
BA refugees
walking
|
ADOLPH
HITLER’S MASTER PLAN FOR THE CONQUEST OF EUROPE INVOLVES
TWO WARS: ONE TARGETING THE ALLIES, AND ONE TARGETING JEWS.
(:10)
THE NAZIS
TAKES AWAY THEIR RIGHTS…
…
THEIR PROPERTY
…
THEIR FREEDOM. (:06)
|
|
SOT/NESSIE
GODIN
BA refugees walking
|
I remember
how scared I was. I remember how petrified the Jewish community
was.
|
|
NARA 2
people stand by broken window
AP group stands by broken window
NYT man looks up at broken window
NYT woman looks back at window
|
NOVEMBER
1938. KRISTALNACHT. {kriss — TAHL — knocked]
THE NIGHT
OF BROKEN GLASS.
GERMANY’S
WAR ON THE JEWS TURNS VIOLENT. (:09)
|
|
SOT/ ERNEST
MICHEL
1:08:59—1:09:03
// 1:07:37—1:07:42//
1:07:54 — 1:08:00
EM photo
of Ernest and father
BA synagogue burns
Ernest
Michel
Holocaust Survivor
|
That’s
a night I will remember every moment of// My father was arrested.
The apartment was broken into, ransacked.// synagogues were
burned and dynamited.
|
|
SOT/ RICHARD
C. HOTTELET
UP REPORTER
1:16:04
— 1:16:11 // 1:15:14 —1:15:18
USHMM
wide of synagogue damage
USHMM tight of synagogue damage
|
They were
in full swing smashing the windows. // The damage was all
done by storm troopers and SS men.
|
|
SOT/ RICHARD
HOTTELET
1:17:28
— 1:17:30 // 1:17:52 — 1:17:55
// 1:17:22 — 1:17:28
Richard
C. Hottelet
War
Correspondent, UP and CBS
|
It was
a big story. // This was the sign that they were turning to
violence on a large scale.
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
1:02:20
— 1:02:23 // 1:01:59 — 1:02:14
Deborah Lipstadt
Emory University
UMI PRINT
Philadelphia Inquirer 11/11/38 p. 1
"Nazi Mobs Riot Against Jews"
(BA man dragged across street projected)
|
It was
front page news in virtually every paper in the United States
and not just on the day of the event but for days following.
// The press was SHOCKED by Kristallnacht
|
|
ORIGINAL
(photo-duplicate)
Dallas Morning News 11/11/38 p. 1
"Hysterical Nazi Wreck Thousands of Jewish Shops, Burn
Synagogues in Wild Orgy of Looting and Terror"
(NARA
Hitler waving projected)
ORIGINAL
New York Times 2/14/43 pp. 36-37
"Execution Speed Up Seen"
(NARA Hitler waving projected)
New York
Times 5/18/42 p. 4
Chicago Tribune 6/30/42 p. 6
|
THIS BOLD
COVERAGE SHOULD HAVE SET THE STANDARD FOR REPORTING THE HORRORS
TO COME. (:06)
BUT AS
EXECUTION REPLACES PERSECUTION…
…
THE STORY FADES INTO THE NEWSPAPERS BACK PAGES. (:10)
AS THE
DEATH TOLL GROWS…
…
THE HEADLINES SHRINK. (:05)
|
|
SOT MICHAEL
BARENBAUM 1:06:03—6:22 //1:21:18 — 21:23
Michael
Berenbaum
Holocaust
Scholar
NARA man buys paper
A Films
people listening to radios
NARA man
at newsstand
|
I think
it’s important to understand that in the 1930s and 1940s,
newspapers had a near monopoly on the way in which we gathered
information. Radio // There was no television. // And among
newspapers, the most respected of all newspapers was The
New York Times.
|
|
A Films
NYT building
A Films people in newsroom
A Films man typing
A Films men working in newsroom
|
(SOT/
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:)
"Ranking
high among 2,015 U.S. daily newspapers is the 89-year-old
New York Times, respected everywhere for its independence
and famed for the completeness of its worldwide news coverage…"
|
|
|
|
|
ORIGINAL
New York Times 7/2/42 Masthead
NYT 7/2/42
p. 6
"700,000 Victims Listed"
(NARA
Hitler speaking projected)
CU "700,000"
CU "death"
CU "gas"
CU "massacred"
|
THE NEW
YORK TIMES’ COVERAGE IS TYPICAL OF HOW NEWSPAPERS HANDLED
THE STORY.
JULY 2ND,
1942.
HIDDEN
ON PAGE SIX — THE TIMES DETAILS THE MURDER
OF SEVEN-HUNDRED-THOUSAND JEWS. (:15)
THE ARTICLE
EXPOSES THE USE OF GAS CHAMBERS TO EXPEDITE THE MASSACERS.
(:06)
|
|
ORIGINAL
NYT 7/2/42 p. 1
"Lehman Ends Tennis; Shoes to Rubber.."
(NARA Planes in air projected)
|
IN THE
SAME EDITION — HIGH ON THE FRONT PAGE — A LIGHT
FEATURE ABOUT NEW YORK’S GOVENOR DONATING HIS TENNIS
SHOES TO THE WAR EFFORT.(:09)
|
|
SOT/ MARVIN
KALB
1:17:49 HOL 0099
Marvin
Kalb
Harvard
University
LC photo of NYT on typewriter
|
During
WWII as today, it is the most respected newspaper in America,
it is the newspaper of record. Therefore other journalists
look to The New York Times to take leads.
|
|
SOT/ A.M.
ROSENTHAL
1:12:42
— 12:58
A.M.
Rosenthal
New
York Times 1943-1999
AMR Tilt
up photo of AMR
|
I don’t
recall ever saying to myself, ‘gee, that story isn’t
covered well enough or big enough.’ I was a reporter
covering New York and enjoying myself and counting myself
so lucky to work at The New York Times that I should
be paying them.
|
|
AMR MS
of AMR with pipe
AMR Cut
to wide shot in same room
|
ABE ROSENTHAL
JOINED THE TIMES STAFF AS A COLLEGE STUDENT DURING THE WAR.
EVENTUALLY
HE BECAME THE PAPER’S FIRST JEWISH MANAGING EDITOR. (:09)
|
|
SOT/ A.M.
ROSENTHAL
#1 @ 1:22:16
— 22:22
|
They used
to say about The New York Times, the paper is owned
by Jews, edited by Catholics, for Protestants.
|
|
AP AMR
in 70’s as editor
|
DECADES
LATER, THIS LEGENDARY NEWSMAN REVIEWED THE TIMES HOLOCAUST
COVERAGE. (:06)
|
|
SOT/ A.M.
ROSENTHAL
1:18:05
- 18:15 // 24:42 - 24:48
UMI PRINT
NYT 4/6/42
p. 2
"Reports Nazi Slaughter of Jews"
(NARA line of people projected)
|
…it
was no good. It was paltry. It was embarrassing.// It was
wrong. It was morally and journalistically wrong.
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
1:06:20
— 6:29 // 1:34:03 — 34:10
Deborah Lipstadt
Emory
University
UMI PRINT
NYT 10/22/39
p. 36
"2,000 Jews Sent From Vienna"
(LC Guard tower from camp projected)
|
The claim
that’s often made that Americans didn’t know is
simply not true. People forget how much was there or they
never put it together. // If you’re willing to use little
stories and buried stories, you can tell the history of the
Holocaust from the American press.
|
|
GRAPHIC
NYT 10/26/41 p. 6
"Slaying of Jews in Galicia"
|
(NEWSPAPER
VOICE)
"Reports tell of victims being machine-gunned as they
prayed in their synagogues." OCTOBER 26, 1941… THE
NEW YORK TIMES…PAGE 6.
|
|
DIP
TO BLACK
|
(MUSIC
FULL)
|
|
LC Soviet
film of civilians killed
NARA German
military
LC photo of Eins. execution
|
"THE
HOLOCAUST" BEGINS DURING THE SUMMER OF 1941 WHEN HITLER
INVADES THE SOVIET UNION. (:06)
GERMANY’S
REGULAR ARMY THUNDERS EAST FOLLOWED BY "EINZATSGRUPPEN"
[INE —zahtz-GROOP-en] OR "SPECIAL ACTION UNITS".
THEIR
PRIMARY JOB: TO KILL JEWS. (:12)
|
|
SOT/ NESSE
GODIN
1:06:05
— 6:13 // 1:04:25 — 1:04:44
// 1:04:48 — 5:06
Nesse
Godin
Holocaust
Survivor
USHMM
photo of Jewish men lined up
|
Jewish
men and boys were grabbed off the street // taken to a forest
near our city, Kuziai, where they were forced to get undressed
naked. They were forced to dig big holes. They were lined
up. They were shot. They fell into the pit. And they were
covered with earth.
|
|
(MUSIC)
|
|
LC Soviet
film of bodies in pit
|
THE NAZIS
MASSACRE MORE THAN A MILLION JEWS THIS WAY. (:04)
|
|
LC bodies
lined up/people
LC woman kneels over body
|
MASS MURDER
OF CIVILIANS SHOULD BE A MAJOR NEWS STORY.
BUT JOURNALISTS
ARE SKEPTICAL. (:08)
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
1:11:57
— 12:00 // 12:07 — 12:18/21
NYT 10/28/41 p. 10
"Nazis Seek to Rid Europe
of All Jews"
NOVOSTY Einzatzgruppen execution
|
There
was something unbelievable about the story. // If you tell
me they’re suffering, if you tell me they’re starving,
if you tell me they’re in camps, that I can believe.
But this kind of rampant, systematic murder, that’s not
something I expect of the Germans. Of the Japanese, maybe.
But not the Germans.
|
|
TRANSITION
TO US ENTERS WAR
|
|
NARA Pearl
Harbor attack scenes
|
(NAT/
PEARL HARBOR ATTACK)
|
|
NARA FDR
audio
NARA ships burning & sinking
|
12-8-41
FDR SPEECH
(NAT/ FDR) "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date that
will live in infamy…"
|
|
A Films
Pouring hot metal
A Films US planes in air
A Films AUDIO Andrew’s Sisters music
|
(MUSIC)
"Let’s
load that ore on the train, let’s turn that steel into
planes, we’ve got a job to do."
|
|
A Films
Newspaper production
|
PEARL
HARBOR DRAGS THE U.S. INTO THE WAR, AND THE MEDIA MOBILIZE
TO BRING THE BATTLE-FRONT HOME. (:06)
|
|
UCLA Soldiers
marching
A Films Loading military truck on ship
|
(SOT /
WAR NEWSREEL)
"America today is on the march with all the other freedom
loving peoples of the world…"
|
|
NARA People
read NYT headlines
NARA Man opens newspaper
|
THE WAR
IS THE NUMBER-ONE TOPIC ON AMERICA’S MIND . . . AND PAGE
ONE NEWS EVERYDAY. (:06)
|
|
SOT/ MARVIN
KALB
1:04:30
Marvin
Kalb
Harvard University
FOX White
House press corps
|
The press
corps at the time was (very lame, very patriotic,) very much
attuned to the principal objectives of the administration.
Mainly the unconditional surrender of the enemy. They weren’t
thinking of anything else.
|
|
USHMM
photos from Chelmno
TILT DOWN
PULL OUT
USHMM
photo of gas van
|
THE DAY
AFTER PEARL HARBOR, AT A SECRET CAMP NEAR THE POLISH VILLAGE
OF
CHELMNO
[(H)ELLM-noe (gutteral H)]
GERMAN
DEATH SQUADS TEST A NEW TECHNIQUE.
THEY MURDER
A THOUSAND JEWS — MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN — BY GASSING
THEM INSIDE SPECIALLY EQUIPPED VANS.
IT’S
CHEAPER AND MORE EFFICIENT THAN GUNS. (:21)
|
|
DIP
TO BLACK
|
|
AT photo
of Thuermer in Berlin
AT photo of journalists & suitcases
NARA crowd
gives Heil Hitler
NARA large crowd greets Hitler
NARA crowd gives Heil Hitler
|
THE SAME
DAY AMERICAN REPORTERS IN BERLIN ARE ROUNDED UP BY THE GESTAPO,
IMPRISONED, AND ULTIMATELY EXPELLED.
WITH EUROPE
IN HITLER’S GRIP, JOURNALISTS MUST RELY ON OFFICIAL ALLIED
REPORTS.
(:13)
|
|
A Films
man writes info. on board
A Films
press conference
NARA man stamps news script
|
(SOT/
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER)
"…from
almost continuous press conferences in the Ministry of Information
at London came the rigidly censored official communiqués
on the course of the battle…"
|
|
RCH photo
of Hottelet on phone
RCH photo of Hottelet with pipe
UMI PRINT
NYT 3/16/41
p. 4
"US Acts on Writer Seized by Gestapo"
|
1:09:09
RICHARD
C. HOTTELET [HOTT-uh-let] IS AMONG THE MANY JOURNALISTS
SILENCED BY THE NAZI’S.
1:09:14
WITNESSING
JEWS BEING DEPORTED, HOTTLET WRITES WHAT HE’S SEEN, AND
PAYS A PRICE FOR AGGRESSIVE REPORTING. (:12)
|
|
SOT/HOTTLET
1:22:15
—
Richard
C. Hottelet
War Correspondent, UP and CBS
|
I remember
covering one of these things with a colleague// and we were
sort of loaded on trucks along with all these other Jews accused
of nothing, just ‘come along here you’ and when
we got to the police station//.
We identified
ourselves as Americans and were told to get lost. But the
others// I imagine went to concentration camps,
|
|
Hottelet
Graphic
|
NEWSPAPER
VOICE
"…the
crowd outside shouted and jeered, ‘Die like dogs, Jews!’,
and unprintable epithets. The police began yelling to Jews
‘Pile in! Get on top of one another if necessary!’"
June 17,
1938
New York
Post
Page 24
|
|
|
HOTTELET’S
AGGRESSIVE REPORTING JEOPARDIZES HIS OWN SAFETY. (:04)
|
|
SOT/ HOTTELET
1:24:14
— 24:24
|
In 1941
// I was suddenly arrested. A knock on the door at 3:00 in
the morning and secret police and "come with us."
…and
I found I was being accused of espionage.
|
|
RCH photo
of Hottelet on jeep
|
AFTER
SPENDING FOUR MONTHS IN A GERMAN PRISON, HOTTELET TAKES A
JOB WRITING ALLIED PROPAGANDA FOR THE U.S. "OFFICE OF
WAR INFORMATION" — OR O-W-I. (:10)
|
|
SOT/ HOTTELET
1:12:35
— 1:12:40 // 1:13:00 — 13:05
NARA CU Hitler making speech
NARA Goering and Nazi crowd
|
What we
were concentrating on was the nature of Nazism. // (HITLER
NATS) // That was the thrust of our propaganda.
|
|
USHMM
photo of female executions
|
"O-W-I"
CALLS ATTENTION TO NAZI ATROCITIES…
…WITHOUT
SPOTLIGHTING THE JEWISH ANGLE.
A PATTERN
REPEATED AT NEWSPAPERS. (:09)
|
|
SOT/ MEDOFF
1:15:04
— 15:15
Dr. Rafael Medoff
Prof.
of Jewish Studies, S.U.N.Y., Purchase
Seattle Daily Times 6/26/42 p. 30
"700,000 Jews Reported Slain"
|
It was
in the back pages instead of in the front pages. And that
affected a level of public consciousness and public interest
in the issue. Fewer people read about it if it was in the
back pages and fewer people cared.
|
|
GRAPHIC
NYT 3/14/42 p. 7
"Terror of Nazism in Balkans Told"
|
(NEWSPAPER
VOICE:)
"…people
ranging from 3-week-old infants to persons of 80 were packed
into cattle cars…50 percent of them died or were killed
by the Gestapo." MARCH 14, 1942… THE NEW YORK TIMES…PAGE
7.
|
|
ORIGINAL
(Photo-duplicate)
The Jewish News 6/19/42 p.1
"60,000
Vilna Jews Massacred"
|
ALTHOUGH
THE AMERICAN JEWISH PRESS RUNS BANNER HEADLINES LIKE THIS,
THE MAINSTREAM PRESS IGNORES THE STORY. (:08)
|
|
Voice
of: Quincy Howe
CBS Radio Broadcast June 29, 1942
BA pan
of Jewish men
|
(SOT/
QUINCY HOWE ON CBS:)
It is
now estimated that the Germans have massacred more than one
million Jews in Europe since the war began. That’s about
one sixth of the Jewish population in the Old World.
|
|
UMI PRINT
Seattle Daily Times 6/29/42 p. 1
"Jewish
Executions Put at Million"
(NARA emaciated man projected)
NYT 6/27/42
p. 5 (bottom left)
"700,000 Jews" (no headline)
CU "700,000"
CU "greatest
mass slaughter"
|
IN JUNE
1942, THE RISING JEWISH DEATH TOLL PUSHES THE NEWS INTO PUBLIC
VIEW. (;07)
THE
NEW YORK TIMES BURIES ITS FIRST ACCOUNT OF THE "FINAL
SOLUTION" ON PAGE FIVE. (:07)
IT DESCRIBES
THE KILLING OF 700-THOUSAND JEWS AS "THE GREATEST MASS
SLAUGHTER IN HISTORY." (:07)
|
|
A Films
hands typing
A Films
sorting scripts
A Films
editing copy
|
HOW COULD
RESPONSIBLE EDITORS BURY SUCH AN IMPORTANT STORY. (:05)
HISTORIANS
SAY ONE REASON IS ANTI-SEMITISM (:06)
|
|
SOT/ RUTH
GRUBER
1:22:56-23:26
Ruth
Gruber
Interior
Department, 1941-1946
|
It was
a period of virulent anti-Semitism which played a role even
in our government in the top echelons of various departments
but especially at the State Department.
|
|
SOT/ RUTH
GRUBER
1:20:42
— 21:19
6-26-40
LONG MEMO
Long photo
& memo — highlight line
|
Jews were
knocking on doors of consulates all over the world begging
to enter the United States. // And it was the Assistant Secretary
of State in charge of visas — in effect in charge of
life and death // His name was Breckenridge Long. He actually
sent messages to consulates all over the world // "Delay…delay…delay."
|
|
SOT/ GRUBER
1:21:29
— 21:37
|
Even if
they have numbers, even if they have visas, keep delaying,
keep.. Jews.. out."
|
|
MANY NEWSPAPER
EDITORS ARE OPENLY ANTI-SEMITIC, AND SUPPORT THE ADMINISTRATIONS
POLICY OF RESTRICTING JEWISH IMMIGRATION. (:09)
JOURNALISTS
ARE ALSO SKEPTICAL OF ATROCITY STORIES, BECAUSE THERE ARE
NO PHOTOGRAPHS OR EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS. AND THEY’D BEEN
FOOLED BEFORE. (:10)
|
|
SOT/ ANDY
ROONEY
1:00:18
— 1:00:37
Andy
Rooney
Stars
and Stripes
NARA WWI
battle scenes
|
I recall
hearing about World War I from my father and how so many of
the so-called German atrocities were faked by our own people
trying to propagandize us into fighting the war.
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
24:01
— 24:14
Deborah
Lipstadt
Emory University
AF man rips teletype
|
(But)
there was enough detail here that I think they could have
believed far more and they could have treated things far more
seriously, particularly when you compare how they covered
other stories.
|
|
NARA Reichstag
meeting
NARA Crowd Heil Hitler
NARA Hitler at podium
UMI PRINT
Chicago
Tribune 6/14/42 p. 1
"Hitler Guards Stage New Pogrom;
Kill 258"
|
DEBORAH
LIPSTADT [ LIP-statt ]ANALYZED HUNDREDS OF HOLOCAUST
NEWS STORIES.
SHE SAYS
EDITORS CONSISTENTLY GAVE MORE CREDENCE TO NAZI REPORTS THAN
THOSE FROM JEWISH SOURCES. (:12)
FOR EXAMPLE:
WHEN THE GERMANS TAKE CREDIT FOR KILLING 258 JEWS IN BERLIN—
IT HITS THE FRONT PAGE — IN THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE. (:09)
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
1:17:40 — 17:48
|
The 258
came from the perpetrators, so the Gestapo said we killed
these 258 so there was no doubting it.
|
|
UMI PRINT
Chicago Tribune 6/30/42 p. 6
"Estimate 1 Million Jews Died Victims
of Nazis"
CU of headline
(LC projected mass grave)
|
TWO WEEKS
LATER — JEWISH GROUPS DECRY MORE THAN A MILLION DEAD.
THE TRIBUNE
RUNS THE STORY ON PAGE SIX AS IF IT WERE FILLER. (:09)
|
|
SOT/ DEBORAH
LIPSTADT
1:18:58
— 1:19:10
|
So it
was eminently missible — page 6 at the bottom of the
page and / if you saw it, it was dismissible. You could dismiss
it as — this can’t be true because if it were, a
story of this magnitude would be on page one.
|
|
SOT/BERENBAUM
2:25:36
— 25:45 // 1:28:25 — 28:35
Michael
Berenbaum
Holocaust Scholar
NYT 6/30/42
p. 7
"1,000,000 Jews Slain by Nazis
Report Says"
LC Soviet film of frozen bodies lines up
|
It’s
the difference between my turning to you and saying you know
a million people have died and my turning to you saying "A
MILLION PEOPLE HAVE DIED!"// Obviously the murder of
a million people — if it’s really believed —
is ONE HELL of an important story.
|
|
FADE
TO BLACK
|
|
(MUSIC)
|
|
NARA German
military
BA Jews
in ghettos
|
HITLER
IS NOW WAGING TWO WARS. (:03)
ONE AGAINST
THE ALLIES…
AND ONE
AGAINST JEWS. (:04)
|
|
BUT WORD
OF HIS "FINAL SOLUTION" LEAKS OUT. (:04)
|
|
SOT/ MICHAEL
BERENBAUM
2:03:00
— 3:15
Michael
Berenbaum
Holocaust Scholar
USHMM Reigner photo
AJA CU telegram
|
In August
1942, a telegram was sent by Gerhardt Reigner [Gair-hart
RIG-ner] of the World Jewish Congress which says // that
in Fuhrer’s headquarters there is a plan under discussion
for the murder of all European Jews.
|
|
Am. Jewish
Arch. Full telegram
A Films
State Dept exterior
A Films
man stamps document
NARA Memo
61 "Do Not Send"
USC dissolve to Wise photo
|
THE STATE
DEPARTMENT RECEIVES REIGNER’S TELEGRAM. NOW - THE SAME
AGENCY THAT IS PREVENTING JEWISH IMMIGRATION STARTS SUPPRESSING
VITAL INFORMATION.
BUREAUCRATS
DELIBERATELY WITHHOLD THE DISTURBING TELEGRAM FROM ITS INTENDED
RECIPIENT — RABBI STEPHEN WISE.. PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN
JEWISH CONGRESS. (:21)
|
|
SOT/ MEDOFF
1:31:20
— 31:41 w/ cuts
LC Stephen Wise with hand on face
Dr. Rafael Medoff
Prof. of Jewish Studies, S.U.N.Y., Purchase
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Stephen
Wise was unquestionably the most prominent Jewish leader in
the United States. // And perhaps most importantly, he had
a relationship with Franklin Roosevelt which gave him occasional
access to the White House.
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LC photo
of Wise at desk
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WHEN WISE
LEARNS OF THE TELEGRAM, THE STATE DEPARTMENT BEGS HIM NOT
TO GO PUBLIC — PENDING FURTHER INVESTIGATION. (:08)
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SOT/ BERENBAUM
2:12:18
— 2:12:28
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In November
— after a 3-month delay, the State Department came back
to Rabbi Wise and they told him ‘we can confirm your
deepest fears.’
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ORIGINAL
NYT 11/25/42 p. 10
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WISE IMMEDIATELY
GOES PUBLIC WITH THE INCREDIBLE NEWS.
THE
NEW YORK TIMES PUTS HIS ANNOUNCEMENT ON PAGE TEN. (:07)
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ORIGINAL
NYT 12/18/42 p. 1
"11 Allies Condemn Nazi War on Jews"
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WEEKS
LATER — THE ALLIES OFFICIALLY CONDEMN THE NAZI "WAR
ON THE JEWS."
ONLY NOW
DOES THE "FINAL SOLUTION" HIT THE TIMES FRONT
PAGE. (:11)
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GRAPHIC
NYT 12/18/42
p. 1,10
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(NEWSPAPER
VOICE:)
"In Poland…the principal Nazi slaughterhouse, the
ghettos…are being systematically emptied…None of
those taken away are ever heard from again." DECEMBER
18, 1942…THE NEW YORK TIMES… page 1.
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UMI PRINT
NYT EDITORIAL 12/18/42
"Hitler’s
Terror"
CU "helplessness"
CU "horror"
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THE TIMES
EDITORIAL PAGE LAMENTS THE WORLDS "HELPLESSNESS TO STOP
THE HORROR." (:06)
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SOT/ MEDOFF
1:14:32
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It wasn’t
a matter of there not being the information out there, the
problem was that the information was down played, or minimized.
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NARA Jews
being rounded up
L.A. Times 12/18/42 p. 4
"Jews Given Allied Pledge"
Washington
Post 12/18/42 p. 10
"Allies Condemn Axis Crime Against Jews"
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THE ALLIED
DECLARATION SHOULD HAVE MARKED A TURNING POINT IN KNOWLEDGE
OF THE HOLOCAUST.
BUT MANY
PAPERS FAIL TO GIVE THE STORY THE SIGNIFICANCE ITS DUE.
THE
LOS ANGELES TIMES PRINTS IT ON PAGE FOUR, THE WASHINGTON
POST ON PAGE TEN. (:18)
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SOT/ A.M.
ROSENTHAL
2:05:41
— 5:43 // 2:05:55 — 6:07
NYT newsroom photo
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If the
Times had come out big on this // that would have brought
a lot more attention in the country. However, I don’t
think that absolves the editors of those other papers.
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SOT/ RAFAEL
MEDOFF
1:14:40
UCLA FDR speaks at meeting
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The Roosevelt
Administration didn’t want to play it up. They didn’t
want people talking about it too much because that would create
pressure for Roosevelt to take some kind of concrete action
to aid the Jews.
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SOT/ RUTH
GRUBER
1:22:22
— 1:22:36
Ruth
Gruber
Interior
Department, 1941-1946
NARA WWII
battle scenes
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Roosevelt
was worried. He didn’t want the New Deal to be called
the Jew Deal. He didn’t want people to say that we’re
fighting the war just for the damned Jews.
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NARA WWII
battle scenes
LC George Stevens color allied attack
ORIGINAL
NYT 6/27/42 p. 1
"Germans Gain, Red Armies Hold Intact; Rommel Forces
30 Miles…"
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THE WHITE
HOUSE SAYS THE ONLY WAY TO HELP THE JEWS IS TO WIN THE WAR.
THE BATTLE
GETS TOP PRIORITY — AND BANNER HEADLINES. (:10)
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SOT/ LAUREL
LEFF
2:29:36
— 2:29:50
Laurel Leff
Prof.
of Journalism, Northeastern Univ.
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If you
read just the front page of The New York Times during
those six years, you really wouldn’t have known what
was going on. If you read the inside papers of The New
York Times you would have a complete understanding of
what was happening which I guess is the paradox.
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FF Laurel
Leff at archives
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LAUREL
LEFF, A JOURNALISM PROFESSOR, STUDIED EVERY EDITION OF THE
TIMES FROM 1939 TO 1945.
(:10)
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UMI PRINT
NYT 5/10/44 p. 5
"Jews in Hungary Fear Annihilation"
ORIGINAL
NYT 8/30/44 p. 1
"Nazi Mass Killing Laid Bare in Camp"
UMI PRINT
NYT 10/26/41 p. 6
"Slaying of Jews in Galacia"
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SHE COUNTS
MORE THAN ELEVEN-HUNDRED STORIES RELATING TO THE HOLOCAUST
— ABOUT ONE EVERY OTHER DAY.
BUT THE
SLAUGHTER OF JEWS MADE THE FRONT PAGE ONLY SIX TIMES —
ABOUT ONCE A YEAR.
MOST STORIES
ARE LOST INSIDE THE PAPER. (:17).
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SOT/ LEFF
2:10:56
NYT 6/30/42
pp. 6-7
"1,000,000 Jews Slain…"
CU headline
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I counted
sometimes, I mean sometimes they had over 30 stories on the
inside page. Tiny little items, tiny little headlines, often
there wouldn’t be a photo or something to kind of help
you. SO you’d look at the insdie andit was likea mish
mash and in the mish mash would nbe a fairly significant story.
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SOT/ ROSENTHAL
1:17:09
- 17:22 // 1:23:36 - 23:45
NARA NYT sign
A Films Journalists working
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I assure
you, nobody put a sign on the wall that said downplay the
Holocaust // It's the way of life. You have an organization.
Sometimes things are not said, they're just done.
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Face of
Jewish man
NARA Jews with stars on street
BA row of young Jewish men
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MUSIC/MONTAGE
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A Films
NYT printing press
AJA photo of AHS at desk
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HISTORIANS
AND FORMER TIMES EMPLOYEES BELIEVE THE PAPER’S
EDITORIAL PHILOSOPHY ON JEWISH STORIES FLOWED FROM THE TOP…
…PUBLISHER
ARTHUR HAYS SULZBERGER, [SULZ —burger] HIMSELF
A JEW. (:13)
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SOT/ BERENBAUM
1:25:35
— 25:51 // 26:04 — 26:12
AJA CU
photo of AHS at desk
Michael
Berenbaum
Holocaust Scholar
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He was
fearful that somebody would see The New York Times
as a Jewish newspaper and consequently he was afraid to be
out front on issues that were regarded as Jewish for fear
that he would compromise the integrity of The New York
Times.
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SOT/KALB
1:12:10-1:12:20
CORBIS photo of NYT building
NYT photo of Adolph Ochs
SOT/KALB 1:11:41-1:11:50
Marvin
Kalb
Harvard University
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(VO) Despite
the fact that the NYT was and has been owned by a Jewish family
from Adolph Ochs 100 years ago to today…
(O/C) He didn’t want to be seen as a Jewish newspaper,
as a newspaper that would emphasize Jewish causes.
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SOT/ LEFF
2:16:50
— 2:17:21
LC photo of NYT workers
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What I
think is clear from looking at the internal memos is that
the editors at the Times understood that this was a
sensitivity of his and in fact were nervous about it.
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photo
of AHS
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SULZBERGER
IS VOCAL IN HIS CONVICTION THAT JEWS SHOULD NOT BE IDENTIFIED
SOLELY BY THEIR RELIGION. (:06)
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SOT/ LEFF
27:10
— 27:18
NARA traditional Jewish dinner
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What that
means is that Jews should not be singled out in any way. Whether
it was for persecution or for salvation.
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NARA Jewish
community
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SOME IN
THE JEWISH COMMUNITY CHALLENGE SULZBERGER’S VIEW —
AND THE WAY IT INFLUENCES THE TIMES’ NEWS COVERAGE.(:08)
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GRAPHIC
The Jewish Times of Philadelphia
12/31/43
p. 1
"Editorial"
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(NEWSPAPER
VOICE:)
"…when
the doomed Jews of the Warsaw ghetto were in their last desperate
struggle against their tormentors…with their bare fists
battled for days against artillery gunfire and hand-grenades…the
"Times" featured the news in a way as if
no Jews were involved…" DECEMBER 31, 1943…THE
JEWISH TIMES…EDITORIAL.
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SOT/ BERENBAUM
2:29:07
— 2:29:25
NARA Jews with yellow stars
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You missed
the story unless you said the slaughter of Jews is taking
place. Jews — not because they’re citizens of Poland
or Denmark or Hungary or Rumania but Jews because they’re
Jews.
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photo
of AHS
A Films
Palestine film
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SULZBERGER
DOES OFFER HELP BEHIND THE SCENES.
HE WORKS
TO FIND HAVENS FOR EUROPEAN JEWS OUTSIDE THE U.S. — ALTHOUGH
HE OPPOSES THE ZIONIST GOAL OF ESTABLISHING A JEWISH HOMELAND
IN PALESTINE. (:15)
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SOT/ LEFF
2:28:51
— 2:29:14
photo of AHS at podium
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As he
said several places // the best hope for the Jews is if they
can connect their fate to that of other people. // so I’m
not saying this comes from an indifference or a callousness.
I mean, ultimately it may not have been the wisest of policies.
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SOT/ A.M.
ROSENTHAL
1:25:51
— 26:08 titen acc’g to script
A.M.
Rosenthal
New
York Times, 1943-1999
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I don’t
think we did what we would do now about such as that // which
is to go out and investigate the hell out of it. I mean//
people say they’re killing the Jews, well I don’t
know, well let’s find out.
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TRANSITION
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(NAT/
NEWSREELS)
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NARA German
surrender in Stalingrad
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(NAT/NEWSREEL)
IN EARLY 1943 THE ALLIES FIRST BIG VICTORIES AT STALINGRAD…
AND IN NORTH AFRICA TRIGGER EXCITED COVERAGE. (:10)
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NARA Germans
surrender in North Africa
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(SOT/
NEWSREEL ANNOUNCER:)
"Thousands
upon thousands of Italian and German troops lay down their
arms and surrender…"
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NAA Westerbork
deportation
NAA Trains
ORIGINAL
NYT 2/14/43 p. 17
"Execution Speed Up Seen"
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DESPITE
BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS, MURDERING JEWS REMAINS A TOP GERMAN
PRIORITY.
EVEN WITH
LABOR AND RESOURCES IN SHORT SUPPLY, THE WAR ON THE JEWS TAKES
PRECEDENCE.
IN THE
U.S. — EDITORS REDUCE HORROR TO BACK-PAGE STATISTICS.
THIS STORY
RAN ON PAGE 37.
THE REALITY
IS FAR MORE DRAMATIC. (:25)+
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SOT/ MICHEL
1:26:23
— 26:43 // 1:26:51 — 1:27:06 // 1:27:39 — 1:27:44
// 1:28:25 — 28:33 // 1:28:49 — 1:29:06
AUS. MUS. floor plans
NAA Train tracks
USHMM Jews with yellow stars
USHMM Jews by trains
MJH Young Earnst
USHMM Dr. Mengele
USHMM inmate photos
USHMM old man
USHMM grandma with children
AUS. MUS. oven plan
LC bones in oven
Ernest
Michel
Holocaust
Survivor
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We arrived
in Auschwitz at night. // There were noises and dogs and screaming,
kleigh lights, out Juden(?)! It was an inferno! // Husbands
looking for their wives, for their children, their mothers.
// and there was SS man. And he went like this (thumb up)
or he went like this (thumb down) We didn’t know what
that was. // I was 20 years old, still in good shape. So the
thumb went up. (And the person who did the selection was Dr.
Mengele.) // They had all the inmates take care of all the
work. He says ‘you’re the lucky ones.’ We says,
‘what do you mean we’re the lucky ones?’ (In
German) — The others are already up the chimney.
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FADE
TO BLACK
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BA emaciated
barefooted man
BA two girls in Warsaw ghetto
UCLA Jews
walking with bundles
NAA Trains
UCLA Jews by trains
NARA journalists
work
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BY EARLY
1943, THE EXTENT OF HITLER’S "WAR ON THE JEWS"
IS CLEAR.
BUT THE
PRESS DOWNPLAYS THE STORY TO FOCUS ON COMBAT. (:11)
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NARA Jewish
neighborhood
NARA Jewish newspaper stand
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THE AMERICAN
JEWISH COMMUNITY IS TORMENTED BY THE ANNIHLIATION OF THEIR
BRETHREN, AND CAMPAIGN FOR RESCUE.(:05)
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3/1/43
"STOP HITLER NOW"
UCLA Wise speaks
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(SOT/STEPHEN
WISE ORATION:)
"…the
number of Jews slain…"
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UCLA Wise
speaks
UCLA Wide shot of meeting
NYT 3/2/43 p. 1
"Save Doomed Jews, Huge
Rally Pleads"
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STAGED
EVENTS LIKE THIS ONE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN GENERATE FAVORABLE
NEWS COVERAGE. (:06)
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NARA Jewish
neighborhood
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BUT AMERICAN
JEWS CAN’T AGREE ON HOW MUCH ATTENTION THEY WANT TO ATTRACT.
(:04)
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SOT/ MEDOFF
1:22:18
— 1:22:22 // 1:22:05 — 22:15
NARA World Zionist meeting
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As the
news increased, the divisions within the Jewish community
multiplied. // And there were increasing numbers of people
in the Jewish community who wanted to do something more vocal.
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SOT /MEDOFF
1:36:14
1:36:45
—36:58
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Peter
Bergson// was a young Jewish activist from Palestine // who
began making contact with congressmen, holding public rallies,
writing letters to the editors, and using every means at his
disposal to try and arouse public consciousness about what
was happening to the Jews under Hitler
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ORIGINAL
NYT 11/24/43 p. 8
"How Well are You Sleeping?"
ORIGINAL
NYT 2/8/43
"Action Not Pity Can Save…"
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BERGSON
RESORTS TO BUYING SPACE IN MAJOR NEWSPAPERS, LIKE THE NEW
YORK TIMES. (:06)
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SOT/ MEDOFF
1:58:57
— 1:59:10
"Death daily but they can be saved"
"Germans exterminate entire Jewish…"
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The reason
the Bergson Group had to take out these newspaper advertisements
was because the issue was not being adequately discussed on
the news pages.
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UCLA wide
shot of pageant
UCLA nazi officers at table
USC FOX woman walk down steps
USC FOX Edward G. Robinson
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THE BERGSON
GROUP STAGES AN ELABORATE, PAGEANT CALLED "WE WILL NEVER
DIE." FEATURING STARS LIKE EDWARD G. ROBINSON.
(:10)
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USC FOX
Edward G. Robinson
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(NEWSREEL
NATS)
Robinson "These are the two million Jewish dead of Europe
today."
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USC FOX
audience
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IT PLAYS
IN HALF-A-DOZEN CITIES WHERE IT DRAWS MORE THAN 100-THOUSAND
PEOPLE.
(:05)
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USC FOX
"We Will Never Die" USC FOX women with arms up
USC FOX woman speaking
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(NAT/
"WE WILL NEVER DIE" PAGEANT:)
"…here
the Germans turned machine guns on us and killed us all. Remember
us…"
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SOT/ GRUBER
1:20:44
— 21:00
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There
were some who said ‘be silent. Roosevelt is our best
friend. Don’t rock the boat. The only way to win anything
is through silent diplomacy.’ And then there was the
Peter Bergson group who said ‘silence is the enemy.’
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UCLA Rabbis
at Lincoln Memorial
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IN THE
FALL OF ‘43, PETER BERGSON STAGES A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
THE PRESS CAN’T PASS UP. (:07)
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UCLA Rabbi
at Podium
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(RABBI/NEWSREEL)
"Ready?"
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MILO RYAN
CBS radio report
UCLA CU Rabbis
UCLA Wide Rabbis
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(SOT/
GEORGE MOORAD FOR CBS:)
"The
President also heard a plea from the Jews of Hitler’s
Europe. From 300 bearded rabbis who marched to Capitol Hill
(from Union Station) asking rescue and haven for five million
tormented people."
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TRANSITION
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UCLA FDR
with cabinet
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INSIDE
THE ROOSEVELT ADMINISTRATION A BATTLE ERUPTS BEHIND CLOSED
DOORS. (:05)
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SOT/ BERENBAUM
3:16:41
— 16:53
Michael
Berenbaum
Holocaust Scholar
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(and)
this was a tension between the State Department and the Treasury
Department that blew up in a tremendous battle and a very
important memo prepared by the Treasury Department which indicted
the State Department.
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FDR CU
"concealment"
FDR CU "misrepresentation"
FDR photo of HM Jr.
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THE MEMO
PROVES STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN LYING AND DELIBERATELY
BLOCKING RESCUE PLANS.
THE INFORMATION
SHOCKS TREASURY SECRETARY HENRY MORGENTHAU [MORG-en-thaw]
JUNIOR. (:12)
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