Jewish American Relief Organizations in the Aftermath of WWII: Media, Commemoration, Memory, and Acknowledgment of the Holocaust

Abstract

From 1945 to 1948, prominent Jewish relief organizations in the United States (Hadassah, the Joint Distribution Committee, the United Palestine Appeal, and the United Jewish Appeal) launched worldwide Zionist media campaigns to support the rehabilitation and resettlement of Holocaust survivors. The campaign, which was based on short documentaries the organizations produced and newsletters they published, influenced attitudes towards the Holocaust and the survivors. This essay analyzes the representation of the Holocaust and Holocaust survivors in these films and newsletters. It discusses the narratives promoted by these organizations, the ways their media campaigns commemorated the Holocaust, and the identities they crafted for Holocaust survivors. It contributes to the ongoing debate as to whether American Jews marginalized the Holocaust until the 1960s. It shows that Jewish relief organizations produced films and published newsletters that dealt directly with the Holocaust and the survivors’ pleas in the three years immediately following World War II.