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American at the time was very much a country of immigrants, And the vast proportion of those immifrants came from Europe. The primary immigrant stock was English, nut much of the English immigration came in the 16-18th centuries and family commections and national orintation was long since forgotten if not broken by the Revolution. While there were few if any family ties to England, a substantial part of the American establishment was oriented toward England and sympathetic to England's plight. The most important group of more recent immigrants were irpnically the Germans and Italians. Some Italian Americans werevproud of Mussolini and his apparent success. The German-Americans had little afinity toward Hitler, but as in World War I, they were very stronly opposed to another War amd mafe up an important part of the Isolatinist mocement which was particularly strong in the Mid-west where Isolationist feeling was especially pronounced. There were manybsmaller ethnic comminities, including all of the captive nations, the most imprtant of these were Jews and Poles. Jews of course are mot a noarional group, but the vasr majority of American Jews have Eastern European origins, coning from barious regins of the old Tsaristt Empire-especially Poland. Jews of course were the most intensly anti-NAZI group, understandong more than mist Americans the malignacy of Hitler and the NAZIs, but even Jews did not fully understand the enormity of what the NAZIs were doing. But Jews and the ethnic groyps represented by the captive nations had revalitively little political clout. And they ere balanced bu the Irish and other grouos sych as Italians who has little interest in aiding Britain. Low key newspaper items, but rarely the mewsreels, reported on NAZI atrocuties in the captive countries, but nany Americans at first saw this as a repeat of British World War I propaganda which exagerated German atrocities. (Morice the tern=m exagerated, even in Workd War I, the German atrocities were very real. Actualyy until Germany bwas overun and American units began liberating the concentration camps were most Americans aware of the NAZI horrors (April 1945). Only then fid Americans see immages of the NAZI horrors.
The largest ethnic group in America was British (primarily English), however, most had ancestors that emigrated in the 17th, 18th, and early-19th centuries and thus had few ties with Britain. Thus while sympathetic toward England, most of these Americans were primarily interested in staying out of the War. This
was, however, a group who gradually shifted toward interventionism as the War progressed, especially after the fall of France and the onset of the Blitz. There were other complications with Americans of British origins. First, they dominated the American intelligentsia and business community and these groups were strongly pro-interventionist, especially with the advent of the Blitz on London. Here journalists played an important role, especially Edward R. Murrow who broadcasted live during the Blitz. Journalists are sometimes criticized for influencing events, but this is when they are not truthful or fair. Murrow's reporting was dramatic, but truthful. It did not convince Americans to enter the War, but it generated support for aiding Britain, especially among the broad swath of Americans of British ancestry. . Secondly, the Scots-
Irish (not to be confused with the actual Catholic Irish) were not nearly as pro-British. While they had lost their strident anti-British attitudes, they tended to have no desire to enter the War. Such attitudes should not be confused with favorable attitudes toward Hitler and the NAZIs, they simply did not want to fight the Germans.
Croats were another small immigrant group. They were part of Yugoslavia which at the time of the War was an authoritarian regime controlled by the Serbian monarchy. Many Croats felt oppressed by the Serbs. When the Germans invaded Yugoslavia (April 1941), they set up an puppet Croatian Government that was ostensibly independent. The Croatian UstaĊĦa (Ustashe, Ustashas, and Ustashi) launched a campaign of unprecedented violence against Jews, Muslims, and Serbs. This was not very well reported at the time in American newspapers. We are not sure yet about how Croatian-Americans viewed these events.
Czechs were a relatively small immigrant group. Czechoslovakia was the first foreign country assaulted by Hitler and the NAZIs. The small Czech community in America was strongly supportive of Czechoslovakia. British Prime-Miniter Chmberlain described the Czechs as "a small, far-away country of which we know nothing". Thar prather summarized American thought and the Czexhs were even further away.
Very few French people emigrated. This was the case even when France controlled Canada and claimed even larger areas of North America. That was one of the reasons the French lost the struggle to control the coninent. The English had a much larger colonial population. And during the 19th century when huge numbers of people from all over Europe emigrated to the United States, but very few French people came. The French were one of the smallest immigrant groups, especially comsidering that France was one of the largest European countries. The fall of France (June 1940), however, shocked Aneriabs like no other NAZI victim. France had been the bulwark blocking the German Army during World war I. It was also along with the British the major democratic state in Europe. The fact that the Germabs could overrun France in less than a month, changed a lot of minds in America. Americans while still ot wanting to enter the War becme far more interested in national defense and supporting Britain. President Roosevelt rushed arms to the British. But the key impact was on the heavily isolantionist Republican Party. The Germans entered Paris (June 14). Ten days later the Republican presidential nominatiing convention met in Philadelphia (June 24-28). And they stunned the ciunry by not dominating an isolationist, but interbentionist Wendel Wilkie. This feed up President Roosevelt's hand, allowing him at a critical point in history to more forcefully bck Britain.
The next most important ethnic group after the British were the Germans who were a huge voting block in the Mid-West and unlike many immigrant groups tended to vote Republican although this varied from year to year. They came earlier than most other ethnic groups, but by World War II were thoroughly Americanized. Most looked upon Hitler and the Axis with disfavor, but were very strongly opposed to entering the War. The formed an important share of support for the isolationists. In fact the heavily German Mid-West proved to be the bed rock of the isolationist movement.
Many German-American had been drawn to American for economic reasons, but the desire to escape European militarism and conscription was very important. Thus Hitler had no allure for them. The small pro-NAZI German-American Bund drew most of its support from recent immigrants with close ties to Germany. One rather surprising development after America entered the War was there was no wave of anti-German feeling, in sharp contrast both World War I and the wave of anti-Japanese feeling which swept the country.
Greece is a small country and a relatively small number of Greeks emigrated to America. We are not sure what Greek-American attitudes toward intervention were before the War. After the Italian invasion (October 1940), Greek Americans became strongly interventionist. And this only increased after the German invasion (April 1941). Greece was one of the countries most affected by German occupation. After the Germans seized the food supply, a terrible famine occurred. Like the other immogrnt groups of th captive ntions, Greek Americans orgnized fund drives. The major groip was th American Greek War Relief Association
Another large immigrant group were Italian-Americans. Italy in the mid-1930s became NAZI Germany's primary European Axis ally. Italian Americans were more recent arrivals than the Germans and tended to vote Democratic. Italians tended to come to America with primarily economic motives. They were not estranged from their home country. Many wanted to earn money and then go back to Italy. Thus the connections with home country were
stronger than many other immigrant groups. And unlike German Americans they tended to view Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in largely favorable terms. Mussolini's rise to power gained Italy an increasing prominence within the world community during the 1920s. Many Italian Americans became affected with a feeling of patriotism for their homeland.
In fact, some prominent New Dealers admired Mussolini and the idea of the Corporate State. The high regard for Mussolini, however, was not universal. Some Italian-Americans recognized the dangers of Mussolini and the danger of Fascism. They spoke out against Mussolini and wrote editorials in the Italian-immigrant publications. The critics were often labor activists, radicals, anarchists and Italian exiles. The more mainstream pro-Italian compatriots rejected them as unpatriotic, disloyal, and anti-Catholic. Like the German-Americans, Italian-Americans tended to oppose American intervention in the European war to aid Britain. This was in part because of the desire to stay out of the War, but also pro-Italian feeling was a factor. They were less active among the isolationists, in part because the Germans were so active
and there was a strain of anti-immigrant feeling among the isolationists. The desire to distance America from Europe to an extent morphed into latent anti-immigrant feeling. The Jews were the most obvious target here, but non-Protestant immigrants like the Italians were also suspect. There were thus few prominent Italians among the major isolationist spokesmen. And Catholic isolationists were more likely to be Irish than Italian. After years of discrimination and anti-Italian prejudice, Italian Americans were beginning to enter the American mainstream. More and more Italian-Americans were now in the second generation and increasingly identifying with America rather than Italy. Italian groups criticized President Roosevelt when he sharply rebuked Mussolini for joining the German invasion of France and entering the War (June
1940). Part of the reason was Roosevelt's wording, "The hand that held the dagger has plunged it into the back of his neighbor." It conjured up visions of the Mafia and criminality. With the German and Italian declaration of war and the entry of America into the War, however, the Italian-American community strongly embraced the war effort. Italian American youth would represent the largest contingent of military personnel of any immigrant group.
The Irish were another important ethnic group. They were the first largely Catholic immigrant group to reach America. They were both strongly Democratic and opposed to intervention. A strong factor here was anti-British sentiment because of the history of British rule in Ireland. The Irish were not pro-German, but they were strongly anti-British. President Roosevelt had appointed Irish politician Joseph P. Kennedy as ambassador to Britain. His attitudes reflected the opinions of many Irish-Americans. He broke with President Roosevelt on the question of intervention. He feared a war with the Germans. Part of his thinking was of course his boys who would fight in any war. And he did lose his son Joe Jr,
and almost lost Jack.
There was no doubt where Jewish-Americans stood as Europe headed for war. Most American Jews were strongly anti-German because of the well-publicized NAZI anti-Semitic campaign. And important Isolationist spokesmen like Lindbergh openly criticized Jews. There were relatively few German Jews. Most American Jews were of Eastern European origins. The German invasion of Poland only intensified Jewish pro-interventionist feeling. Even here there were complications. Jewish immigrants were an important part of the American left and support for Socialism. Neither the extent of Stalin's crimes or the economic failure of the Soviet Union were widely known at the time. Many on the left believed that Communism had prevented the Depression in the Soviet Union. This was in part true, but only
because most Soviet workers and Commune workers were desperately poor. The left including many Jews had an image of the Soviet Union as a worker's paradise and of happy peasant farmers on communes and collective farms. Most on the left were shocked when the Soviet Union signed the Non-Aggression Pact with the NAZIs (August 1939), becoming a NAZI ally and making the War possible. Few Jews changed their opinion, but Communist publications and propaganda suddenly stopped criticizing the Germans. They began siding with the Isolationists and opposing the Roosevelt Administration's rearmament program and efforts to save Britain. The Jews or more correctly stated, anti-Semitism, were a factor in the Isolationist movement from an early point. Lindbergh and other prominent isolationists charged that the Jews were trying to drag America into another war. Some even thought that NAZI anti-Semitism was not that bad an idea, although in fairness to these people, including Lindbergh, few understood the murderous character of NAZI anti-Semitism and overall racial doctrine. This not really surprising, except the Jews, other nationl groups targetted by the NAZIs like the Poles did not fully ubderstand the racial component of NAZI hatred for the country.
We are not entirely sure about Polish-American attitudes on European entanglements before Hitler launched World War II. There are a range of different often opposing threads among Polish Americans. Most were blue collar workers, many of which joined unions where left-wing influences were important. Poland after World War I fought a war for its national survival with the Bolsheviks--the Polish Soviet War (1919-21). Thus Polish-American workers were less susceptible to Communist propaganda than workers of other ethnic groups. Politically they were strongly Democratic and President Roosevelt was very popular. The Catholic Church was an important element in Polish national life and Polish immigrant communities. And the Church was
strongly anti-Communist. Poles tended to view the Soviet Union as the greatest threat until the Munich Accords began to change the map of Europe (September 1938). We are not sure how Poles viewed the struggle between the Roosevelt Administration and the Isolationists in the late-1930s. Most Americans were strongly opposed to involvement in another European war. We are not sure to what extent Poles shared the general feeling, especially because Poland was not at first Hitler's target. A great deal has been written about Poland's important contribution in the Allied victory. We have found, however, little information about Polish-American attitudes before the War. Polish-American attitudes are well known, of course, with the German invasion of Poland (September 1939). Polish-Americans became strongly anti-German and pro-interventionist. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland, but the American press primarily focused on the Germans. A complication here was that there was a strong strain of anti-Semitic among both Poles and Polish Americans. Childhood reminisces tend to describe fights after school between Jewish and Polish boys. Generally the Poles
were the aggressors. While reports of attacks on Jews began appearing in the press, there was little reporting on the horrendous German and Soviet occupation policies directed at Christian Poles. The discovery of the mass graves of Polish officers in the Katyn Forrest confirmed the worst fears of Polish-Americans, although it was not at first clear who was responsible.
Scandinavians-Americans were like the Germans mostly Protestant. Unlike the Germans, however, they were a relatively small immigrant group, even if the geographically related Finns were added in. This was primarily because these are mall
countries with small populations. The largest Scandinavian group were the Swedes. Norwegians and Danes were much smaller immigrant communities. While leaving a relatively small imprint on the American ethnic map, emigration to America, especially from Sweden and Norway, had a very substantial impact on these countries and in percentage terns were among the largest groups in terms of the percentage of the population emigrating. Like the Germans, they were part of the Mideastern strength of isolationist feeling. Arch isolationist, Charles Lindbergh, was a Midwesterner of Swedish origins. This reflected the policies of the Scandinavian governments who desperately wanted to remain neutral in the War. This began to change when the Soviet Union invaded Finland (November 1939). The big shift in, however, when NAZI Germany invaded Denmark and Norway (April 1940). Thus support for the Isolationists began to weaken among the Scandinavian communities, in contrast to continued support among German-Americans. It should not be thought, however, that most Scandinavians, unlike the Poles, became ardent interventionists. Most were still no anxious to enter the war against Germany. Lindbergh even intensified his attacks on the Roosevelt Administration and the move toward intervention. In the end, Sweden was the only part of Scandinavia not absorbed into the NAZI Empire, although this was only because the Swedes cooperated with the NAZI effort. Sweden was the primary source of iron ore for the German war industries. Germany could not have conducted the War without Swedish iron ore. And few Swedes fully understood that Sweden with its Nordic population would have been absorbed into the Greater Reich had the Germans won the War. Like German and Italian-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans loyal y joined the war effort after Pearl Harbor. Even Lindbergh attempted to enlist, although President Roosevelt refused to give him a commission.
We are not sure about the attitudes of the small Slovak-American community. Slovakia at the time was part of Czechoslovakia. Many Slovaks felt oppressed by the majority Czechs, although Czechoslovakia was a rare democracy in central Europe. As part of the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Hitler allowed the Slovaks to secede and set up an ostensibly independent republic. It was a NAZI puppet, but Hitler allowed a degree of domestic autonomy. We are not sure yet how Slovak-Americans viewed these developments.
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