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The War Refugee Board (WRB) was established primarily to provide military support to civilian victims of the Axis powers during World War II.
Answer: False
Explanation: The War Refugee Board was established to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers, focusing on rescue, transport, and relief, not military support.
Historian Rebecca Erbelding noted that the War Refugee Board was unique as the only U.S. government agency created specifically to save civilians targeted by a wartime enemy.
Answer: True
Explanation: Historian Rebecca Erbelding highlights that the War Refugee Board was unique because it was the only instance in American history where the U.S. government established a non-military government agency specifically to save the lives of civilians being murdered by a wartime enemy.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the War Refugee Board in January 1945.
Answer: False
Explanation: President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the War Refugee Board in January 1944, not 1945.
Persistent publicity and pressure from groups like the Bergson Group were key factors leading to the establishment of the War Refugee Board.
Answer: True
Explanation: The establishment of the War Refugee Board was significantly influenced by persistent publicity campaigns and advocacy efforts from groups such as the Bergson Group, alongside pressure from within the Treasury Department.
The campaign to pressure the Roosevelt administration to help abandoned Jews in Europe was led by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr.
Answer: False
Explanation: While Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. was instrumental in presenting findings to President Roosevelt, the campaign pressuring the administration was primarily led by the Bergson Group, headed by Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson).
President Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board by issuing Executive Order 9417 on January 22, 1944.
Answer: True
Explanation: President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the War Refugee Board by issuing Executive Order 9417 on January 22, 1944, following a briefing on the State Department's handling of refugee matters.
Two Congressional resolutions in November 1943 proposed establishing a commission to formulate plans for Jewish relief and rescue.
Answer: True
Explanation: In November 1943, two Congressional resolutions were introduced, calling upon President Roosevelt to establish a commission dedicated to formulating and implementing plans for the relief and rescue of Jewish populations.
What was the primary objective for which the War Refugee Board (WRB) was established?
Answer: To aid civilian victims of the Axis powers during World War II.
According to historian Rebecca Erbelding, what distinguishes the War Refugee Board in American history?
Answer: It was the only time the U.S. government founded a non-military agency specifically to save civilian lives from a wartime enemy.
The initial composition of the War Refugee Board included the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of the Treasury.
Answer: False
Explanation: The initial composition of the War Refugee Board comprised the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of War, not the Secretary of Defense.
John W. Pehle served as the first executive director of the War Refugee Board.
Answer: True
Explanation: John W. Pehle, an assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury, was appointed as the first executive director of the War Refugee Board, overseeing its operational activities.
Brigadier General William O'Dwyer succeeded Raoul Wallenberg as the executive director of the War Refugee Board.
Answer: False
Explanation: Brigadier General William O'Dwyer succeeded John W. Pehle as the executive director of the War Refugee Board, not Raoul Wallenberg.
Raoul Wallenberg was a German diplomat who worked with the WRB in Budapest.
Answer: False
Explanation: Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat, not German, who undertook significant rescue efforts in Budapest, supported by the WRB and funded through the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
Which three cabinet members initially comprised the War Refugee Board?
Answer: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War
Who was appointed as the first executive director of the War Refugee Board?
Answer: John W. Pehle
Who was Raoul Wallenberg, and what was his connection to the WRB?
Answer: A Swedish diplomat convinced by the WRB to protect Jews in Budapest.
What was the official staff size limit for the WRB, and how was it sometimes exceeded?
Answer: Limit of 30, exceeded to 70 with detailed employees.
The WRB's main programs focused on rescuing, transporting, and relieving victims of enemy oppression, and establishing havens.
Answer: True
Explanation: The primary focus of the War Refugee Board's programs was to rescue, transport, and provide relief to victims of enemy oppression, alongside establishing temporary refuge havens for these individuals.
Neutral countries like Switzerland, Sweden, and Turkey were vital bases for the WRB's rescue and relief programs.
Answer: True
Explanation: Neutral countries such as Switzerland, Sweden, and Turkey served as crucial operational bases for the War Refugee Board's rescue and relief initiatives, providing essential support.
The WRB facilitated financing by allowing private agencies to transfer funds from the U.S. to neutral countries.
Answer: True
Explanation: The War Refugee Board implemented a licensing policy that permitted private agencies to transfer funds from the U.S. to neutral countries, thereby enabling the financing of rescue operations and aid under controlled conditions.
The War Refugee Board obtained blockade clearances for food shipments intended for distribution by the International Red Cross to detainees in Nazi concentration camps.
Answer: True
Explanation: The War Refugee Board secured necessary blockade clearances for food shipments, enabling private relief agencies to send sustenance via the International Red Cross to individuals held in Nazi concentration camps.
The War Refugee Board initiated its own food parcel program financed by the State Department.
Answer: False
Explanation: The War Refugee Board initiated its own food parcel program, but it was financed using emergency funds allocated to the President, not the State Department.
The War Refugee Board arranged for refugee camps only in North Africa.
Answer: False
Explanation: The War Refugee Board arranged for refugee camps in North Africa and also secured safe havens in countries such as Palestine, Switzerland, and Sweden.
The War Refugee Board enlisted the cooperation of organizations such as the League of Nations and the World Health Organization.
Answer: False
Explanation: The War Refugee Board cooperated with organizations such as the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, UNRRA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, not the League of Nations or the World Health Organization.
The War Refugee Board appointed representatives in countries such as Germany, Japan, and Italy.
Answer: False
Explanation: The War Refugee Board appointed representatives in neutral countries and Allied territories like Turkey, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, Great Britain, Italy, and North Africa, but not in Axis powers such as Germany and Japan.
Which of the following countries served as a crucial base of operations for the WRB's rescue and relief programs?
Answer: Switzerland
Which international organizations cooperated with the WRB?
Answer: The International Committee of the Red Cross and UNRRA
What was the approximate amount of private funds made available through the WRB's licensing policy for rescue operations?
Answer: $15 million
What role did the WRB play concerning food shipments to concentration camps?
Answer: It obtained blockade clearances for food shipments by private agencies for Red Cross distribution.
What was the purpose of the WRB's licensing policy for private agencies transferring funds?
Answer: To enable private agencies to transfer funds for rescue operations and aid under controlled conditions.
The Bergson Group and the Emergency Committee to Save the Jews of Europe primarily focused on diplomatic negotiations with Axis powers.
Answer: False
Explanation: The Bergson Group and the Emergency Committee to Save the Jews of Europe focused on public awareness campaigns and pressuring the U.S. government to act, rather than engaging in direct diplomatic negotiations with the Axis powers.
The primary motivation behind the Bergson Group's campaign was to advocate for the opening of the gates of Palestine.
Answer: False
Explanation: The primary motivation of the Bergson Group's campaign was to pressure the Roosevelt administration to take action and help abandoned Jews in Europe, not specifically to advocate for the opening of the gates of Palestine.
The WRB successfully lobbied President Roosevelt to issue a public condemnation of Nazi atrocities on March 24, 1944.
Answer: True
Explanation: The War Refugee Board actively lobbied President Roosevelt to publicly condemn the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis. Roosevelt responded by issuing a public condemnation on March 24, 1944.
George Mantello, as El Salvador's representative in Switzerland, delayed publicizing the Auschwitz Protocol.
Answer: False
Explanation: George Mantello, representing El Salvador in Switzerland, promptly publicized the summary of the Auschwitz Protocol, which brought significant attention to Nazi atrocities, rather than delaying its release.
Mantello's publicity regarding the Auschwitz Protocol led to widespread grassroots protests and media coverage in Switzerland.
Answer: True
Explanation: Mantello's publicity concerning the Auschwitz Protocol generated significant public outcry in Switzerland, leading to widespread grassroots protests and extensive media coverage detailing the atrocities against European Jews.
Who was instrumental in leading the campaign that pressured the Roosevelt administration to take action regarding Jews in Europe?
Answer: The Bergson Group, led by Hillel Kook (Peter Bergson)
What significant public action did the WRB lobby President Roosevelt to take?
Answer: To publicly condemn the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis.
What was George Mantello's significant contribution to publicizing Nazi atrocities?
Answer: He publicized the summary of the Auschwitz Protocol received in Switzerland.
What was the primary motivation behind the campaign led by the Bergson Group?
Answer: To pressure the Roosevelt administration to help abandoned Jews in Europe.
What was the policy advocated by Stephen Wise and the World Jewish Congress regarding the rescue of European Jews?
Answer: Opening the gates of Palestine.
What was the significance of the WRB's lobbying for Roosevelt to publicly condemn Nazi atrocities?
Answer: It was a high-level official denouncement that brought international attention.
What was the 'Auschwitz Protocol'?
Answer: A document detailing the systematic extermination of Jews at Auschwitz.
In August 1944, the WRB brought 982 Jewish refugees to the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York.
Answer: True
Explanation: In August 1944, the War Refugee Board facilitated the arrival of 982 Jewish refugees at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York.
The refugees admitted to Fort Ontario were granted permanent residency status immediately after the war.
Answer: False
Explanation: The refugees admitted to Fort Ontario were brought in outside the standard immigration quota laws and were intended to be repatriated to their home countries, not granted immediate permanent residency.
The War Refugee Board used the Fort Ontario admission as an example to encourage other countries to accept refugees.
Answer: True
Explanation: The War Refugee Board utilized the admission of refugees to Fort Ontario as a precedent to encourage other nations to open their borders and accept additional refugees, thereby fostering a broader international response.
The War Refugee Board's pressure may have contributed to Hungary's Regent Miklos Horthy ceasing most deportations of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz.
Answer: True
Explanation: The War Refugee Board's efforts to draw international attention and exert pressure may have influenced Hungary's Regent Miklos Horthy to cease most deportations of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz.
Where did the WRB arrange for refugee camps and safe havens?
Answer: North Africa, Palestine, Switzerland, and Sweden
What was unique about the admission of refugees to the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter?
Answer: They were admitted outside the standard immigration quota laws.
The cessation of most deportations of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz on July 6, 1944, may have been influenced by:
Answer: The WRB's pressure on Hungary's Regent Miklos Horthy.
What was the context of the Romanian government's initiative to 'sell' Jews?
Answer: It was an independent initiative unrelated to WRB fund authorization for evacuations.
Josiah E. DuBois Jr.'s report accused the State Department of actively facilitating the rescue of Jews from Nazi persecution.
Answer: False
Explanation: Josiah E. DuBois Jr.'s report accused the State Department of procrastination and obstruction in rescuing Jews, not of facilitating their rescue.
Josiah E. DuBois Jr. discovered that the State Department had suppressed information about Nazi atrocities.
Answer: True
Explanation: Josiah E. DuBois Jr.'s investigation revealed that the State Department had suppressed information concerning Nazi atrocities, particularly the murder of Jews, from reaching U.S. authorities.
It is easy to determine the exact number of people rescued by the WRB due to detailed records of all operations.
Answer: False
Explanation: Determining the exact number of individuals rescued by the WRB is difficult because a significant portion of its operations were conducted covertly behind enemy lines, involving intangible activities that are hard to quantify.
Historian David Wyman estimates that the War Refugee Board saved approximately 200,000 people.
Answer: True
Explanation: According to historian David Wyman, the War Refugee Board is credited with saving as many as 200,000 people, representing a significant impact on the lives of individuals targeted by Nazi persecution.
WRB director John Pehle later reflected that the board's work was highly successful and sufficient given the circumstances.
Answer: False
Explanation: Near the end of his life, WRB director John Pehle described the board's work as "too little, too late" when contrasted with the immense scale of the Holocaust, highlighting the overwhelming nature of the genocide despite the board's efforts.
What specific issue involving the State Department prompted Treasury Department lawyers to investigate further?
Answer: The State Department's delays in granting licenses for relief funds intended for Jews escaping Romania and France.
What was the central accusation made in Josiah E. DuBois Jr.'s "Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews"?
Answer: The State Department was guilty of procrastination and obstruction in rescuing Jews.
Why is it difficult to determine the exact number of people saved by the WRB?
Answer: Most rescue activities were conducted covertly behind enemy lines.
What estimate does historian David Wyman provide for the number of people saved by the WRB?
Answer: As many as 200,000
How did WRB director John Pehle reflect on the board's work later in life?
Answer: He felt it was 'too little, too late' compared to the scale of the Holocaust.
According to Treasury staff investigations, how did State Department officials allegedly suppress information about the Holocaust?
Answer: By sending orders to foreign missions not to forward information about Nazi atrocities.
What was the significance of the Treasury Department's "Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews"?
Answer: It provided evidence against the State Department's inaction and obstruction.
The War Refugee Board was officially abolished on September 15, 1945.
Answer: True
Explanation: Following the conclusion of its wartime mission, the War Refugee Board was officially abolished on September 15, 1945.
Executive Order 9614 led to the abolition of the War Refugee Board.
Answer: True
Explanation: Executive Order No. 9614 formally dissolved the War Refugee Board, marking the end of its operational mandate after the conclusion of World War II.
By what means was the War Refugee Board officially abolished?
Answer: Executive Order No. 9614