How Did Harry Truman Support The Idea Of A Jewish Homeland In Palestine

Palestine was a dream many of the Jewish displaced persons hearts led them to. Before the war and the true state of the Jewish was understood the British enacted The White Paper policy. The policy restricted Jewish emigration to 75,000 people over five years into Palestine. This meant that the Jews who wanted to escape at the wars beginning lost one of their best options for emigration. They became stuck in Europe and suffered under the hands of the Nazi’s. After the war had ended the Zionist movement spread across the camps as options became bleak and countries showed they were unwilling to open their borders to refugees. Unfortunately for the survivors Palestine was going to prove to be the hardest country to gain access to. Britain remained in control of country and wanted to continue on positive terms with the
The former president, Franklin Roosevelt, had done his best to straddle the fences on the issue until a firm decision must be made. This meant that the British, Jewish, and Palestinians all had separate assurance and it was now up to Truman to decide what would and could be done. American anti-Semitism ran high at this time and this showed through in there running of the DP camps. With few exceptions the camps were run in a similar fashion as the concentration camps they liberated. There were armed guards, living space was minimal, food was rationed, clothing was unavailable, hygiene products were rare, and sympathy for the residents was basically nonexistent. President Truman hearing the rumors launched an investigation sending Earl G. Harrison and a group of others to find out the truth about the living situations. Less than 30 camps were visited in three weeks but that proved to be enough time to understand the desperate need for