Advocate for the Doomed: The Diaries and Papers of James G. McDonald, 1932-1935 - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253348625 ISBN 13: 9780253348623

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2007

Synopsis

The private diary of James G. McDonald (1886–1964) offers a unique and hitherto unknown source on the early history of the Nazi regime and the Roosevelt administration’s reactions to Nazi persecution of German Jews. Considered for the post of U.S. ambassador to Germany at the start of FDR’s presidency, McDonald traveled to Germany in 1932 and met with Hitler soon after the Nazis came to power. Fearing Nazi intentions to remove or destroy Jews in Germany, in 1933 he became League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and sought aid from the international community to resettle outside the Reich Jews and others persecuted there. In late 1935 he resigned in protest at the lack of support for his work.

This is the eagerly awaited first of a projected three-volume work that will significantly revise the ways that scholars and the world view the antecedents of the Holocaust, the Shoah itself, and its aftermath.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Sara J. Bloomfield, Director,United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
"Very few individuals interact with such a stunning array of historical figures--Hitler, Mussolini, FDR, Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pius XII), and Chaim Weizmann. McDonald was `present at the creation' of so many of the formative events that shape our world. Yet McDonald's diaries are much more than historic; they are filled with candor and eloquence as well as insight and emotion."

Daniel C. Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt
"Publication of James McDonald's diaries is a much-anticipated event. The diaries enhance our understanding of the life and work of one of the last century's most dedicated and interesting public servants. They show what one man--altruistic, high-minded, and intent on doing what is right--can achieve."

Gerhard L. Weinberg, William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of History Emeritus, University of North Carolina
"McDonald's diaries shed important new light on efforts to assist Jews fleeing Germany in the years 1933-1935 from the perspective of an individual deeply involved in those efforts--and one who did not revise whatever he wrote at the time. . . . The volume, with its extensive new information, will appeal to a substantial audience, not only in the academic world but among a wider readership likely to extend well beyond U.S. borders."

Deborah E. Lipstadt, author of History on Trial
"...James G. McDonald had unparalleled access to decision makers and critics, persecutors and victims, and both German and American political leaders. His diary is not only filled with important information but it gives a unique and utterly fascinating insight into diplomatic life in Germany. McDonald, unlike so many of his contemporaries, tried to make a difference in what would become a unique story of doom and destruction. Advocate for the Doomedis the gripping story of his tireless efforts."

About the Author:

Richard Breitman is Professor of History at American University. His books include The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution and (with Alan Kraut) American Refugee Policy and European Jewry, 1933–1945(IUP, 1988). He is editor of the journal Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Barbara McDonald Stewart has taught at George Mason University and is author of United States Government Policy on Refugees from Nazism, 1933–1940. She lives in Vienna, Virginia.

Severin Hochberg is a historian at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He lives in Washington, D.C.

About this edition

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0253348625
• ISBN 13: 9780253348623
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 864
• Editor: Richard Breitman, Barbara McDonald Stewart, Severin Hochberg