Question

The quote below was written in the 1930s: "whenever the jewish percentage of total population becomes too high, a reaction seems to invariably occur. It is too bad because a few Jews of the right type are, I believe, an asset to any country." - Charles Lindbergh
Which statement reflects the same attitude as that of aviator Charles Lindbergh about the Nazi persecution of Jews in the 1930s and 1940s?

A) Persecution is unfortunate but understandable.
B) Persecution is wrong and must be stopped at all costs.
C) Persecution is the natural result of overpopulation.
D) Persecution only happens to certain types of people.

Answer 1

The correct answer is definitely A) Persecution is unfortunate but understandable. Then context of this quote goes beyond the 1930s. Anti-Semitism in American has existed since the country's inception but has greatly fluctuated with the history of the USA. There was overt and very bad anti-Semitism during the Civil War. it decreased after it abut was again reignited by a large immigration of European Jews from Eastern Europe. The Ku Klux Klan made it one of its core principles and identified Jews with Communism during the early decades of the 20th century. German non-Jews immigrants also collided with German Jew immigrants and as the first rose to prominence in American society they maligned Jews in the press and other media. Charles Lindbergh feared miscegenation of the white race due to the influx of non-white immigrants (he considered Jews to be non-White). his views were shared by a large part of the American population of his time, including tycoons like Henry Ford. The fact that both Europe and America had suffered very massive and horrible casualties during WWI was also a factor. Westerners had been horrified by the magnitude and the brutality of the Great War and wanted to stay out of the upcoming war in Europe. Lindbergh made part of the America First Committee that was the most powerful pressure group that advocated for keeping American out of a new European world war (American Isolationism). He considered that Jews, when they were too many and too powerful conspired to profit from wars. However, because he was American and he did fiercely believe in democracy he rejected the actions of Nazi Germany against its Jewish citizens as impractical. He therefore considered that such actions were grounded on legitimate reasons but that such actions were misguided and inefficient.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A) Persecution is unfortunate but understandable.