The War Department on Bombing Railway Lines to Auschwitz, 1944
The Roosevelt administration knew early on of the plight of Jews in the Holocaust, but believed there was little it could do. In 1944 the War Department rejected the request of the director of the War Refugee Board to bomb rail lines to the concentration camp in Auschwitz in Poland because the D Day invasion in June 1944 required the massive deployment of aircraft over specific areas in France and Germany.
July 4, 1944
Dear Mr. John W. Pehle [Director War Refugee Board]
I refer to your letter of June 29, inclosing a cable from your representative in Bern, Switzerland, proposing that certain sections of railway lines between Hungary and Poland to be bombed to interrupt the transportation of Jews from Hungary.
The War Department is of the opinion that the suggested air operation is impracticable. It could be executed only by the diversion of considerable air support essential to the success of our forces now engaged in decisive operations and would in any case be of such very doubtful efficacy that it would not amount to a practical project.
The War Department fully appreciates the humanitarian motives which prompted the suggested operation but for the reasons stated above the operation suggested does not appear justified.
Sincerely,
John J. McCloy [Assistant Secretary, War Department]
Source: War Refugee Board Records; Projects and Documents File; Measures Directed Toward Halting Persecutions; Hungary No. 5, Box 42, FDR Library.
Interpret the Evidence
Why does the War Department consider it impractical to bomb rail lines to stop transports to concentration camps?
What role did humanitarian concerns play in the War Department decision?
Put It in Context
How much did knowledge of the Holocaust affect Allied military strategy?
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