The Shelter and the Fence

May 15, 2021
Primary sources enliven this history of the New York state refugee camp that housed nearly 1,000 people displaced by the Nazis. In 1944, a U.S. Navy ship brings 982 displaced people from Italy to New York's Fort Ontario in Oswego. The vast majority--874--are Jews, the rest are Christians, and all are refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe. They're the beneficiaries of a far too limited American program to help some victims of horrific persecution. Augmented by photographs and drawing on first-person accounts and government records, this is a history of European refugees, many of whom are death-camp survivors, who exist in a middle ground between immigrant and prisoner. They've signed agreements acknowledging that they're "guests" who aren't allowed to work and who'll be returned to Europe at the war's end. But it's still upsetting that they're confined in the camp. In creating the camp, the War Relocation Authority drew on its expertise in running the Japanese concentration camps (called "internment camps" in the text) in the U.S.; after pointing this out, the history doesn't ask any of the uncomfortable questions thus raised. The judgment of the government's treatment of the White (by American standards, if not by German) refugees is mostly positive. A brief introduction to nativism and "America First" policies yields to praise of the friendships between New Yorkers and the refugees. Quoted primary sources aren't always well-contextualized in the text. Interesting anecdotes mitigate the missed opportunities in this history. (epilogue, timeline, bibliography) (Nonfiction. 9-11)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from July 1, 2021

Gr 7 Up-Early in World War II, polls indicated that a very low percentage of Americans were in favor of admitting large numbers of immigrants to the United States. Due to the urging from some State Department officials, and some prominent U.S. Jewish leaders, President Roosevelt was finally persuaded to "do something" to alleviate the suffering and persecution of the Jews in Europe. His solution was to issue an executive order permitting 1,000 refugees to enter the country on a temporary basis. Entry was to be made by application, screening, the completion of required documents, and the signing of a pledge that the refugee would return home after the war was over. A recently closed and remodeled Army base near Oswego, NY, was home for the refugees for the next two years. Adults could have a six-hour pass to leave the fort, and students could attend public school. This limitation caused some resentment when residents learned that German POWs held in the central U.S. were permitted to leave confinement for the whole day to work in farm fields. The end of the war created a new dilemma. By this time, FDR was dead; and what does one do about a document that most regret signing, especially when one has no home to return to? In December of 1945, Harry Truman finally decided that the refugees could stay. The text is liberally illustrated with vintage photos, though there are occasional areas that could have used more explanation, such as why German POWs were on troop transports heading to the United States. VERDICT This chapter in World War II history is a well-kept secret. Make this title a first choice.-Eldon Younce, Anthony P.L., KS

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 This accessible book examines a "small but important link in the larger history of the Holocaust." The lesser-known yet significant event happened in the U.S. when 982 refugees of predominantly Jewish descent arrived at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, in 1944. It was the nation's only attempt to shelter Jewish refugees during WWII. Finkelstein first provides background information on the Holocaust and America's views on immigration before turning to the creation of the War Refugee Board, the selection process for refugees, and President Roosevelt's clear stance that the refugees would be guests only. At the book's core, however, is a look at life inside the shelter, with the author emphasizing its paradox: "freedom" within a fenced area that, at first glance, resembled a concentration camp. The book concludes by describing a loophole allowing refugees to stay in the country after all, and a recognition of the shelter's impact. Myriad period photos of the refugees and their environs make the experience more vivid in this enlightening addition to Holocaust history.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.