The Jewish Trail of Tears The Evian Conference of ... - Haruth.com

Germany. The Fuehrer warned that if Jews continued their Marxist activities then he
“shall make a complete end of all the Jews in Germany.” 107 Consequently, the consistent
conflation of Jews and Communism in Hitler’s worldview led Dodd to warn the State
Department to “keep this fear of Communism in mind” in the context of any official
American criticism of German anti-Semitic policies. 108
Despite such admonitions Dodd became increasingly critical of German policies
and actions. Following the Night of the Long Knives of June 30-July 1, 1934, during
which a number of the leaders of the Brown Shirts or SA and conservative nationalists
were arrested and murdered, the Ambassador stated that he had become repulsed by the
spectacle of the “country of Goethe and Beethoven revert[ing] to the barbarism of Stuart
England and Bourbon France.” 109 Dodd criticized British and French policies of
appeasement in 1937 and openly opposed any official American presence at the annual
Nuremberg rally of the Nazi faithful; a declaration that engendered increasing German
Governmental hostility towards the Ambassador. 110
The 1935 Nuremberg Racial Laws, as mentioned, were applied to both German and
American Jews residing within the Reich. When Dodd suggested to the State Department
that the application of such restrictions to American citizens represented a violation of the
bilateral Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Rights he was advised that the
United States Government did not consider it feasible to issue a formal opinion on the
107 Dodd, Dodd’s Diary, March 7, 1934, 89.
108 Dodd to Cordell Hull, March 12, 1934, Department of State 862.00/3419 cited in Shamir, “American
Diplomats,” 85.
109 Dodd to Hull, July 14, 1934, Department of State 862.00/3307. Ibid., 87.
110 Ibid., 88.
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