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Copyright © 1999-2008 Middle East Peace Dialogue
Network. All rights reserved.
Revised:
April 01, 2008 .
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A
LOCAL HOLOCAUST HERO
THE MAN
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Josiah DuBois was born in Camden, and raised in Woodbury, New
Jersey. An exceptional student, he attended the University of
Pennsylvania and became a distinguished attorney. During World War
II, he served as Assistant General Counsel in the U.S. Treasury
Department working with Foreign Funds Control. That section worked
together with the U.S. State Department, which was involved in
releasing funds for refugee relief. |
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DuBois discovered
information of the mass murder of the Jewish people throughout most
of Europe (known as the “Holocaust” or “Shoah”) by the
Nazis and their collaborators, and that officials in the State
Department were obstructing opportunities for their rescue. Cables
dealing with the Nazi “Final Solution” and the decision to ignore
the messages outraged DuBois. He documented and brought the
suppression of the evidence concerning the mass murder of the Jews
to the attention of the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morganthau. |
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Aware that the State
Department knew the plight of Europe’s Jews and their chances for
rescue, but that no action was being taken, DuBois wrote a
memorandum: “On The Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder
of the Jews”. He warned he would present the memo to the press
and public unless President Franklin Roosevelt created a commission
to help rescue Jews. |
THE
MISSION
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As
a result of DuBois’ action, a rescue agency, called the War Refugee
Board (WRB), was created by President Roosevelt. DuBois was
appointed its General Counsel. The WRB accomplished the following: |
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Sent Raul Wallenberg,
the Swedish diplomat, to Hungary, where he saved 100,000 Jews. |
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Encouraged Monsignor
Angelo Roncalli (later Pope John XXIII) to rescue Jewish children
and Hungarian Jews. |
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Created a safe haven
for 1000 Jewish refugees at Fort Ontario in Oswego, NY. |
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In total, the War
Refugee Board rescued 200,000 lives from the time of its creation in
January 1944 through May, 1945. However, 4 million Jews had already
been murdered by January, 1944, with an estimated 6,000,000 killed
by the end of the war in May, 1945. |
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As an attorney during
the subsequent post-war Nurenberg Trials, DuBois was a major
prosecutor of the chemical giant, I. G. Farben, which was fund
guilty of exploiting slave labor. |
THE
MORAL
We must
not be bystanders; we must care about our fellow human beings. There is
no room for prejudice. We must involve ourselves and speak out when
people are being persecuted or ill-treated because they are different
than ourselves. We must be active participants, and have compassion for
others. Josiah DuBois embodied these principles, and more.
THE
MESSAGE
In honor and in loving
memory of this “Righteous Among the Nations” we too, must strive to be
dedicated, honest forthright, courageous and kind. We must have
personal integrity, and profound respect for human life.
Through the Josiah DuBois Holocaust Humanitarian Award –
JOSIAH DuBOIS, A LOCAL HOLOCAUST HERO, LIVES ON
A project of the Goodwin
Holocaust Museum and Education Center of the Delaware Valley
A department of the Jewish Community Relations Council of
Southern New Jersey
1301 Springdale Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
(856)751-9500, ext. 117
[ Josiah DuBois Award Eligibility ]
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