Josiah Ellis DuBois Jr. (October 21, 1912 – August 1, 1983) was an American attorney at the
U.S. Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
who played a major role in exposing
State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
obstruction efforts to provide American visas to Jews trying to escape Nazi Europe. In 1944, he wrote the ''
'', which led to the creation of the
War Refugee Board
The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...
.
After the war, he was a prosecutor at the
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
prosecuting Nazi war crimes, particularly in the prosecution of holocaust chemical manufacturer
I.G. Farben
Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG (), commonly known as IG Farben (German for 'IG Dyestuffs'), was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies—BASF, Bayer, Hoechst, Agfa, ...
.
Background
DuBois was born in Camden and raised in
Woodbury, New Jersey
Woodbury is the county seat of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the South Jersey region of the state. , the eldest of at least eight children born to Josiah DuBois Sr. and Amelia Ayles DuBois. In 1934, he graduated from the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Law or Penn Carey Law) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is among the most selective and olde ...
.
Career
Dubois served as special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury, 1944–45; general counsel of the
War Refugee Board
The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...
, 1944; member of the Allied Reparations Commission, Moscow, 1945; member of the U.S. delegation to the
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris Pe ...
, 1945; and deputy chief counsel for War Crimes in charge of the I.G. Farben case, Nuremberg, Germany, 1947-48
Report on US acquiescence in Holocaust
DuBois wrote the famous ''Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews'', which Treasury Secretary
Henry Morgenthau Jr.
Henry Morgenthau Jr. (; May 11, 1891February 6, 1967) was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal. After 1937, while ...
used to convince President
Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
to establish the
War Refugee Board
The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...
in 1944.
Randolph Paul was also a principal sponsor of this report, the first contemporaneous Government paper attacking America's policies during
The Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
.
This document was an indictment of the
U.S. State Department’s diplomatic, military, and immigration policies. Among other things, the Report narrated the State Department’s inaction and in some instances active opposition to the release of funds for the rescue of Jews in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
German-occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and condemned immigration policies that closed American doors to Jewish refugees from countries then engaged in their systematic slaughter.
The catalyst for the Report was an incident involving 70,000 Jews whose evacuation from Romania could have been procured with a $170,000 bribe. The Foreign Funds Control unit of the Treasury, which was within Paul’s jurisdiction, authorized the payment of the funds, the release of which both the President and Secretary of State
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
supported. From mid-July 1943, when the proposal was made and Treasury approved, through December 1943, a combination of the State Department’s bureaucracy and the British Ministry of Economic Warfare interposed various obstacles. The Report was the product of frustration over that event.
On January 16, 1944, Morgenthau and Paul personally delivered the paper to
President Roosevelt, warning him that Congress would act if he did not. The result was Executive Order 9417 creating the
War Refugee Board
The War Refugee Board, established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944, was a U.S. executive agency to aid civilian victims of the Axis powers. The Board was, in the words of historian Rebecca Erbelding, "the only time in American hi ...
composed of the Secretaries of State, Treasury and War. Issued on January 22, 1944, the Executive Order declared that "it is the policy of this Government to take all measures within its power to rescue the victims of enemy oppression who are in imminent danger of death and otherwise to afford such victims all possible relief and assistance consistent with the successful prosecution of the war."
Nuremberg Military Trials
DuBois was put in charge of the
IG Farben
Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG (), commonly known as IG Farben (German for 'IG Dyestuffs'), was a German chemical and pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Formed in 1925 from a merger of six chemical companies—BASF, ...
trial at the
Nuremberg Military Trials (1946-1949). Later, he wrote the seminal account of that trial, ''The Devil's Chemists''.
Alleged communist leanings
On July 9, 1947, US Representative
George Anthony Dondero
George Anthony Dondero (December 16, 1883 – January 29, 1968) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.
Background
Dondero was born on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan, which has since become part of ...
included Dubois when publicly questioning the "fitness" of
United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
Robert P. Patterson
Robert Porter Patterson Sr. (February 12, 1891 – January 22, 1952) was an American judge who served as United States Under Secretary of War, Under Secretary of War under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and US Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of ...
for failing to ferret out Communist infiltrators in his department. The cause for concern arose from what Dondero called Patteron's lack of ability to "fathom the wiles of the international Communist conspiracy" and to counteract them with "competent personnel." Dondero cited ten government personnel in the War Department who had Communist backgrounds or leanings:
* Colonel
Bernard Bernstein
Bernard Bernstein (30 November 1908 – 6 February 1990) was an American economist and public official.
Background
Bernard Bernstein was born on November 30, 1908, in New York City. He had at least one brother and one sister. He receive ...
*
Russel A. Nixon
*
Abraham L. Pomerantz
* Josiah E. DuBois Jr.
*
Richard Sasuly
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
*
George Shaw Wheeler
George Shaw Wheeler (May 22, 1908 – October 18, 1998) (known also as George S. Wheeler) was an American economist and advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, best known for being the first American to defect over the Iron Curtain ...
*
Heinz Norden
*
Max Lowenthal
Max Lowenthal (1888–1971) was a Washington, DC, political figure in all three branches of the federal government in the 1930s and 1940s, during which time he was closely associated with the rising career of Harry S. Truman; he served under Osca ...
*
Allen Rosenberg (member of Lowenthal's staff)
Dondero stated, "It is with considerable regret that I am forced to the conclusion the Secretary Patterson falls short of these standards."
[
]
Works
Books
*
*
Memos
*
(Jan. 3, 1944)
See also
*
International response to the Holocaust
In the decades since the Holocaust, some national governments, international bodies and world leaders have been criticized for their failure to take appropriate action to save the millions of European Jews, Roma, and other victims of the Holocaus ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Primary Sources, "America and the Holocaust" program by the TV series "
American Experience
''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
" on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:DuBois, Josiah E. Jr.
1912 births
1983 deaths
The Holocaust and the United States
University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni
American people of World War II
Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel
People from Woodbury, New Jersey