Fact check: Many jews from europe trying to escape the nazis were turned away by the usa and not allowed to enter

1. Summary of the results

The statement is historically accurate. Multiple sources confirm that many Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution were indeed turned away by the United States. This is most notably exemplified by the SS St. Louis incident in 1939, where 937 Jewish refugees were denied entry and forced to return to Europe, with approximately 254 (over 25%) of them ultimately perishing in the Holocaust ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original statement omits several crucial pieces of context:

• While many Jews were turned away, approximately 110,000 Jewish refugees did successfully enter the United States between 1933 and 1941 ^[3]
• The US had a strict quota system established in 1921 and 1924, limiting German immigration to 25,957 people annually ^[4]
• There was significant unused capacity in the immigration system - between 1933-1943, the US had 1,244,858 unused immigration quota slots ^[5]
• Public sentiment was strongly against accepting Jewish refugees, with a 1938 Gallup poll showing 72% of Americans opposed allowing more Jewish exiles from Germany ^[3]
• The restrictions continued even after WWII - Congress initially passed a displaced persons act that excluded 90% of Jewish survivors, only amending it two years later ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

While the statement is factually correct, it lacks important nuance:

• The US government, including President Roosevelt, justified these rejections using national security concerns and unsubstantiated claims about refugee spies ^{[1] [1]}
• The situation was exacerbated by the Great Depression - after the 1929 stock market crash, immigration restrictions became even more stringent, with only 35,576 immigration visas issued in 1932 ^[4]
• The scale of rejected applications was massive - in late 1938 alone, 125,000 applicants were competing for just 27,000 available visas ^[1]

This historical episode demonstrates how government policies, public opinion, and economic conditions can combine to create barriers for refugees seeking asylum, even in life-or-death situations.