Joseph P. Kennedy was the American ambassador to Great Britain in the years leading up to the United States' entry into World War II. Before that he was an investor and businessman who made a fortune in the stock market. Kennedy came from a family of Irish immigrants who had escaped the potato famine. He is best known for his political career, as well as the achievements of his children, such as President John F. Kennedy. Ambassador Kennedy's own political career, on the other hand, was tainted by anti-semitism and Nazi sympathies. The fact that a high profile politician held these views adds to the despair of World War II.
Being Irish Catholic was an influential part of Kennedy's identity. He was able to relate to the Jewish population to an extent, since the Irish Catholics had a history of dealing with discrimination and opposition. Kennedy decided to focus on what he thought was a big difference, however. He believed that the Jews were at fault for creating a world war in response to their plight, while the Irish people just went and made a new life for themselves in America. He bought into anti-semitism and using the Jews as a scapegoat. Kennedy understood the struggles that European Jews were facing and tried to establish homes for them elsewhere, but for the wrong reasons. He thought helping the Jews relocate would appease Hitler and stop the conflict.
Like many other Americans, Kennedy was determined to keep the United States out of another European war. He would eventually lose a son to the war he so desperately tried to avoid. His strictly isolationist worldview caused him to be constantly at odds with Roosevelt. Eventually his views transformed into something more dangerous. Kennedy accused a number of Roosevelt's Jewish advisors for controlling the president, who he claimed was poorly informed of Hitler's philosophy and ambitions. Kennedy thought the best option was to appease Hitler, and called the tyrant "just another businessman with whom a deal could be struck." At one point he was enraged with the Royal Air Force for defeating the German air force in the Battle of Britain because he thought they were just prolonging Britain's inevitable defeat. Herbert von Dirksen, a German ambassador, called Kennedy "Germany's best friend in London."
Kennedy resigned as ambassador after Roosevelt was reelected. Many journalists back in the U.S. condemned Kennedy's inclinations towards Nazi Germany and anti-semitism, but unfortunately the ideas were still prevalent in American society.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/books/review/the-patriarch-a-joseph-p-kennedy-biography-by-david-nasaw.html
https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/697
https://allthatsinteresting.com/joseph-p-kennedy-sr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy_Sr.#Anti-Semitism
I really enjoyed how you wrote Kennedy's intentions in his isolationism and how he was able to relate to the Jewish population. Kennedy is also notable for being father to President John F. Kennedy. Unlike his father however, John F. Kennedy was often involved in foreign affairs. He created organizations like the Peace Corps to help underdeveloped third world nations and advocated for disarmament after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_the_John_F._Kennedy_administration