ABSTRACT
In early 1946, nearly one thousand victims of Hitler who had been interned in the United States for eighteen months received both their freedom and status as regular immigrants to this country. The story behind their trans-Atlantic crossing in the summer of 1944 and their internment at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York raises questions about the developing indictment of American Jewry during the Holocaust years. We do not know enough yet to assess fairly what was possible. The “free port” program described here is a first example of a significant rescue plan sincerely promoted within the Roosevelt Administration. It reveals how a group of Jewish rescue advocates did come up with an idea and how difficult it was, even with substantial influence in both Congress and the White House, to put it into effect. It shows Roosevelt’s hesitation and formidable opposition in the Cabinet. The charge that not enough was done can now be viewed in a new light.
