Breckinridge Long Signed Letter on U.S. Department of State Letterhead, with Embossed Crest

Authors

Object ID

2016.1.18

Object Name

Letter

Date

1-12-1940

Files

Content Warning

The Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection consists of images, documents, and artifacts related to the Holocaust. The collection contains materials that depict a number of topics that may be difficult for viewers to engage with, including: antisemitic descriptions, caricatures, and representation of Jewish people; Nazi imagery and ideology; descriptions and images of German ghettos; graphic images of the violence of the Holocaust; and the creation of the State of Israel. For more information, see our policy page.

Description

Typewritten letter to Mr. Basil O'Connor, singed by Breckinridge Long.

Information Provided by Michael D. Bulmash:

Long sends his thanks to Basil (Doc) O'Connor, FDR's law partner and close personal advisor, for a congratulatory note regarding Long's recent appointment as Assistant Secretary of State. Long's responsibilities in his new role included overseeing immigration policy, including the admission to the United States of refugees from Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe. However, Long obstructed rescue efforts, restricted immigration of European refugees - especially Jews - seeking to avoid persecution and murder in Europe, and falsified figures of refugees actually admitted to the United States. He forbade consuls to accept information from unofficial sources on what was in fact happening to the Jews in Europe under Hitler. Josiah DuBois, Jr.'s heroic exposure of Long's obstructionist efforts to deny American visas to Jews led ultimately to his demotion in 1944. It is estimated that under Long's tenure, 90 percent of the quota places available to these immigrants were never filled, placing 190,000 people in jeopardy who might have been saved from the Nazi atrocities. Long retired to his Laurel, Maryland, Georgian Manor house where he bred horses, rode to hounds and was an active participant in Southern Maryland society.

Dimensions

10 3/8 x 8"

Keywords

Breckinridge Long, Basil O'Connor, Jewish Immigration

Subcollection

Early, DuBois, St.Louis

Recommended Citation

"Breckinridge Long Signed Letter on U.S. Department of State Letterhead, with Embossed Crest" (1940). Bulmash Family Holocaust Collection. 2016.1.18.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/bulmash/1278