Liberating the Masses
Initially, the United States played no role in helping the Jews in Europe. However, in 1944, President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the War Refugee Board (WRB) to help those dealing with German persecution. Many Jews in Europe received assistance so they could emigrate to other countries. Finally, in 1945, as Germany fell, guards fled the death camps, and liberating Allied troops discovered the horror that became known as the Holocaust.
At the Nuremberg Trials in November 1945, the Allied Powers charged and tried the twenty-four leading Nazis for the atrocities they had committed. Although a small consolation and comfort to the victims, all twenty-four were executed and a precedent had been set regarding war crimes.