This is the first documentary to shine light on James McDonald’s remarkable efforts to warn the world of Adolf Hitler’s plan for the Jews. The incredible story of McDonald’s foresight was almost lost to history until his meticulously kept diaries were discovered in 2003.
The son of Catholic immigrants, James Grover McDonald was one of the first Americans to meet face-to-face with Hitler in 1933. Shocked by Hitler’s threats, McDonald, as League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, worked tirelessly to find safe havens for refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. McDonald repeatedly warned world leaders including President Franklin D Roosevelt and future Pope Pius XII of the looming tragedy he foresaw.
President Harry Truman appointed McDonald the first US Ambassador to Israel. McDonald’s role was pivotal in aiding the new state and shaping American-Israeli friendship. McDonald spoke up when others were silent. McDonald’s bravery is a model for human decency and courage that is as relevant today as it was 80 years ago.
In 1951-52, McDonald wrote in his “Coda”: “To me, the threat of Jewish extermination in Germany was a threat also to all Christians, indeed to all freedom of religion and all democratic ideals and principles. The threat to Jews was not only a hideous wrong but also created a world problem of overwhelming significance. Hence it was that only for the sake of the Jews but for the larger cause of freedom, justice, and equal treatment of all human beings, everywhere, whatever their race, religion, or nationality, I – a blonde “Aryan” offspring of Scotch-Canadian and Midwest American stock, a teacher and student by profession and inclination – became a champion for Jewish aspirations and equal human rights … It was an irresistible call.”
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