15. Kennedy grew controversial in the American press
As Kennedy continued to support appeasement and presented the achievements of the Nazis in the recovering German economy, he ignored the Jewish situation unfolding in Germany. Roosevelt was hampered in his efforts to address the increasing harshness of antisemitic laws by his ineffective representation in Germany and in Great Britain. Both ambassadors believed the Germans were justified in removing Jewish people from civil service and other positions, and Joe Kennedy Sr. shared his views with his son, Joe Jr. The latter wrote after touring Germany, “The dislike of the Jews, however, was well-founded. They were at the heads of all big-business…”
The father responded in kind, informing his son that the majority of the critical attacks of his position (75%) were from “Jewish publishers and writers”, who, “in their zeal did not hesitate to resort to slander and falsehood to achieve their aims”. Kennedy was aware by the time of Munich (September, 1938) that Roosevelt was losing patience with him, and told a British reporter that he believed that Roosevelt would be out of office following the election of 1940. He added, “The Democratic policy of the United States is a Jewish production”, in reference to his political party, rather than the form of government.