Geez, cunning American justifications.
funny that thing called "truth"...
Choosing sides, what?? You'd even have contemplated a stint of Nazism??
While many lambast Americans for not knowing enough European history, perhaps the same could be said about Europeans and American history. The U.S. was taking an isolationist stance and the largely popular views were to remain neutral and out of the war. Unfortunately a few torpedo incidents by the Germans started to test this neutral mentality, then when the Japanese (in hind sight, foolishly) decided to bomb Pearl Harbor, alliances were already in place which made U.S. entry in the war inevitable. As for horrors under the Germans (camps, for instance) many simply refused to believe such a charismatic leader as Hitler would be having such evil things carried out. America was not alone in this, by the way.
What did Prescott invest SO MUCH money in? What was his purpose in investing such a vast sum, hope? Hope for what??
I cannot watch the video you referred to, but unless he was investing specifically in death camps somehow (????) it is more likely that like many even today who try to make money, he saw Germany on the rise and as a potential investment that would make him or his interests a lot of money. Remember that after WWI an entire wheelbarrow of Deutschmarks would barely buy a loaf of bread...but Germany had started to turn around, and was actually starting to become a world power again. I doubt he invested in concentration camps at all, but wouldn't be surprised if he simply invested in a growing economy. I also doubt he was alone in this. If he DID specifically invest in camps (which many did not even believe existed, remember...there was no "You tube" then) then of course that was deplorable. I simply doubt it.
The British were NOT at war at this point, the funds arrived well before that. America didn't want a hand in shaping the world order?? Wow, that's a first.
If the funds arrived well before the British were involved, then again, it is likely nobody was funding "camps". I would also point out that the US was not a superpower at this point. It had the potential to become one, but simply was not. That did not happen until after WWII, realistically. Prior to this it was primarily a regional power. Not to say there was no interest in shaping world order...but that isn't what I said, either. I simply said most wanted no part of the war in Europe and while some dreaded it like an oncoming train, the mindset was, again, if the Europeans want to kill each other, that's their business... it just turns out that isn't how things worked out. It's also why the U.S. did not join until 1941, well into the war for other countries.
If the US couldn't see what was happening, they were even blinder than dumb Europe.
I think they saw, but again, the mentality was, "not our fight". Remember, WWI was supposed to be "the war to end all wars". For crying out loud, when the US entered the war many of her implements were badly outdone by German implements, and probably she would have had even less if it were not for contracts making things for British forces...
The Thompson submachine gun, for instance...and later, Mustang fighters (which the US originally didn't want to go for) being redesignated the P-51 for US forces...had originally all been made for UK forces....by Americans. Americans? were flying
biplanes at the beginning of the war. Some superpower. Our submarines were commanded by 21 year old "old men" and most often, did not come back...our tanks might as well have been cardboard boxes with a BB gun, compared to the German tanks of the time...
So yes. The U.S. really thought it would be able to sit the thing out. Political will was to do just that.
John P.