1i= the conden med Jews of Auschwitz£¬Canada had a special meaning£®It<br > was the nanle given to the camp barracks where the food£¬clothes£¬gold£¬<br > diamonds£¬jewellery and other goods taken from prisoners were stored£®It<br > represented life£¬luxury and salvation£»it was a Garden of Eden in Hell£»it<br > was also unreachable£®<br > In effect£¬the barracks at Auschwitz symbolized what Canada was to all<br > the lews of Europe throughout the 1930s and 1940s¡ªa paradise£¬enor-<br > mous£¬wealthy，overflowing and hill of life£»but out of bounds£¬a haven<br > totauv inaccessible£®Why Canada was closed to the lews of Europe is the<br > subject of this book£®It is a stow summed up best in the words of an<br > anonymOIlS senior Canadian official who£¬in the midst of a rambling£¬off-<br > the¡ªrecord discussion with journalists in early 1945£¬¢ö¡¯as asked how many<br > lews would be allowed into Canada after the War£®His response seems to<br > reflect the prevailing view of a substantial number of his fellow citizens£º<br > ¡°None£º¡¯he said£¬¡°is too man¡°7<br > Canada did not stand alone£®Arguments still rage over whether more<br > Jews might have been saved£¬or for how long rescue was possible£®But<br > such debates are futile£®Had the democratic world tried to rescue the inno¡ª<br > cent--and failed¡ªwe might today find solace in the nobiliW of a lost cause£¬<br > of a gallant crusade£»but there were no rescue attempts£®The nations of the<br > world were put to the test and were found wanting£»their failure was not a<br > failure of tactiCS£¬but of Will£¬of the human spirit£®<br > One fact transcends all others£®The 1ews of Europe were not SO much<br > Rapped in a whirlwind of systematic mass murder as they were aban¡ª<br > doned to it£®The Nazis planned and executed the Holocaust£¬but it was<br > made possible by art indifference to the suffering of the victims Which<br > sometimes bordered on contempt£®Not one nation showed generosity of<br > heart to those who were doomed£¬not one made the Iewish pEght a<br > national priority and not one willingly opened its doors after the War to the<br > surviving remnant of the once thriving 1ewish community£®Rescue<br > required sanctuar)4 and there was none£®<br > There carl be no sadder irony in these events than that the democracies<br > proved no more generous£¬and perhaps even more niggardly，in provid¡ª<br > ing asylum than autocratic states£®In countries where the voters could exact<br > revenge on governments which initiated unpopular programs£¬pohfical<br > leaders carefully monitored the public mood£®Nowhere was public senti¡ª<br >