Historians have explored how American Catholics and American Jews responded separately to the challenges the rise of fascism and Nazism posed. One group of historians has studied the accommodationist stance of the Catholic Church, which was based in fascist Italy and had many adherents in Nazi Germany – a position the American church accepted and perpetuated. Another group of historians has examined Americans Jews’ response to the persecution of their co-religionists first in Germany, then throughout Europe, and finally culminating in the murder of six million Jews. Little research has been devoted, however, to the interactions among American Catholics and American Jews as the twelve years of the Nazi regime strained their already tense relations in the United States. This session will fill that gap by probing the tensions that arose in three different contexts. Dr. Rafael Medoff will examine the American Catholic response to Kristallnacht, the nationwide pogrom against Germany’s Jews in November 1938 that was a turning point in the history of the Holocaust. Previous scholarship has tracked the American Jewish community’s and the American government’s response, but Dr. Medoff will break new ground in presenting American Catholic leaders’ reaction. He will explore the array of theological, political, and sociological factors that shaped Catholic responses. Professor Laurel Leff will chronicle the high-wire act that American Catholic newspapers performed as they tried to express the outrage Americans felt in the wake of Pearl Harbor and throughout World War II, yet at the same time continued to follow the Vatican’s stance of neutrality toward fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Professor Leff will describe how Catholic newspapers followed the Vatican line, without stirring up the accusations of dual loyalty that bedeviled American Jews during this same period. Finally, Professor Stephen Norwood will provide the backdrop to these international issues that played out on the American home front. Professor Norwood will describe violent attacks on Jews by predominantly Catholic street gangs in several cities before, during, and after the “mini-pogroms” in the 1930s and during World War II. He examines the antisemitic teachings propagated in parochial schools and Catholic publications, the role of the Church hierarchy, and divisions over self-defense tactics within Jewish communities. Eunice G. Pollack, professor of history and Jewish Studies, ret., University of North Texas, will serve as chair and commentator. Panelists will show images of original documents relating to their topics, and will encourage the audience to join us in analyzing and commenting upon them. Session participants will come away with a better understanding of the ways in which interactions between Catholics and Jews in the United States influenced the overall American response to the Holocaust.