154 Hoover, Herbert Though many lives could have been saved, the Holocaust was by then winding down Its peak years were 1942–44, though many died later as well as earlier By late 1944 many countries seemed largely Judenrein (cleansed of Jews); in late November killing at Auschwitz was ordered stopped, and the gas chambers and crematoria were destroyed to hide evidence of mass murder The easternmost camps were emptied out, followed by others as the Soviet army approached, and those still alive were sent on difficult, wintry forced marches westward The Red Army liberated Auschwitz in late January 1945 before its destruction was complete In the west, Anglo-American troops similarly liberated concentration camps in the spring of 1945 Once healthy, most survivors headed to Palestine, North America, or western Europe The Holocaust provided the primary impetus for and the parameters of the United Nations’ Genocide Convention passed in 1946 It also contributed an emotional and political pressure toward the creation of Israel in 1948 In Germany and Austria, Poland, and the Baltic states, 90 percent of the Jews had died; the percentages were somewhat lower elsewhere In all, the Holocaust destroyed two-thirds of Europe’s Jews, who amounted to one-third of the world’s Jews, and wiped out a distinctive eastern European culture dating from ancient times See also Arab-Israeli War (1948); World War II Further reading: Berenbaum, Michael The World Must Know New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1993; Marrus, Michael The Holocaust in History Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1987; Yahil, Leni The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945 Ina Friedman and Haya Galai, trans New York: Oxford University Press, 1990 Sally Marks Hoover, Herbert (1874–1964) U.S president The American president in the crucial years between 1929 and 1933, Republican Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa, to Jesse and Hulda Hoover He received his secondary education in Newberg, Oregon, and graduated with a degree in geology from Stanford University in 1895 In 1899 he became the chief engineer for the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company For more than a decade he worked on engineering projects in Europe and Asia, eventually becoming a consultant for mining companies throughout the world When World War I broke out, Hoover was in a unique position His career had made him wealthy, and his position as head of the American Repatriation Committee in London had him assisting U.S citizens in their return home to avoid the war Hoover became dedicated to charity and helped the Commission for Relief in Belgium, which sent food to about 10 million people in war zones Back in the U.S., he became food administrator under President Woodrow Wilson (1913–21) after the U.S entry into the war in April 1917 The Food Administration, set up under the Lever Act in August 1917, supervised the distribution of U.S agricultural products both inside the United States and to the Allies He encouraged voluntary conservation with slogans like “meatless Mondays” and “wheatless Wednesdays” and encouraged the production of basic foodstuffs like wheat, the acreage of which nearly doubled between 1917 and 1919 Under the direction of Hoover, the United States tripled its exports of meat, bread, and sugar in 1918 The end of the war brought famine to Europe, and Hoover provided relief, surplus food, and clothing to about 200 million people These relief efforts gave Hoover increased personal political power; his humanitarianism made him greatly admired Hoover was secretary of commerce under both Warren G Harding (1921–23) and Calvin Coolidge (1923–29) and also served as a member of the Advisory Committee and World War Foreign Debt Commission His dedication to charity and relief works put him in a position to aid the victims of the great Mississippi flood of 1927 Because of his popularity and reputation, he was the most suitable choice for the Republicans as the presidential candidate in the election of 1928 and was nominated by the party on the first ballot Hoover won the election easiliy with the promise of increased efficiency and prosperity At his inauguration on March 4, 1929, he spoke about building a new economic, social, and political system based on equality of opportunity for the American people Once in office, Hoover attempted to live up to his campaign pledge starting with the Agricultural Marketing Act in mid-1929, which set up the Federal Farm Board The function of the board was to stabilize the prices of agricultural products, but following the stock market crash, it became a fund for emergency agricultural relief Other legislative acts of Hoover included the establishment of a $50.00 monthly pension for Americans over 65, the building of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and the cancellation of private oil leases