The Early Jewish Response to Hitler, WWII, religion and war

The Early Jewish Response to Hitler â€“ To Transfer or To Boycott

After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, he immediately placed harsh restrictions on the freedom of Jews to live and operate businesses in Germany. Those who opposed him â€œdisappearedâ€?. He wanted to motivate Germanyâ€™s 500,000 Jews to leave, only because he did not yet have enough power to implement his Final Solution and risked an international, political censure that would compromise his control and further damage Germanyâ€™s already ailing economy. Hitler knew (though it took some convincing by his advisors) that without economic triage, heâ€™d never have a chance to fully implement his plan to deal with the â€˜Jewish problemâ€™.

In an attempt to rescue Germanyâ€™s Jews and simultaneously improve their failing prospects for developing a strong Jewish homeland in Palestine, Zionists approached Germanyâ€™s Economic Ministry in 1933 and negotiated an agreement to transfer Jews to Palestine if they first purchased German goods, which would subsequently be redeemed for cash in Palestine. This gave the Third Reich the opportunity to get rid of the Jews and to infuse capital into its ailing economy. The Zionists gained capital for infrastructure, wealthier immigrants and salvation for those Jews willing to leave Germany for Palestine.

But the greatest impact of the Transfer Agreement may have been the Zionistsâ€™ nullification and cessation of the unofficial international boycott of German goods. Trade between Palestine and Germany continued and Palestinian oranges grown by Jews were exported to Germany while German Jews were persecuted.

Prior to the Transfer Agreementâ€™s signing, the boycott, without official sanction from world Jewish organizations, had gained momentum, severely reducing German exports and driving the Third Reich toward insolvency. Their choice to negotiate with a people they considered to be sub-human was evidence of the Third Reichâ€™s financial desperation. But, by 1939 fewer than 75,000 Jews had emigrated from Germany under the Transfer Agreementâ€™s terms.

In 1933, the world was in denial regarding the ultimate scale and depravity of Hitlerâ€™s plans, except perhaps for those Jews who knew of, or daily suffered, his wrath. The schism between Jews motivated by orthodox spiritual beliefs and those motivated by the political desire for a Jewish nation was evident in their disagreement over the Transfer Agreement versus a sanctioned boycott, which were mutually exclusive options. However, it was a dispute over the best method for achieving Jewish security, not over the legitimacy of the objective.

Hindsight is 20/20. The Third Reich wanted the Transfer Agreement because it meant the abandonment of the unofficial boycott. Perhaps weâ€™ll never know how close Germany really was to economic collapse and whether or not an official economic boycott by the worldâ€™s Jews, with sanctions from sympathetic Allied countries would have â€œcracked Germanyâ€™s backâ€? during the winter of 1933, nipping Hitlerâ€™s rise to power in the bud.

Thomas C. Peters is co-author of KAREL: The Lone Wolf Howls, an historical fiction book set in WWII Europe. His research and bibliography references on the above subject can be found at www.karelsbestbook.com.

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Home Site Map Advertise For Sale Subscribe to our Monthly Email Newsletter	Urim - Ancient City of Palestine The Early Jewish Response to Hitler, WWII, religion and war The Early Jewish Response to Hitler â€“ To Transfer or To Boycott After Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, he immediately placed harsh restrictions on the freedom of Jews to live and operate businesses in Germany. Those who opposed him â€œdisappearedâ€?. He wanted to motivate Germanyâ€™s 500,000 Jews to leave, only because he did not yet have enough power to implement his Final Solution and risked an international, political censure that would compromise his control and further damage Germanyâ€™s already ailing economy. Hitler knew (though it took some convincing by his advisors) that without economic triage, heâ€™d never have a chance to fully implement his plan to deal with the â€˜Jewish problemâ€™. In an attempt to rescue Germanyâ€™s Jews and simultaneously improve their failing prospects for developing a strong Jewish homeland in Palestine, Zionists approached Germanyâ€™s Economic Ministry in 1933 and negotiated an agreement to transfer Jews to Palestine if they first purchased German goods, which would subsequently be redeemed for cash in Palestine. This gave the Third Reich the opportunity to get rid of the Jews and to infuse capital into its ailing economy. The Zionists gained capital for infrastructure, wealthier immigrants and salvation for those Jews willing to leave Germany for Palestine. But the greatest impact of the Transfer Agreement may have been the Zionistsâ€™ nullification and cessation of the unofficial international boycott of German goods. Trade between Palestine and Germany continued and Palestinian oranges grown by Jews were exported to Germany while German Jews were persecuted. Prior to the Transfer Agreementâ€™s signing, the boycott, without official sanction from world Jewish organizations, had gained momentum, severely reducing German exports and driving the Third Reich toward insolvency. Their choice to negotiate with a people they considered to be sub-human was evidence of the Third Reichâ€™s financial desperation. But, by 1939 fewer than 75,000 Jews had emigrated from Germany under the Transfer Agreementâ€™s terms. In 1933, the world was in denial regarding the ultimate scale and depravity of Hitlerâ€™s plans, except perhaps for those Jews who knew of, or daily suffered, his wrath. The schism between Jews motivated by orthodox spiritual beliefs and those motivated by the political desire for a Jewish nation was evident in their disagreement over the Transfer Agreement versus a sanctioned boycott, which were mutually exclusive options. However, it was a dispute over the best method for achieving Jewish security, not over the legitimacy of the objective. Hindsight is 20/20. The Third Reich wanted the Transfer Agreement because it meant the abandonment of the unofficial boycott. Perhaps weâ€™ll never know how close Germany really was to economic collapse and whether or not an official economic boycott by the worldâ€™s Jews, with sanctions from sympathetic Allied countries would have â€œcracked Germanyâ€™s backâ€? during the winter of 1933, nipping Hitlerâ€™s rise to power in the bud. Thomas C. Peters is co-author of KAREL: The Lone Wolf Howls, an historical fiction book set in WWII Europe. His research and bibliography references on the above subject can be found at www.karelsbestbook.com. 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