What happened to the Jewish people in Germany before World War 2?

Answer 1

No, they didn't.

Germany's economic troubles after WWI were partly due to the damage of the war itself, partly due to the punitive measures in the Treaty of Versailles and partly due to Germany's own economic policies. It had nothing to do with Jews. The idea of some secret conspiracy of mysteriously powerful Jews was a lie concocted by Hitler and his henchmen out of their own hatred and lust for power.

The countries that won WW1 imposed very high punitive fines on Germany; and that, coupled with the rest of the world's weak economy, were the contributing factors in Germany's financial straits in the 1930's.

Far from being a drain on Germany, Jewish people were very active contributors to the German economy. Hitler was disturbed and angry that many Jews held good jobs and were contributing to the economy in such a way that they became very important. Jewish people had jobs in the music industry, the media, banking, and a whole range of other industries. Many were teachers, psychologists and doctors. When they were forced by the Nazis to emigrate, currency regulations and other measures prevented most of them from taking their wealth. Many rich Jewish families found themselves taken into custody so that their wealth could be confiscated.

In view of the large number of Jews in Germany before 1933, what possible motive would they have had for damaging the German economy? Most German Jews were highly integrated into German society and played their full part in WW1 as patriotic Germans, either at the front or in war work on the home front. The notion that they were subversive arose largely from events in Bavaria in 1918-19 and from the fact that some of the early Russian Bolshevik leadership (later purged off by Stalin) was Jewish.

Answer 2

No, there was no Jewish "war" against Germany. One only hears about this "war" in Nazi Propaganda.

The notion that "the Jews" [collectively or worldwide] 'waged [or declared] war on Germany' is utterly preposterous. "The Jews" had no soldiers. "The Jews" didn't have even one tank, one military airplane or even a machine-gun. At no time did the German military threatened by "the Jews".

The Jews were not in any position to wage war on any country. They weren't the kind of cohesive 'bloc' that the question suggests. Many Jews were conservative, many were liberal, some were socialists, some communists; some were Zionists, and some anti-Zionists; and many took little interest in politics. Viewed collectively, they were weak and divided, even if their influence in some areas of life in some countries was greater than one might have expected of a small minority. It was their weakness that made them an easy target for demonization, for conspiracy theories and for persecution. The Holocaust vividly demonstrates just how powerless the Jews were.

As for the German Jews, they were almost all passionately devoted to Germany - a most tragic love affair!

Did Jews Declare War On Germany?The communist movement in both Europe and the Soviet Union was often dominated by Jews or had Jewish leaders. As Europe became split between the extremists camps of communists and fascists, the Russian Revolution and the resulting civil war, as well as attempts by Jewish communists to seize power in Germany (Rosa Luxembourg) and Hungary (Bela Kun), all contributed to the notion of Jews and Communists being enemies of the people. It was this that provided the basis on which Hitler and the Nazis could launch their murderous schemes. It also explains why the war on the Eastern front was one of annihilation - a war to death between extremists of the right and the left.

There is also an economic dimension to this confrontation. The following headlines appeared in London's Daily Express in March 1933:

"Judea Declares War on Germany!" - Daily Express, March 24, 1933.

"Judea Declares War on Germany! Jews of all the World Unite! Boycott of German Goods! Mass Demonstrations!" - These were all headlines in the Daily Express on March 24, 1933.

This worldwide economic boycott of Germany by Jews was called when Hitler assumed power in Germany. The Nazis of course duly passed the detestable Nuremburg laws, which effectively excluded Jews from public life. It must be noted however that Nazi racist ideology was well entrenched long before the calls for a Jewish economic boycott.

I have also provided a link showing a reproduction of the English newspaper the Daily Express - just in case you doubt the authenticity of the declaration of economic war on Germany. The link is taken from wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:DailyExpress_March1933_judeafrontpage.jpg

Comment on above answerThe question asked 'Did the Jews wage a war against Germany', NOT 'How did Nazis create the impression that the Jews waged a war against Germany.' In Germany itself the identification of Jews with Bolshevism was strongest in Bavaria, and weak in North Germany, the Rhineland and Berlin. It was above all in the lands along the Danube that Jew-baiting flourished.

A view that depends so heavily on headlines from one issue of one newspaper, without even paying attention to the article that followed it, is as weak as weak can be: it is just pathetic.

Another CommentThe question is about Jews declaring war on Germany...so again the answer...on point, all-inclusive, not a matter of opinion, is NO.

The newspaper did indeed have those astonishing sensational headlines on its front page, and the whole thing is acknowledged as a massive and infamous blunder in the history of that newspaper. The actual article under the headlines is about a threatened economic boycott by some Jews - in particular a few British Jewish businessmen. Their attempt to get the main Jewish organization in Britain to give official backing to the call for a boycott failed.

The "Daily Express" was the ONLY mass circulation newspaper that reported this call for a boycott as a declaration of war on Germany. That sounds like a mighty bizarre war - only reported in one major newspaper in the whole wide world. If it weren't for the fact that this disaster of an issue of the "Daily Express" has been shamelessly misused by Jew-baiters (aka as 'historical revisionists') one could just hoot with laughter.

The notion that Jews are Communists, and that Communists are Jews was a favourite theme of Nazi propaganda. This needs to be borne in mind.

A headline taken from any newspaper, (especially one of little stature), without reading the article, a headline to sell newspapers, says nothing of any significance. In fact that the only citations provided are like that, and from others repeating the same contentions (sometimes as a question), doesn't work. 100 years from now, someone may well find this question in their search, and as it is a topic in this Wiki ...c ontinue the deception based on it even being asked.

Follow the links and you will see that it is just part of a group of the articles and research that goes on to show how untrue the hypothesis behind the headline is. One part which is right below the headline page is the following:

"In fact, the headline accompanied a story on the declaration of a boycott against German goods and products. The story was not represented as a 'declaration of war' by the world media; the headline occurred only in a mass market British newspaper reflecting the sensationalistic style of what is now known as the tabloid press in the UK. The date of the article is important because it coincides with the so-called Ermächtigungsgesetzes which passed parliament the day before."

For the reasons above and many more, it is hard to even fathom how a question like this could be hypothecated. Jews didn't even mount any particular resistance to German actions when they were being forced into ghettos, persecuted openly, or even as the atrocities during the war were occurring. There are very few stories of rebellion or uprising in the extermination and forced labor camps.

It's interesting to note that had Germany taken a stance of hatred that did not include persecuting the Jews, they might well have joined with the political forces there and been significant in making advances of many types toward a German victory. Instead, the Germans used much of their resources on alienating and eliminating the Jewish populace, which included many learned and influential people. Many of those, especially scientific ones, left Germany and became instrumental, even world leaders, in developing things that helped defeat the Axis, and helped advance the societies they joined for years to come.

Answer 3

Between 1933 and 1939, laws were introduced in Germany that subjected Jews to restrictions on their employment, movement, education, place of residence, citizenship and right to due process of law. These 'racial' laws were very similar to those that had existed in some European countries 100-120 years previously. Gradually over that time, most nations, including Germany, had removed these restrictions. It is interesting that Prussia, the dominant German state, was actually one of the most tolerant of Jews in Europe, much more so for example, than France. Anti-semites existed in all countries to varying degrees, just like they do today. However, what makes the German situation different, is the level of rhetoric by Hitler. He made it clear that he was not going to stop with just restricting Jews from teaching positions, from marrying non-Jews, and from government office......he planned to eliminate them from German society. Hitler of course, was Austrian, which was much less tolerant of Jews than Prussia. In 1938 a Jew killed a German official in Paris as a protest. This triggered even more race hatred in German, the so called 'night of broken glass', when there were riots in many German cities directed at Jewish businesses. Following this many Jews began to emigrate from Germany. Here they ran into the same race hatred that they were trying to leave behind. Various nations refused them entry including Britain and the USA. In the western nations, all anti-Semite themselves to some degree, there was a backlash due to the discovery of the death camps. This caused the western powers to quickly drop most of their own anti-Semite laws and restrictions. They then gave tacit agreement (with fits and starts) for the foundation of the Jewish state, Israel. It is most likely that had Germany not treated the Jews badly before and during WWII, that anti Semite laws would have continued in most nations for many years and that there would have been no political support for the creation of Isreal. The claim that anti-Jewish laws were commonplace in Europe till 1945 (and a little later) is very inaccurate. France had granted its Jews full equality in 1791, Germany (and all the German states) by 1871. In fact, most states had granted equality by 1850. Oddly enough one of the last West European countries to accord full legal equality was Britain (in 1890). The country with a really poor record in the period before 1914 was Russia. The early date for France (1791) and the late date for Britain (1890) suggest that attitudes 'on the ground', among ordinary people, were as important as legal equality. Around 1900, France had a repuatation for extreme anti-semitism, in Britain it was often local and sporadic, while Germany had a generally good reputation.

Answer 4

There was never a war between Jews and Germans. In fact, before the Nazis came to power Jews inside and outside Germany had a generally positive view of the country. German Jews were deeply patriotic and many could hardly understand what was happening to them. It was a most tragic love affair.

The Nazi leadership decided to get rid of the Jews for ideological (and later also practical) reasons.

The Nazis systematically murdered all the Jews they could find during World War 2. It was persecution, mass murder, well armed soldiers against unarmed civilians - in other words, genocide.

Please see related questions.

Answer 5

There were thousands of American, British and Canadian Jews who fought in WW2. But there were at least two cases of German Jews who became RAF pilots and did see front line combat.

Klaus (now Sir Kenneth) Adam was a Typhoon pilot.

Peter Stevens was a Jewish refugee living in London in 1939, and he committed identity theft in order to join the RAF under the name Peter Stevens. He went on to fly 22 combat operations as a Hampden bomber pilot before being shot down and taken prisoner by his own countrymen. As a POW for 3 years and 8 months (without any protection whatsoever under the Geneva Convention - he was, after all, still a German citizen and was fighting for Britain) he became one of the most ardent escapees of the war, and was awarded the Military Cross in 1946. He is mentioned in at least 10 books, including his biography 'Escape, Evasion and Revenge: The True Story of a German Jewish RAF Pilot Who Bombed Berlin and Became a POW.

Answer 6

Hitler's party and supp of supporters were called Nazis. They despised Jews and believed in the supremacy of Aryans or the Original Germans. They believed that Jews were traitors and were the cause of Germany's loss in the First World War. Jews were tortured and killed during Hitler's reign and did NOT fight on Hitler's side.

Answer 7

The Jewish community of the 1930s had neither a central organization nor any military arm capable of declaring war. The focus of Jewish activity in that era is amply recorded in numerous sources, was on protecting Jews from the rising tide of Nazi oppression, both by alerting the larger world to their plight and by working to help refugees get out.