Germany Must Perish!
Encyclopedia
Germany Must Perish! is the title of a 104-page book written by Theodore Newman Kaufman and self-published in 1941, which advocates the genocide
, through sterilization of all Germans
, and the territorial dismemberment of Germany
. Kaufman founded the Argyle Press of Newark, New Jersey
, USA, in order to self-publish his sentiments.
The book was most notably used by Nazi Germany
as propaganda
to allege that "the Jews" were plotting against the country. In a contemporary sense, the book is utilized by those attempting to forward evidence of a conspiracy against Germany, with such arguments often pertaining to an antisemitic agenda.
In the words of the 1945 Journal of Modern History, the book was intended to be "little more than self-indulgence in dire vituperation by a man who sees Germany as the sole cause of the world's woes." The author had previously proposed that all Americans should be sterilized to prevent their children from becoming "homicidal monsters".
Perhaps as a result, despite being written and self-published by a non-notable author, the book received some attention, including from Time magazine
, which published a review. The unnamed Time reviewer compared the book to Jonathan Swift
's A Modest Proposal
, noting that, unlike Swift, Kaufman's work was not satirical. According to philosophy professor Berel Lang, American reviews "reflected an odd combination of straight reporting and skepticism."
Kaufman's second and more moderate pamphlet, "No More German Wars" published in 1942, was ignored both in the U.S. and in Germany.
reads, A Plan For Permanent Peace Among Civilized Nations! -- New York Times. Kaufman advocated the mass forced sterilization of the entire German people and the territorial dismemberment of Germany after an Allied victory in World War II
.
Kaufman summarized Germany Must Perish! in the Times ad as: "A dynamic volume outlining a plan for the extinction of Germany and containing a map showing possible dissection and apportionment of its territory." An interview with Kaufman in which he attempts to justify his plan for "sterilization of all Germans" appears in The Canadian Jewish Chronicle in its September 26, 1941 issue.
would occur in June (although the Germans had already invaded and reconquered the land, theirs before World War I, that had been given to form Poland, and had annexed Austria
), and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
was still nine months away.
However, the Nuremberg Laws
were passed in 1935 and the T-4 Euthanasia Program
ran from September 1939 until August 1941. The Wannsee Conference
was more than a year in the future and stories of genocide
by the Nazi Party were neither widely known nor believed.
Kaufman was a Manhattan-born Jew, so his advocacy of such an idea attracted great attention. Nazi propaganda denounced the book as an "orgy of Jewish hatred" and accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of having inspired it. Additionally, Germany Must Perish! coincided with other Nazi proclamations about "Anglo-American" intentions, which the German population digested in the midst of ongoing economic sanctions against their country, Roosevelt's Lend Lease program and the widely reported failure of the United States to sponsor negotiations after Poland's defeat. American journalist Howard K. Smith
was in Germany when Germany Must Perish! came to light. He wrote:
When the Jews of Hanover
were forced from their homes on September 8, 1941, German authorities cited Kaufman's book as one of the reasons. Kaufman responded:
It featured in many pieces of Nazi propaganda. The Parole der Woches weekly wall newspaper included it as evidence that the Allies' war aims were the destruction of Germany. The pamphlet "The War Goal of World Plutocracy" detailed the contents of the book, although with some omissions from the text it quoted. Its last major use was in a late 1944 pamphlet, "Never!"
The controversial German nationalist philosopher and historian Ernst Nolte
argues that the German reaction to Germany Must Perish! supports his contention that the Holocaust was a reasonable, if excessive, response to German fears of worldwide Jewish plot. In answer to this claim, it has been pointed out that while the book was a welcome piece of propaganda, its actual impact on Nazi genocide policies was not notable, and that Nolte regards the radical views of a single American Jew as representative of all Jewish people worldwide.
Ernest Hemingway
would adopt the same ideas in his introduction to his anthology Men at War.
(from Calvin College's German Propaganda Archive)
Other external links:
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, through sterilization of all Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, and the territorial dismemberment of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Kaufman founded the Argyle Press of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, USA, in order to self-publish his sentiments.
The book was most notably used by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
as propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
to allege that "the Jews" were plotting against the country. In a contemporary sense, the book is utilized by those attempting to forward evidence of a conspiracy against Germany, with such arguments often pertaining to an antisemitic agenda.
In the words of the 1945 Journal of Modern History, the book was intended to be "little more than self-indulgence in dire vituperation by a man who sees Germany as the sole cause of the world's woes." The author had previously proposed that all Americans should be sterilized to prevent their children from becoming "homicidal monsters".
Reactions
An advertisement in the New York Times, stated that the book was released to the public on March 1, 1941. Kaufman also promoted the book by mailing a miniature black cardboard coffin with a hinged lid to reviewers. Inside the coffin was a card proclaiming, "Read GERMANY MUST PERISH! Tomorrow you will receive your copy."Perhaps as a result, despite being written and self-published by a non-notable author, the book received some attention, including from Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, which published a review. The unnamed Time reviewer compared the book to Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in...
, noting that, unlike Swift, Kaufman's work was not satirical. According to philosophy professor Berel Lang, American reviews "reflected an odd combination of straight reporting and skepticism."
Kaufman's second and more moderate pamphlet, "No More German Wars" published in 1942, was ignored both in the U.S. and in Germany.
Contents
The back of the book's dust jacket contains excerpts from reviews of the book. One blurbBlurb
A blurb is a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, usually used on books without giving away any details, that is usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket but also commonly seen on DVD and video cases, web portals, and news websites.- History :The...
reads, A Plan For Permanent Peace Among Civilized Nations! -- New York Times. Kaufman advocated the mass forced sterilization of the entire German people and the territorial dismemberment of Germany after an Allied victory in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Kaufman summarized Germany Must Perish! in the Times ad as: "A dynamic volume outlining a plan for the extinction of Germany and containing a map showing possible dissection and apportionment of its territory." An interview with Kaufman in which he attempts to justify his plan for "sterilization of all Germans" appears in The Canadian Jewish Chronicle in its September 26, 1941 issue.
Historical circumstances
At the time that Germany Must Perish! was first published in early 1941, Germany had not yet occupied the Balkans. The German invasion of the USSROperation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
would occur in June (although the Germans had already invaded and reconquered the land, theirs before World War I, that had been given to form Poland, and had annexed Austria
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
), and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
was still nine months away.
However, the Nuremberg Laws
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 were antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany introduced at the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party. After the takeover of power in 1933 by Hitler, Nazism became an official ideology incorporating scientific racism and antisemitism...
were passed in 1935 and the T-4 Euthanasia Program
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
ran from September 1939 until August 1941. The Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of senior officials of the Nazi German regime, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 January 1942. The purpose of the conference was to inform administrative leaders of Departments responsible for various policies relating to Jews, that Reinhard Heydrich...
was more than a year in the future and stories of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
by the Nazi Party were neither widely known nor believed.
Nazi reaction and use in propaganda
The book soon came to the attention of the Nazis. It was - and still is - widely quoted as advocating genocide by "the Jews" against the German people.- "Few Americans have ever heard of a prominent fellow-citizen named Kaufmann ... In Germany every child has known of him for a long time. Germans are so well informed about Mr. Kaufmann that the mere mention of his name recalls what he stands for. In one of his recent articles Dr. Goebbels wrote, 'Thanks to the Jew Kaufmann, we Germans know only too well what to expect in case of defeat.' "
Kaufman was a Manhattan-born Jew, so his advocacy of such an idea attracted great attention. Nazi propaganda denounced the book as an "orgy of Jewish hatred" and accused President Franklin D. Roosevelt of having inspired it. Additionally, Germany Must Perish! coincided with other Nazi proclamations about "Anglo-American" intentions, which the German population digested in the midst of ongoing economic sanctions against their country, Roosevelt's Lend Lease program and the widely reported failure of the United States to sponsor negotiations after Poland's defeat. American journalist Howard K. Smith
Howard K. Smith
Howard Kingsbury Smith was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original Edward R. Murrow boys.-Early life:...
was in Germany when Germany Must Perish! came to light. He wrote:
- "No man has ever done so irresponsible a disservice to the cause his nation is fighting and suffering for than Nathan Kaufmann [sic]. His half-baked brochure provided the Nazis with one of the best light artillery pieces they have, for, used as the Nazis used it, it served to bolster up that terror which forces Germans who dislike the Nazis to support, fight and die to keep Nazism alive ..."
When the Jews of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
were forced from their homes on September 8, 1941, German authorities cited Kaufman's book as one of the reasons. Kaufman responded:
- "This is just a flimsy pretext for another of the innate cruelties of the German people ... I don't think it was my book that prompted this barbarity. They employed every possible German cruelty against the Jews long before my book was published".
It featured in many pieces of Nazi propaganda. The Parole der Woches weekly wall newspaper included it as evidence that the Allies' war aims were the destruction of Germany. The pamphlet "The War Goal of World Plutocracy" detailed the contents of the book, although with some omissions from the text it quoted. Its last major use was in a late 1944 pamphlet, "Never!"
The controversial German nationalist philosopher and historian Ernst Nolte
Ernst Nolte
Ernst Nolte is a German historian and philosopher. Nolte’s major interest is the comparative studies of Fascism and Communism. He is Professor Emeritus of Modern History at the Free University of Berlin, where he taught from 1973 to 1991. He was previously a Professor at the University of Marburg...
argues that the German reaction to Germany Must Perish! supports his contention that the Holocaust was a reasonable, if excessive, response to German fears of worldwide Jewish plot. In answer to this claim, it has been pointed out that while the book was a welcome piece of propaganda, its actual impact on Nazi genocide policies was not notable, and that Nolte regards the radical views of a single American Jew as representative of all Jewish people worldwide.
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
would adopt the same ideas in his introduction to his anthology Men at War.
See also
- Germania est delenda
- Society for the Prevention of World War IIISociety for the Prevention of World War IIIThe Society for the Prevention of World War III was an organization set up in the U.S. in 1944 during World War II that advocated a harsh peace for Germany in order to completely remove Germany as a future military threat....
- Your Job in GermanyYour Job In GermanyYour Job In Germany is a short film made for the United States War Department in 1945 just before Victory in Europe day. It was shown to U.S. soldiers about to go on occupation duty in Germany. The film was made by the military films unit commanded by Frank Capra, and was written by Theodor...
- Germany is Our ProblemGermany is Our ProblemGermany is Our Problem is a book written in 1945 by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the book he describes and promotes a plan - named after him - for the occupation of Germany after World War II.-Background:During 1944...
- Morgenthau PlanMorgenthau PlanThe Morgenthau Plan, proposed by United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., advocated that the Allied occupation of Germany following World War II include measures to eliminate Germany's ability to wage war.-Overview:...
External links
Nazi propaganda about Germany Must Perish!:(from Calvin College's German Propaganda Archive)
- "The Battle with the Devil: Pan-Jewry Reveals its Destructive Plan." A September 1941 article from Julius Streicher's Der Stürmer which quotes extensively from Germany Must Perish!
- "The War Goal of World Plutocracy" A September 1941 pamphlet by Wolfgang Diewerge.
- "When you see this symbol..." Cover illustration and excerpts from a November 1941 flyer.
- "Never! A late 1944 pamphlet by Heinrich Goitsch.
Other external links:
- The full text of the book from wikisource,
- review from Time magazine's 1941 of Germany Must Perish! at the web site of The Nizkor ProjectNizkor ProjectThe Nizkor Project is an ongoing Internet-based project run by B'nai Brith Canada which is dedicated to countering Holocaust denial. It was founded by Ken McVay as a central Web-based archive for the large numbers of documents made publicly available by the users of the newsgroup alt.revisionism...
.