Max Naumann (12 January 1875 – 18 May 1939) was the founder of ''Verband nationaldeutscher Juden'' ( League of National German Jews), which called for the elimination of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ethnic identity through Jewish assimilation. The league was outlawed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

on 18 November 1935. Naumann was a captain in the

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

lawyer.

Early life

Naumann was born to an assimilated

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Jewish family. He attended the '' Friedrichs-Werdersches Gymnasium'' in Berlin, and received a law degree from the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

. He served as an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

commander during

and was awarded the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(First and Second Class).''Who's Who in Nazi Germany'' by Robert Solomon Wistrich (

Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

, 2002), p. 177

Political action

Standing in opposition to

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

groups and Jewish organizations such as the '' Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens'' (Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith), Naumann advocated total assimilation as an answer to

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...

Naumann was active with the

German People's Party The German People's Party (German: , or DVP) was a liberal party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. A right-liberal, or conservative-liberal political party, it represented politi ...

. He was quoted in Michael Brenner's book ''The Renaissance of Jewish Culture in Weimar Germany'' as saying "The election campaign must not be a struggle of religious conceptions, it must be a decisive struggle about our Germanness!" in reference to the 1933 election that followed

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's rise to power. Along with Julius Brodnitz, Heinrich Stahl, Kurt Blumenfeld and Martin Rosenblüth, Naumann was one of the Jewish activists who were summoned to a meeting with

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

on 25 March 1933. Göring tried to enlist their help in preventing a rally against Nazi antisemitism which was planned in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

for 27 March (see Mass meetings of the Anti-Nazi boycott of 1933). Göring claimed that Jews in Germany were spreading lies about Jews being attacked by Nazi forces. Naumann responded to Göring by producing a list of abuses, even producing a newspaper clipping showing Nazis forcing Jews to scrub streets with brushes. Naumann was among the Jewish leaders who said there was nothing that they could do to stop the protest in foreign countries.

Edwin Black Edwin Black (born February 27, 1950) is an American historian and author, as well as a syndicated columnist, investigative journalist, and weekly talk show host on The Edwin Black Show. He specializes in human rights, the historical interplay b ...

, ''The Transfer Agreement: The Dramatic Story of the Pact Between the Third Reich and Jewish Palestine'' (Dialog Press, 2009; ), pg. 31 Naumann's group was dissolved by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

in 1935. Naumann was incarcerated at '' Columbia Haus'' and released after a few weeks. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 18 May 1939.

References

External links

Entry on Naumann
at the

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Naumann, Max 1875 births 1939 deaths Deaths from cancer in Germany Date of death missing Politicians from Berlin German Jewish military personnel of World War I 20th-century German lawyers German People's Party politicians Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Military personnel of Bavaria Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class German anti-Zionists Jewish anti-Zionism in Germany Anti-Zionist Jews Jewish collaborators with Nazi Germany