The Association of German National Jews (German: ''Verband nationaldeutscher Juden'') was a

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

organization 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 al ...

and the early years of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

that eventually came out in support of

Adolf 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 ...

History, goals, outcome

The Association of German National Jews was founded in 1921 by

Max Naumann 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 ethnic identity through Jewish assimilation. The league was outl ...

, who was its chairman until 1926 and again from 1933 to 1935, when the association was dissolved.Sarah Ann Gordon, ''Hitler, Germans, and the "Jewish Question"'', p.47 The association was close to the

national conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, fa ...

and

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. ...

German National People's Party The German National People's Party (german: Deutschnationale Volkspartei, DNVP) was a national-conservative party in Germany during the Weimar Republic. Before the rise of the Nazi Party, it was the major conservative and nationalist party in Wei ...

which, however, refused affiliation to the Association. The goal of the Association was the total assimilation of Jews into the German ''Volksgemeinschaft'', self-eradication of Jewish identity, and the expulsion from Germany of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.Robert S. Wistrich, ''Who's Who in Nazi Germany'' (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1982), p.177. Naumann was especially opposed to

Zionists 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 Jew ...

and

Eastern European Jews The expression 'Eastern European Jewry' has two meanings. Its first meaning refers to the current political spheres of the Eastern European countries and its second meaning refers to the Jewish communities in Russia and Poland. The phrase 'Easte ...

. He considered the former a threat to Jewish integration and carriers of a "racist" ideology serving British imperial purposes. He saw the latter as racially and spiritually inferior. The association's official organ was the monthly ''Der nationaldeutsche Jude'' edited by Max Naumann. The magazine had a circulation of 6,000 in 1927. Among the activities of the Association was the fight against the

Jewish boycott of German goods The anti-Nazi boycott was an international boycott of German products in response to violence and harassment by members of Hitler's Nazi Party against Jews following his appointment as Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Examples of Nazi v ...

. It also issued a manifesto that stated that the Jews were being fairly treated. In 1934 the Association made the following statement:

We have always held the well-being of the German people and the fatherland, to which we feel inextricably linked, above our own well-being. Thus we greeted the results of January 1933, even though it has brought hardship for us personally.

A possible reason why some German Jews supported Hitler may have been that they thought that his antisemitism was only for the purpose of "stirring up the masses". The seemingly ironic fact that a Jewish association advocated loyalty to the Nazi programme gave rise to a contemporary joke about Naumann and his followers ending their meeting by giving the Nazi salute and shouting "Down With Us!". Despite the extreme patriotism of Naumann and his colleagues, the German government did not accept their goal of assimilation. The Association of German National Jews was declared illegal and dissolved on 18 November 1935. Naumann was arrested 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 organi ...

the same day and imprisoned at the

Columbia concentration camp Columbia concentration camp (also known as Columbia-Haus) was a Nazi concentration camp situated in the Tempelhof area of Berlin. It was one of the first such institutions established by the regime. Development Originally called ''Strafgefängni ...

. He was released after a few weeks, and died of cancer in May 1939.

History, goals, outcome

See also

References

Further reading