Is there any truth to ''Hitler's Jews'' ?

Hitler's Jewish Soldiers

Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

 

Yes there is, I know a descendant of a very high-ranking Kriegsmarine officer who was Jewish.

 

Intresting, thankyou.

 

It is fascinating, the chap I know is the grandson of Chief of Staff (Chef des Stabes): Kapitän zur See Harald Netzbandt who was on the Bismarck when it sank and didn't survive. There's photo's of him meeting Hitler with other Kriegsmarine high rankers, the only visible difference being him giving a standard military salute rather than a heil.

Now that's an incredible high rank for an "untermensch" and if there's one that high (Fleet Command Staff) there must have been thousands in the lower ranks.

cheers,

 

Jews in the German Army (back to top)
In the story Europa Europa, Shlomo Perel tells an extraordinary tale of how he survived the Nazi Holocaust. After escaping the German occupation of Poland by fleeing to the Russian side, he was later captured by the Germans as they advanced into Russia. Once captured, he pretended to be German and was recruited as a German soldier. The commander of his unit liked him so much that he was sent to a prestigious Hitler Youth program, keeping his identity secret until the end of the war. It is a tale of survival at the cost of disowning one’s own heritage and of helping those who ultimately persecute your relatives. My question is, was this a single case? Did other Jews join the ranks of the army or deny their heritage in order to survive? In his book Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, Bryan Rigg looks at the particular case of the Mischlinge (the half-Jews and quarter-Jews), and how they lived and were treated during the Nazi Regime. His book gives new insight into how this large ethnic population was viewed during the Holocaust, and how they viewed themselves. In focusing on the Mischlinge who served in the Nazi army, we come to a realization of how deep personal beliefs in one's heritage will go, as well as what others will do in order to survive.
Many people assume that there were no Jews in the Wehrmacht . Rigg adequately proves that this is far from the truth. "Although the exact number of Mischlinge who fought for Germany during World War II cannot be determined, they probably numbered more than 150,000." (Rigg, Mark. Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers, University Press of Kansas, 2002) Rigg came to this number by searching through hundreds of German documents which listed names of men in the army with ‘half-Jewish’ ancestry, as well as lists of exemptions for these Mischlinge. If this number is correct, the question arises as to why these Mischlinge would help to fight for a regime that openly persecuted them? Rigg tries to answer that question by answering other questions and issues such as, who is a Jew? Who is a Mischling? Jewish assimilation in Germany, a history of German and Austrian Jews who served in their countries’ armed forces, the regulations for Jews and Mischling in the Wehrmacht, and official exemptions from racial persecution offered by Hitler himself.
The Nazi regime had sole control in deciding who was Jewish and who was not when it came to their documentation in identity, as well as who was a Mischlinge. However, an individuals definition of what it meant to be Jewish may be different. For instance, Hitler argued that the Jewish father passed as much Jewsihness to a child as a Jewish mother (Rigg, 16). However, the Jewish tradition of Hekel states that they inherit their Jewishness from the mother’s side (Rigg, 7) Mischlinge, was an even more confused definition, as it implied that one was also half German. It was in determining which half was more "prominent" that determined one’s identity.
One answer to why some "half-Jews" joined the army may be that some of the Mischlinge did not think of themselves as Jewish. Rigg summarizes what one "half-Jewish" survivor, Helmut Kruger, had to say about his ancestry:
He struggled for twelve years to convince the Nazis he was not Jewish but rather a loyal German Patriot…Kruger insists that he had nothing to do with his mother’s Jewishness. He was born German and raised as a Christian. Kruger dislikes being called a Jew, not because he is anti-Semitic, but because he does not feel Jewish. Kruger believes that he is just Helmut Kruger, born a German not by choice but by chance to a German-Jewish mother who, like many Jews, assimilated and shed her Jewishness to integrate fully into the dominant society. Krguer’s opinion is common among Mischlinge. (Rigg, 11)
Apparently many Mischlinge did not feel that half of their ancestry should be reason enough to be considered a Jew over being a German. Moreover, they were truly passionate Germans. Many like Kruger joined the ranks of the Wehrmacht in order to prove their "Aryanhood," and be considered normal. One German Mischling wrote this to his grandmother, "Don’t you realize how much I’m with my whole being rooted in Germany. My life would be very sad without my homeland, without the wonderful German art, without the belief in Germany’s powerful past and the powerful future that awaits Germany." (Rigg, 28) These Mischlinge thought of themselves as fully German, they were not trying to hide their ancestry, but mainly trying to show that they did not believe in it. One "half-Jew," Hans Pollack, learned of his Jewish ancestry in 1935. Rigg writes:
He had read about Jews in school and the press and felt upset to be associated with the. ‘I tell you honestly, I don’t like Jews…That’s correct. I would never do anything to a Jew, I must also tell you that, because the Jew is also a human being…When I get to know a Jew, he’s no longer a Jew, but a mensch like you and me. (Rigg, 24)
Hans, like so many others, did not identify himself as being Jewish. They went to join the ranks of the Wehrmacht to prove their loyalty to the German people as faithful Germans, not to escape the fate of being Jewish.
Many Mischlinge, however, followed the same path as Shlomo Peril, that is, hiding by disowning their religious affiliation.
Field Marshal and State Secretay of Aviation Erhard Alfred Richard Oskar Milch’s "Aryanization" was the most famous case of a Mischling falsifying a father. In 1933, Frau Clara Milch went to her son-in-law, Fritz Heinrich Hermann, police president of Hagen and later SS general, and gave him an affidavit stating that her deceased uncle, Carl Brauer, rather than her Jewish husband, Anton Milch, had fathered her six children.… In 1935, Hitler accepted the mother’s testimony… (Rigg, 29)
This testimony of incest was accepted as a means to save her son’s life, thus making him pure Aryan and able to serve the Luftwaffe. Ironically, Brigg later says that there was suspicion that Milch’s mother was also Jewish, making the Field Marshal and Secretary of Aviation a full blooded Jew. It is also interesting to note that incest was seen as more socially acceptable then being a Jew. Through his mother’s own testimony Milch was able to hide his ancestry, and thus survive the war as a top commander.
Many more Mischlinge soldiers had to hide their ancestry in order to stay in the army and avoid persecution. Many Aryan mothers would testify that they had affairs with other Aryan men instead of their Jewish husbands. Others, like Joachim Lowen, decided to attack their mother’s virtue in order to hide their blood. "My own brother went to the Gestapo and claimed that our mother was a slut and had been a prostitute. The Gestapo reviewed our case and declared us deutschblutig (of German blood)." (Rigg, 31) These two brothers were then able to hide their ancestry by defaming their mother and continuing to serve in the army.
Other Mischlinge went to serve in the army not to save or hide themselves, but rather to save their Jewish relatives. Three Mischlinge brothers joined the army in order to save their Jewish mother, whom their Aryan father had divorced her because she was Jewish and he might have lost his business. "He (Unteroffizier Gunther Scheffler) hoped that as long as one of them served in the Wehrmacht, the Gestapo would leave their mother alone. Helena survived the war." Through proving themselves as strong soldiers and valuable to the German people, these three brothers were able to save their mother.
In the end there are numerous examples of Mischlinge who decided that the best way for survival was to prove their Aryanhood. The army, for many, was one successful way to prove their worth to society, and consequently, to survive.

Mark Enmeier: Jewish Soldiers in the German Army:

 

From Wiki. Taken with a grain of salt of course.

Some examples of Mischlings:

• future federal chancellor Helmut Schmidt, 2nd degree Mischling
• Kriegsmarine captain Bernhard Rogge, 2nd degree Mischling
• Wehrmacht soldier and Nazi model Werner Goldberg, 1st-degree Mischling
• Luftwaffe builder Erhard Milch (Jewish father and Gentile mother, 1st degree Mischling) reclassified as Aryan by Adolf Hitler.
• Luftwaffe general Helmut Wilberg, 1st degree Mischling and declared Aryan in 1935 by Hitler.
• General and 1st-degree Mischling Arty Johannes Zukertort, who received the German Blood Certificate; brother of General Karl Zukertort.[6]
• General and 1st-degree Mischling Karl Zukertort, who received the German Blood Certificate; brother of General Arty Johannes Zukertort.[7]
• Colonel Walter H. Hollaender, 1st degree Mischling receiving the German Blood Certificate.
• Commander Paul Ascher, 1st degree Mischling receiving the German Blood Certificate.
• Iron Cross-awarded soldier Horst Geitner, 1st degree Mischling

Mischling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

It has to be remembered that apart from in Hitlers Germany, the vast majority of these people would not be even considered to be Jewish.

 

I used to have Rigg's book and I seem to recall that he mentioned that there were several-hundred thousand men werving in the Wehrmacht, who were of Jewish persuasion. Allegedly, many were "kicked" out of service but, somehow I doubt that that amount of trained fighting men; would have been just "tosed away" and not used-even in early war situations.

PS, the book started out pretty interestingly, but soon became bogged down with a lot of mumbo-jumbo.

 

Thanks of the list.

 

This gets to heart of it.

In a state where 'Jewish' is defined by great-grandparents and earlier ancestors many of us would find ourselves considerably more 'semitic' than we thought we were.
There was a fascinating programme recently where assorted people had their ethnicity tested by DNA, (one racist white chap was found to be of primarily African extraction, which was quite funny). Imagine if the Nazi's had had DNA testing; I can't decide if it would have increased the slaughter, or if the high-ups would have taken the test, seen their own results, and quietly swept the whole race business under the carpet...

Cheers,
Adam.

 

This is kind of interresting. I have often thought that if Hitler wanted to exterminate European Jewery, why didn't he send them to the front lines where he knew they were going to die...especially Stanligrad? Having discussed this several times with my husband, he stated that the Nazis wouldn't do that because the Jews wouldn't support defending Germany. However, if someone was shooting at you and you had a gun, wouldn't nature take over and wouldn't you shoot back? And if you didn't fight back, you would surely get shot, right?

Just a stupid thought, but one I ponder often (please understand that I would never think this would be a good thing to do!

Lisa

 

I watched again a repeat of the Wannsee Conference which was on Cable oh 2 weeks ago. While it was docudrama, certain scenes went into great depth when the character playing Eichmann was defining a "jew". Depending on one's definition therefore the answer to the question would be either Yes or No! which of course is no help at all - sorry.

 

Has anyone mentioned Erhard Milch yet? Probably the highest ranking German of what would, if he'd been a German civilian, have been called "Jewish descent".

edit: ahhh that rebel with a pipe got there first again... typical.

 

Yup. From post #9 above,

Luftwaffe builder Erhard Milch (Jewish father and Gentile mother, 1st degree Mischling) reclassified as Aryan by Adolf Hitler.

 

Aye rub it in, just I was reading a diagram of the Third Reich power structure ('43) last night, saw Milch in there, which reminded me of this thread. Usual mindless enthusiasm overtook my ability to read through the thread again.

 

Many of them weren't recognized as such due to faked or incomplete papers. For example Helmut Schmidt the former West-German Chancellor.

His father Gustav was the illegitimate son of a Jewish businessmen. Gustav was adopted by a German with the family name of Schmidt - as such the name Schmidt. Therefore the papers gave no indication of Helmut Schmidt's true anchestry or grandfather and Helmut Schmidt was free to join the Luftwaffe.

As for Milch, there is no proof which would confirm that he was a half Jew, since he forwarded that he is the product of adultury by his German mother. His birth certificate and other documents could not be retrieved till now.
It is said that jealousy amongst other ranks brought this rumor into the public . The Jewish writer Victor Klemperers stated this rumor about Milch in his diary in 1936.

Most other Mischlinge or even a Milch upon discovery or "revealing evidence" would have certainly faced extermination or (accidents) once they wouldn't be needed anymore or would have been made infertile such as it was done with those mentally retared persons who were not murdered.

Regards
Kruska

 

interesting thought......

 

A very silly idea, like if you gave them all guns, they might start shooting German Nazis instead of Russians.

Best and Warm Regards
Adrian Wainer

 

It is not that farfetched as one might think that a group's philosphy can be turned 180 degrees for another's advantage and use!!! Just a Thought!

Would they be "accepted" as equals and/or "rewarded" with citizenship??

There is this book:-The King's Most Loyal Enemy Aliens: Germans Who Fought for Britain in the Second World War by Helen Fry.

This is the compelling story of the 10,000 German and Austrian nationals who fled Nazi persecution to join the British in their fight against Hitler during the Second World War. Most were Jews but a significant number were political opponents of the Nazi regime and so-called 'degenerate artists'.

They arrived in Britain between 1933 and 1939, and at the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 became 'enemy aliens'. They volunteered to serve in the British forces, donned the King's uniform, swore allegiance to George VI and became affectionately known as 'the King's most loyal enemy aliens'.

This compelling story includes previously unpublished interviews with veterans and an impressive selection of archive photographs, many of which are reproduced for the first time.

Sgtleo

 

No he was not found to be of primarily African extraction, he had a distant African ancestor. I saw that show, it was ridiculous.
I wonder if some of these Mischlinge were outcasts of the Jewish communities.