"Crippling embargos on Germany over the Jewish question"

[murx]

[Split from "The Nazi Four Year Plan"]

The interesting part: Foreign trade was dropping by about 8% a year and the key world trading partners like the usa and the united kingdom had placed crippling embargos on germany over the Jewish question. Lowering the value of the mark against the dollar or the pound would have stimulated trade but there would have been a corresponding increase in the german foreign debt.

Jwish organisations at least here categorically refuse that there were any war declarations, boycotts or embargoes against Germany until 1938, when the nazis out of nowwhere suddenly boycotted Jewish shops for an entire day.

The answer is above.

[john becktel]

The interesting part: Foreign trade was dropping by about 8% a year and the key world trading partners like the usa and the united kingdom had placed crippling embargos on germany over the Jewish question. Lowering the value of the mark against the dollar or the pound would have stimulated trade but there would have been a corresponding increase in the german foreign debt.

Jwish organisations at least here categorically refuse that there were any war declarations, boycotts or embargoes against Germany until 1938, when the nazis out of nowwhere suddenly boycotted Jewish shops for an entire day.

The answer is above.

from whence comes this statement about 'crippling embargoes' in the quote within the quote above? anyone know anything about this ?

[Zebedee]

The interesting part: Foreign trade was dropping by about 8% a year and the key world trading partners like the usa and the united kingdom had placed crippling embargos on germany over the Jewish question. Lowering the value of the mark against the dollar or the pound would have stimulated trade but there would have been a corresponding increase in the german foreign debt.

Jwish organisations at least here categorically refuse that there were any war declarations, boycotts or embargoes against Germany until 1938, when the nazis out of nowwhere suddenly boycotted Jewish shops for an entire day.

The answer is above.

It is however total and complete utter nonsense. The world was coming out of a great depression. Raw material prices were rising, the cost of manufactured goods was falling. Germany therefore was becoming increasingly unable to compete in the international markets. That's the fairly simple explanation with a longer one including how Nazi party policies tried to mitigate this whilst at the same time other policies made the situation worse. If you wish to claim there was a Jewish inspired war declaration, boycott or embargo against Germany in the 30s then you're going to have support your claim with some fairly decent hard historic facts. I look forward to you doing that.

[Charles Lee Ray]

Jwish organisations at least here categorically refuse that there were any war declarations, boycotts or embargoes against Germany until 1938, when the nazis out of nowwhere suddenly boycotted Jewish shops for an entire day.

They would have a hard time explaining this away.

[uberjude]

So first of all, Murx way back in the day set up a straw man. Where do "Jwish organisations at least here categorically refuse that there were any war declarations, boycotts or embargoes against Germany until 1938"

What are these Jewish Organizations? Where do they deny this? In fact no 'Jewish organization" would deny that there were "any" boycotts against Germany prior to 1938, because there were.

As for the newspaper headline, it certainly suggests a boycott by some Jews, but no more than that. There was no "Judea," there was no "declaration of war," and if you actually read the article, it basically can be summarized as follows:

"Jews don't like Hitler"

There's a lot of talk of what Jews might do, but very little on what's been done, and certainly hardly justifies the headline, which a certain class of people love to to cite to argue that "the Jews" declared war on Germany, and not the other way around. Some, apparently, cannot distinguish a gimmick to sell newspapers from an actual historical event.

[Ironmachine]

They would have a hard time explaining this away.

They being, of course, the Daily Express staff.

[wm]

Głos Poranny. March 31, 1933

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A few headlines from influential socialist and pro-Jewish Polish daily newspaper Głos Poranny, the language is unusually harsh, even comparing with the last months before the WW2:

A severe backlash of the entire civilized world as a result of the the antisemitic fracas in Germany.
The press noted the repeated protest by Poland and the diplomatic note given by the Polish envoy detailing 51 new cases of persecutions since March 11 [of the Polish Jews in Germany].
The boycott of German goods, proclaimed by the Central Jewish Committee is spreading in the US. In New York the Jews have cancelled orders worth 10 million marks. The boycott action is spreading in Chicago and Boston.
Głos Poranny. March 26, 1933

A day of protest against persecution of Jews in Germany. Boycott of German goods. The shops will be closed demonstratively between five and seven P.M. [in Poland]
Głos Poranny. March 27, 1933

Hitler threatens retaliation.
Protests and boycotts in all the European countries and in America.
Don't buy at Huns.
Under the banner of the economic boycott of Germany, the anti-German campaign of the British Jews is progressing despite efforts of the German Government. In the London's East End, there are signs: "you don't buy at barbaric Huns" in windows of many Jewish shops. On pavement in front of the Synagogue "Boycott German goods!" is painted in large letters. 200 lorries are cruising the streets of the city carrying the banners: "Judea declares war on Germany. Boycott German goods."
According to the organisers, in a week ten thousand cars with similar placards will be sent all around Britain. Leaflets calling to boycott are distributed. Huge protest meetings attended by noted scientists and politicians will be hold. Orders placed in Germany by many British-Jewish companies have been canceled.
Głos Poranny. March 28, 1933

The Hitlerite beast thirsts for blood. A new paroxysm of anti-Jewish frenzy in Germany. Hitler is trying to calm down anti-Jewish attacks of the Nazis. The Germans press warns of an international revenge.
Głos Poranny. March 29, 1933

Continuous barbaric heinousness of the Hitlerities.
Głos Poranny. March 31, 1933

[wm]

Furthermore, there can be no doubt that these obstacles to German exports were compounded after 1933 by widespread international antipathy towards the lawlessness and anti-Semitism of Hitler’s regime. Outrages against Germany’s Jewish population had begun immediately after the general election of 5 March and they had culminated in the official boycott of Jewish businesses proclaimed on 1 April 1933. This in tum provoked Jewish organizations, most notably in the United States, into organizing a boycott of German goods. Though it is hard to assess the precise impact of this negative sentiment, it is clear that it was taken very seriously in Berlin.
The boycott was the subject of anxious discussions between the Reichsbank and a number of Germany’s largest corporations. In July 1933 Hitler stated to a key meeting of leading Nazis that the first wave of revolutionary action against the Jews had had to be brought to a halt because of the front it created against Germany in international opinion.

The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze

From Jerzy Tomaszewski (Polish political scientist and historian, specialty economic history of Poland and the Polish-Jewish history and relations), "Bojkot towarów niemieckich w Polsce w latach 1933–1935":

Boycott of German Goods in Poland, 1933–1935.
Abstract.
Anti-Jewish riots in Germany were the reason for a proposal of economic boycott presented by delegates from Poland at the Jewish Congress in Geneva in August 1932. A similar proposal was presented at the session of the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Congress in March 1933. The AJC proclaimed the boycott only in August of that year. The Jewish members of the Parliament in Poland proclaimed boycott as early as March 15, 1933. This was the beginning of the boycott campaign which was directed in Poland by the United Jewish Committee for Countervailing Persecution of Jews in Germany (Zjednoczony Komitet Żydowski do walki z prześladowaniem Żydów w Niemczech). Local committees were created and the boycott was supported by the trade unions.
The persecution of Jews in Germany affected Polish citizens and also influenced Polish-German relations. Polish official representatives in Germany engaged themselves in their defense; the boycott was supported by Polish diplomacy. From the end of May 1933, Polish-German relations were slowly changing for the better. The boycott became embarrassing for Poland after signing the German-Polish declaration on the non use of force. The Central Committee of the boycott had to cease its activities in June 1935. This was not the end of the boycott however it could no longer be promoted openly.
It would be impossible to estimate the boycott’s impact on the German economy. Fragmentary information indicates that certain branches suffered. The economic as well as moral significance of the boycott was however diminished because of the agreement between the Jewish Agency and the Third Reich (Haavara Agreement).
Germany agreed to allow Jews to emigrate with a part of their capital, however on a condition that this could only be done in the form of export of German industrial goods. The agreement was the subject of violent arguments at the Zionist Congresses.

[David Thompson]

For interested readers -- see the discussion of the violent 1933 anti-semitic disorders in Germany, and the resulting anti-German and anti-Jewish boycotts in Foreign Relations of the United States, 1933 vol. 2, pp. 320-366
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1933v02

For contemporaneous accounts of the deteriorating condition of Jews in Germany for the next five years see:

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1934 vol. 2, pp. 291-301
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1934v02
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1935 vol. 2, pp. 391-412
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1935v02
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1936 vol. 2, pp. 192-206
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1936v02
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1937 vol. 2, pp. 319-327
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1937v02
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1938 vol. 2, pp. 355-418
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bi ... RUS1938v02

[wm]

Seeking a safe haven from Hitlerite violence, the well known in almost all parts of Europe financial broker BERNARD SALOMON - A JEW FROM ŁÓDŹ* fled from Berlin to Warsaw.
The enormously wealthy Mr. Bernard S. has arrived in Poland in his huge torpedo.
Everything would have been all right, he would have received a friendly welcome in Poland if not for the fact that Mr. Bernard elected for some quite unknown reason, to fly pennants in the Imperial German colors on fenders of his car.
Yesterday afternoon Mr. S. was driving along Tłomackie Street. In the vicinity of the Synagogue a group of [Jewish] youth blocked the path of his machine, so the financier, trying to avoid an accident, had to stop his car. Rising to the occasion the young men tore away the pennants, weakened the car's body paint here and there, and beat Mr. S. up. Before the constable was able to reach the place, the enemies of the Imperial Germany had run away.
Głos Poranny. March 28, 1933

*local patriotic feelings at play here, the paper was from Łódź too.

[BuddaBell123]

Before the boycott of German goods by the Jewish community began what policies did the Nazis have against the Jews already or planned to have against them in the future?

[pugsville]

The Nazi German regime had no problem buying and importing goods that they were able to pay for pre the outbreak of war. Lack of foreign exchange, goods to trade were the limiting factors. While there may have been a populist campaign to have an embargo with Germany, it was not followed by Governments or companies. Germany had no problem acquiring goods overseas, other than it's foreign exchange problems.

[Harro]

Before the boycott of German goods by the Jewish community began what policies did the Nazis have against the Jews already or planned to have against them in the future?

As early as 1920...

The 25-point Program of the NSDAP

1 We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the people's right to self-determination.
2 We demand equality of rights for the German people in respect to the other nations; abrogation of the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.
3 We demand land and territory (colonies) for the sustenance of our people, and colonization for our surplus population.
4 Only a member of the race can be a citizen. A member of the race can only be one who is of German blood, without consideration of creed. Consequently no Jew can be a member of the race.
5 Whoever has no citizenship is to be able to live in Germany only as a guest, and must be under the authority of legislation for foreigners.
6 The right to determine matters concerning administration and law belongs only to the citizen. Therefore we demand that every public office, of any sort whatsoever, whether in the Reich, the county or municipality, be filled only by citizens. We combat the corrupting parliamentary economy, office-holding only according to party inclinations without consideration of character or abilities.
7 We demand that the state be charged first with providing the opportunity for a livelihood and way of life for the citizens. If it is impossible to sustain the total population of the State, then the members of foreign nations (non-citizens) are to be expelled from the Reich.
8 Any further immigration of non-citizens is to be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans, who have immigrated to Germany since 2 August 1914, be forced immediately to leave the Reich.
9 All citizens must have equal rights and obligations.
10 The first obligation of every citizen must be to work both spiritually and physically. The activity of individuals is not to counteract the interests of the universality, but must have its result within the framework of the whole for the benefit of all. Consequently we demand:
11 Abolition of unearned (work and labour) incomes. Breaking of debt (interest)-slavery.
12 In consideration of the monstrous sacrifice in property and blood that each war demands of the people, personal enrichment through a war must be designated as a crime against the people. Therefore we demand the total confiscation of all war profits.
13 We demand the nationalisation of all (previous) associated industries (trusts).
14 We demand a division of profits of all heavy industries.
15 We demand an expansion on a large scale of old age welfare.
16 We demand the creation of a healthy middle class and its conservation, immediate communalization of the great warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms, the utmost consideration of all small firms in contracts with the State, county or municipality.
17 We demand a land reform suitable to our needs, provision of a law for the free expropriation of land for the purposes of public utility, abolition of taxes on land and prevention of all speculation in land.
18 We demand struggle without consideration against those whose activity is injurious to the general interest. Common national criminals, usurers, profiteers and so forth are to be punished with death, without consideration of confession or race.
19 We demand substitution of a German common law in place of the Roman Law serving a materialistic world-order.
20 The state is to be responsible for a fundamental reconstruction of our whole national education program, to enable every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education and subsequently introduction into leading positions. The plans of instruction of all educational institutions are to conform with the experiences of practical life. The comprehension of the concept of the State must be striven for by the school [Staatsbuergerkunde] as early as the beginning of understanding. We demand the education at the expense of the State of outstanding intellectually gifted children of poor parents without consideration of position or profession.
21 The State is to care for the elevating national health by protecting the mother and child, by outlawing child-labor, by the encouragement of physical fitness, by means of the legal establishment of a gymnastic and sport obligation, by the utmost support of all organizations concerned with the physical instruction of the young.
22 We demand abolition of the mercenary troops and formation of a national army.
23 We demand legal opposition to known lies and their promulgation through the press. In order to enable the provision of a German press, we demand, that: a. All writers and employees of the newspapers appearing in the German language be members of the race; b. Non-German newspapers be required to have the express permission of the State to be published. They may not be printed in the German language; c. Non-Germans are forbidden by law any financial interest in German publications, or any influence on them, and as punishment for violations the closing of such a publication as well as the immediate expulsion from the Reich of the non-German concerned. Publications which are counter to the general good are to be forbidden. We demand legal prosecution of artistic and literary forms which exert a destructive influence on our national life, and the closure of organizations opposing the above made demands.
24 We demand freedom of religion for all religious denominations within the state so long as they do not endanger its existence or oppose the moral senses of the Germanic race. The Party as such advocates the standpoint of a positive Christianity without binding itself confessionally to any one denomination. It combats the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and around us, and is convinced that a lasting recovery of our nation can only succeed from within on the framework: The good of the state before the good of the individual.[11]
25 For the execution of all of this we demand the formation of a strong central power in the Reich. Unlimited authority of the central parliament over the whole Reich and its organizations in general. The forming of state and profession chambers for the execution of the laws made by the Reich within the various states of the confederation. The leaders of the Party promise, if necessary by sacrificing their own lives, to support by the execution of the points set forth above without consideration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Socialist_Program

[wm]

I think it should be said that the Tooze's statement a few posts above is not correct.
He says:

Furthermore, there can be no doubt that these obstacles to German exports were compounded after 1933 by widespread international antipathy towards the lawlessness and anti-Semitism of Hitler’s regime. Outrages against Germany’s Jewish population had begun immediately after the general election of 5 March and they had culminated in the official boycott of Jewish businesses proclaimed on 1 April 1933. This in tum provoked Jewish organizations, most notably in the United States, into organizing a boycott of German goods.

The official, state-led boycott (or rather a wave of violence and prosecution) of Jewish businesses of 1 April 1933 (announced on 28 March, speculated about and rumored on 27 March) was declared in revenge for the earlier Jewish boycott.

It lasted one day, was suspended for four days and then canceled altogether although an unofficial boycott was to be carried on by the Nazi party - but not the German state. Both the suspension and cancellation were interpreted as Hitler's weakness and some papers declared a Jewish victory in the German-Jewish war.

1 April: Hitler took fright. The boycott will survive only to the end of the day.

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5 April: The boycott of the Jews canceled. The will be no second part of that action. Hitler yielded to the pressure from Papen and Hugenberg - they see the harm brought on Germany by the anti-Semitic fracas.

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5 April: The [Germany's] second lost war.

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[David Thompson]

The boycott problem began even before the NS-regime came to power, as Harro has pointed out:

January 15, 1933

German Minister of Interior Takes Steps to Curb Nazi Anti-Jewish Boycott Agitation

INSTRUCTS STATE GOVERNMENTS TO ENLIST POLICE TO PREVENT BOYCOTT LEAFLET DISTRIBUTION BEFORE JEWISH STORES

Berlin, Jan. 13 (JTA) – Minister of Interior Dr. Franz Bracht took steps today to curb the anti-Jewish boycott propaganda of the Nazis, after he had received representations from the Central Union of German Citizens of the Jewish Faith.

Dr. Bracht ordered the state governments to enlist the assistance of the police to combat the propaganda and to halt the distribution of boycott leaflets in front of Jewish shops. This latter effort has been undertaken by the Nazis in an effort to prevent non-Jews from purchasing in Jewish shops.

Dr. Bracht stated that the Nazi agitation against the Jews is disturbing to peace and order in the country and causes damage to the Jewish citizens of the land.

The Nazi boycott propaganda has made serious inroads in Jewish business in Germany which is particularly serious in the provinces.

The Nazi fraction in the Diet of Hesse today protested against the action of the police in Hesse in curbing the Nazi boycott campaign.

The Hessen Minister of Interior replied that this action was being taken because the agitation has resulted in repeated disturbances and gas bomb attacks such as those which occurred in Giessen and Mainz. For this reason the Federal government has forbidden the boycott agitation.

http://archive.jta.org/article/1933/01/ ... -agitation