Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion [Paperback]

Norman Rufus Colin Cohn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

Hitler's anti-semitic obsession stems from his fascination with an enormously influential literary forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Warrant for Genocide sets the story of the Protocols within the broader context of the history of anti-semitism-a key book for understanding the murderous folly of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The myth of Jews as children of the Devil, mysterious, uncanny and possessed of sinister powers, has persisted since the second century, when they were accused of killing Christian children, torturing the consecrated wafer and poisoning wells. In his history of the demonizing of Jewry, British academic Cohn (The Pursuit of the Millennium), describes the modern adaptation of that myth as promulgated through the turn-of-the-century forgery "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." This document was purported to plan Jewish domination of the globe through control of political parties, banks, the press and public opinion, "casting a net of gold and steel around the world." Although soon to be proven a blatant hoax by the Berne trial in 1935, the "Protocols" sold 120,000 copies in Germany in one year and helped convince 17 million Germans to vote Nazi in 1933. Cohn shows how the fiction of a Jewish conspiracy then combined with volkisch-racist ideology to produce the Holocaust: civilization needed to be rescued from this dark, earthbound race by the "world of good, of light, incarnated in blond, blue-eyed people" marching under the sun-god's symbol, the swastika. This, Cohn argues, with convincing evidence, was the justification used for murdering two thirds of all the Jews in Europe. Long out of print, Cohn's book, complete with a new afterword and extended extracts from the "Protocols" in the appendix, is a well-documented, accessible introduction to a key factor in the history of the Holocaust.

Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Cohn here does a little literary detection as he unravels the history of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged volume that allegedly laid out a plan for Jewish world domination. Though a fake, the Protocols nonetheless was at the root of a great deal of anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere and was quite popular in the Third Reich. "This important work is well written and thoroughly documented, and should be available in even the smallest library" (LJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Serif (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897959257
• ISBN-13: 978-1897959251
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Eye Opening and Historical Look at Jewish Persicution., November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Paperback)

I read this book while taking a semester of school in Jersalem. I had always known about the holocaust, but never did I understand the lies and fabrications that accompanied and fueled that hate. This book exposes the deception and lies that caused the people of Europe, and Eastern Europe to foster what really amounts to fear that manifested itself in hate acts. The author documents his claims well, and dose a good job avoiding emotional baggage. The work is well written, well documented, and a well argued book. I would recommend it to anyone for its educational value. You will never think of the holocaust the same again. E-Mail me and we'll talk about it. -Santa Clarita,Ca

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One excellente book., January 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Paperback)

This book is more than a simple history about the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, it is a very interesting way to understand how fanatics and crazy men move peoples and countries to hate and kill another people. The title of this book is very explicit : " Warrant for Genocide ".

The exposition of the book is very clear, from first times of cristianism when the antisemitism started to our days, when still today groups of new nazis or fascists , including Ku-Klux-Klan and skin heads , believe in one imaginary " secret jewish world government ". Nietzsche wrotte :

" But the clown imagen of these sick spirits, of these paranoic of ideas, influences over the mass. Humanity prefers see stupids faces rather than to hear reasons ".

Great !!!, Nietzsche wrotte this 50 years before Hitler spechees.

Precisally Protocols of the Elders of Zion are a perfect example about how supertision, fanatism, no tolerance, can influence to people to kill or at least to be partner of the crime. Today we know that even Catholic Chruch cooperate with nazis and keep a ciminal silence about all the germans crimes. And the cristian bases of antisemitism, is more clear reading this book, in fact, the first " discover " of Protocols of the Elders of Zion was Sergey A. Nilus, a cristian priest.

One of the principals points of view of this book is how people don`t think, don`t analize, don`t see, people just " believe " in a blind way. For exampe, was stupid the nazi believing that Elders of Zion cause the First World War and the germany defeat, this war was a product of complex socials, economic and politics conditions. But fanatics don`t understand real causes. Or to say that Russian Revolution was " moved " by jewish people, in reality jewish people suferred under comunist government and Soviet Union allways helped to arab nations trying to destroy Israel. Stalin himself ordered to kill jewish revolutionaries like Trosty. But we return to beginning " Humanity prefers see stupids faces rather than to hear reasons ".

Finally, my advice is not just read, is to study this amazing book. THIS BOOK IS A MEDICINE AGAINST FANATISM .

Please excuse my wrong writting of English, regards

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading., November 12, 2002

By 

M. D Roberts (Gwent, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Paperback)

"Warrant For Genocide" declares that, whilst only about one third of all civilians killed by the Nazis were Jews, it was the Jewish people that were uniquely marked out for extermination.

It further declares that the Jewish people were not just simply killed or worked to death, but were sought out, humiliated, hunted, persecuted and tortured with an intensity of hatred uniquely reserved for them alone.

This even though the Jews as a people did not constitute a belligerent nation, or even a nation at all, but lived scattered in their own communities throughout Europe, yet suffered a hatred beyond any scope of normality and totally disproportionate to their number or any perceived threat.

This book investigates some issues which might serve to explain some of that hatred. A hatred that unfortunately still exists to this day. A hatred that not only still affects the Jews that still reside in European or international communities, but also those Jews who now live in their own homeland of Israel. A hatred that is perhaps now more prevalent than at any time since the aforementioned Nazi regimes that murdered so many.

The author here examines the myth of Jewish world conspiracy and the notorious forgery known as the `Protocols of the Elders of Zion' and the effects of these myths upon society, public opinion, anti-Semitism and pertaining to the Holocaust itself.

At the Berne trial in 1935, being shown as a proven hoax, the "Protocols" still sold 120,000 copies in Germany in the period of just one year. With some 17 million Germans casting their votes to the Nazis in 1933, the author shows how the absurd myth of a Jewish conspiracy combined with a prevalent racist ideology did much to produce the Holocaust.

The author points out that these abhorrent myths have not died out and their resultant hatreds still raise their ugly heads. Even today, some areas of the Middle East grant official state approved media publication to these same issues that have caused so much animosity and bloodshed.

Highly recommended read to assess the impact of these myths, their historical and present perspectives and anti-Semitism as an issue in it's own right.