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

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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

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

"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.

Cohn's study of the creation and the effect of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is enlightening, disturbing and at times maddening. He traces the beginnings of the myth, moves on to how it developed and then ends with its use. As an historical piece this book is worth reading, but its real strength is in explaining how a patently unbelievable story could have had such a devesting effect on so many people. The effected were not just the peasants of Russia but the educated class of Germany, France and other parts of Europe.

When one first understands thesis of the myth the reaction is how could anyone have believed this .... It would be akin to convincing a nation that Alice in Wonderland is an accurate description of a little girls journey. However, the historical truth is that thousands if not millions relied on the myth as a framework that led to the holocaust. Nations used the myth as a framework for policies and laws. What becomes clear is that no matter how unbelievable the story is that many believed it and acted on it. Given this historical fact, Cohn's book can best be seen as a warning and reminder to think before one believes.

This is a good book about an important subject.

When you read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion the first thing you wonder is how could anybody have taken them seriously. Yet that's exactly what thousands of people did - and not only ignorant Russian peasants but also scholars and intellectuals from all kinds of backgrounds and nationalities. The origins of the myth of the Jewish world-conspiracy and its devastating effects are clearly explained by Norman Cohn in this fascinating book. What originated as a fabrication concocted by a few obscure fanatics, eventually became a major influence in the treatment Jews received in Russia and Germany. Jewry, imagined as a closely organised, world-wide political power was seen as an embodiment of modernity, a symbol of all those forces in the modern world that the most reactionary members of society feared and hated.

The Protocols originated in France but found their most ardent adherents in Russia - a country with a well established anti-Semitic tradition - and later in Germany, where Hitler found in them a "rational" explanation for his beliefs and a justification for his actions. Save in Britain, the unmasking of the forgery in 1921 made little difference and they ultimately became a warrant for genocide during WWII, when millions of Jews were systematically exterminated by the Nazis. As Mr. Cohn puts it: "Behind the massacre as a whole there was a blind fanaticism which was largely inspired by the Protocols and the myth of the Jewish world-conspiracy."

Norman Cohn's book is populated with obscure, half-crazy, half-criminal political adventurers who used this ridiculous fake as a device for obtaining influence, privilege and power. His well documented and brilliantly written analysis of the origins and effects of the Protocols is an essential work for understanding the extreme anti-Semitism that led to the murder of millions of people.

_Warrant for Genocide_ by Norman Cohn provides the reader with an excellent history of the notorious forgery "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", the myth of the Jewish world conspiracy, and a general history of some of the antiSemitic movements. Ever popular among occultists, antiSemites, fringe politicals, NeoNazis, and conspiracy theorists, the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" have an intriguing history. Norman Cohn begins by tracing the idea of Jewish world conspiracy to early nominally Christian apocalyptic movements. To the orthodox Christian, apocalypticism represents a heretical movement which seeks to give rise to the Kingdom of God on Earth. During the French Revolution, rumors abounded concerning mysterious groups of "Illuminati" initiates and Freemasonic cults. The French Jesuit, Abbe Barruel, wrote about his experiences with the Illuminati, and the Freemasonic lodges were blame for the terror of the French Revolution. Basing their philosophy on Enlightenment principles and rejecting the authority of tradition, the monarchy, and the Catholic Church, the Freemasons and the Illuminati were notorious for their role in instigating subversion. It was against this background of paranoia that various antiSemitic pamphlets began to circulate many of which attempted to link the Jews with the Freemasons in a plot for world conquest. For instance, mysterious letters from various rabbis were produced which claimed that the Jews should infiltrate Christian European society so as to further their own schemes for world domination. Traditionally seen as an agent of Satan, the Jews were an easy target for various antiSemitic European individuals who often concocted such "letters" as a joke. It was amidst this environment of antiSemitism and hostility towards Jews and Freemasons that the "Protocols" document was forged. Between 1903 and 1907, the "Protocols" document circulated among the Russian intelligentsia and among the Russian press. In his book _The Great in the Small, the occultist Sergey Nilus provided his theories on the Jewish conspiracy and the imminent arrival of Antichrist as well as including a copy of the "Protocols". Norman Cohn explains how the "Protocols" document is a historical forgery which may have been based on the text of _Dialogue aux Enfers entre Montesquieu et Machiavel_ by the French lawyer Maurice Joli. The "Protocols" basically outline a plan for Jewish infiltration of Christian society and eventual take-over based upon the philosophy that "Might is Right". Cohn then proceeds to outline how the Russian tsarist secret police, the Okrhana, developed an interest in the "Protocols" and explains the rise of a pre-fascist movement, the Black Hundreds, in Russia. Interestingly, the swastika symbol was used among initiates in the Black Hundreds movement as a symbol of opposition to Jews. When the Tsar and Tsaritsa were found dead, a copy of the book _The Great in the Small_ and a drawing of the swastika symbol was found among the Tsaritsa's personal effects. Instances such as these led to many populist uprisings. In the showdown between the Russian "Whites" (loyalists to the tsar and the empire) and the Bolsheviks in the Russian revolution, the "Protocols" played an important role among the reactionary Whites. Cohn then proceeds to show how the "Protocols" reached Germany and eventually made their way around the world. Propagated by such individuals as Alfred Rosenberg, the Nazi theorist and writer of the book _The Myth of the Twentieth Century_, during the Nazi era, the "Protocols" played an important part in the ideology of the Nazis and were used by Hitler in his schemes for constructing the Third Reich. Other individuals associated with the "Protocols" or antiSemitism including the American industrialist Henry Ford, who wrote the notorious book popular among Nazis _The International Jew_ (although he later would repent of his antiSemitism), and the Depression era Catholic priest Father Charles Coughlin. Norman Cohn's book provides an interesting history of the various subversive movements which used the "Protocols" to further their own brand of hatred. Also, the book is interesting for its understanding of the phenomenon of antiSemitism. Norman Cohn includes a chapter in which he analyzes the role of paranoia and antiSemitism in the mental instabilities of different individuals and entire cultures. Antisemitism may indeed be a form of psychological aberration. In today's world, the "Protocols" have again by ressurrected by different occult and conspiracy groups as well as NeoNazis and Islamic extremists seeking to justify their terroristic activities. Whatever the "Protocols" may indicate about the nature of the human animal, it is most likely something very sinister and disturbing. This is a good book which might provide an understanding and a bridge towards development away from antiSemitism.

Also recommended: Nicholas Goodrick-Clark and Hannah Arendt's _The Origins of Totalitarianism_.

The New York Times of October 26, 2002 tells us, in a front-page story, that "Anti-Semitic 'Elders of Zion' Gets New Life on Egypt TV." So now, almost 60 years after the downfall of Hitler, his favorite book and his favorite mania are once more resurrected. What to do ? The first thing surely is to consult the most scholarly study of the topic, by a namesake of mine (but no relative). I first purchased this volume in a Pelican edition back in 1976. Since then I have read much on the notorious "Protocols," but nothing else can compare to this outstanding treatment by one of the great historians on the 20th century.

This book offers an incredible window into the history of the most infamous piece of antisemitic propaganda set to paper. The survey goes from their origin to the sixties. Cohn breaks this up into sections organized chronologically and geographically. At times one can get very bogged down in the mass of information and keeping names straight can be a huge headache. I had problems with it at times despite having a general knowledge of the history, so be forewarned if you don't have background knowledge you might have a lot of trouble. The mass of information is incredibly useful, the absorption of it was certainly the major difficulty for me. The appendices at the end were somewhat helpful for adding a perspective to what is contained in the book.

All in all this book is very informative but I think its weakness is in getting slogged down in details which, though necessary, could be presented in a more readable way.

Cohn sees the origins of the myth of a Jewish world conspiracy in the 2nd to 4th centuries in Chrysostom and Augustine. Before them was Melito of Sardis. The "Church Fathers" invented the idea that the antichrist would be Jewish. Cohn is silent about those notorious passages in the New Testament that are so thoroughly examined by William Nichols. The next wave of demonization hit in the 12th century and the outbreak from about 1850 was a blend of ancient subconscious terrors & anxieties triggered by modernity's fruits of democracy, liberalism & secularism.

Leftist antisemitism of a different nature existed in the French & German socialist movements but the root of the Protocols go back to Barruel's 1797 book about a Judeo-Masonic conspiracy. The phenomenon became more antisemitic with Hermann Goedsche's 1868 pulp novel Biarritz that contained a chapter first published in Russian newspapers in 1872. Interaction between Russian & French perpetrators like Gougenot des Mousseaux, an extreme traditionalist catholic, was pivotal. Edouard Drumont & the Archbishop of Port Louis on Mauritius made major contributions, as did the publication La civiltá cattolica - more on this in Kertzer's book The Popes Against the Jews. In Russia where Judeopathic propaganda was officially sponsored, prominent perps include Braffman, Lutostansky, Osman Bey and Sergey Nilus above all.

Put together in Russia between 1894 & 1899, the tract was distributed by the instigators of pogroms, the proto-Fascist Black Hundreds, supported by the Russian government & Orthodox Church. Three themes predominate: Hatred of the free society, Description of methods to achieve world domination, Description of resulting global government in a lurid prose style teeming with contradictions & illogic. The various editions made wildly conflicting claims as to its origin. The Times of London & Spectator gave it some credence in 1920 as a German-Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy! The next year The Times thoroughly exposed it as forgery & plagiarism of a book by Maurice Joly. This killed it in Britain.

Disillusion after the War prepared the climate so it became popular in Germany in 1919, with many editions and selections printed in newspapers plus a plethora of supporting commentaries. At the time, 6 organizations & 12 periodicals/newspapers dedicated to Judeopathic hate literature arose. Some disseminators were paranoids who genuinely believed it to be true but really contemptible individuals like Ernst Reventlow knew it was a forgery yet cynically used it. The hate epidemic led to the murder of foreign minister Rathenau. The Russian revolution was supposedly proof of the Protocols but there were more Jews in the Menshevik faction, most killed by Bolsheviks in the 1920s while most Bolshevik Jews were murdered in the 1930s. The civil war from 1918 - 1920 was characterized by massacres of Jews.

After Hitler gained power in 1933 it was distributed by German Nazi associations and sympathizers worldwide. In the USA, Henry Ford marketed it & the book the International Jew through his paper The Dearborn Independent. In America, the Freemasons were excluded but the German party line was followed in which the UK & France were controlled by the Elders of Zion. President Woodrow Wilson protested most eloquently against it. The author thinks Henry Ford, more naïve than evil, genuinely believed the nonsense. In Poland it was promoted by the Church and in France by Russian émigrés, many newspapers, the Catholic Prelate Mgr. Jouin and the royalist Roger Lambelin.

The cultic aspect of German nationalism first surfaced with Paul de Lagarde who popularized a mythical antiquity whilst the racist aspect arrived with the pseudo-scientific theories of Wilhelm Marr & Eugen Dühring spread by propagandists Theodor Fritsch & Houston S Chamberlain. In both Austria & Germany, antisemitic literature was created by academics & intellectuals and consumed by university students, artisans and small retailers. Like all Secular Salvationist Cults it was impervious to reason & inspired fanaticism. The quotes from Hitler's writings reveal a Messiah Complex; although he despised Christianity as an offspring of Judaism, he made full use of its imagery and symbolism. Ultimately, the Nazis modeled themselves on the fictitious "elders" of the Protocols.

Alfred Rosenberg, a true believer, was the first Nazi mythmaker whilst Goebbels was a deliberate liar. Opinion surveys conducted by Michael Müller-Claudius amongst Nazis in 1938 & 1942 reveal an interesting phenomenon: the percentage of murderous fanatics stayed the same but the proportion of those indifferent to the fate of the Jews increased from 32% to 69%. Cohn confirms a 1946 observation of Michael Polanyi about the romantic nihilist: the murderous impulse in the fanatics took complete possession of their psyches, leading to an utter loss of humanity and conscience.

The Protocols were exported in order to create an international network. In the 1930s this led to famous trials in South Africa & Switzerland; in both cases the fraud & plagiarism were exposed. In Canada it led to the formation of the Quebec Blueshirts whilst in the USA it was embraced by the Catholic "Father" Coughlin and the Protestant "Reverend" Gerald Winrod. Its toxic fruits in Argentina, Japan, Italy & Hungary are discussed, and in France with reference to Ferdinand Céline amongst others. In all cases a weird apocalyptic atmosphere characterized those involved.

There are indices demonstrating different aspects of the Protocols like the plagiarism and the connections to Antichrist & apocalypse. The bibliographical note includes lists of editions published in about 17 languages up to 1945, not including Arabic editions. Black & white illustrations enhance the text and the book concludes with an index. I also recommend A Rumor about the Jews by Stephen Eric Bronner.

The Foreword identifies the antisemitism that resulted in the Shoah/Holocaust as a demonological superstition. Cohn reminds us of the underworld where fanatics propagate insanities disguised as ideas that are eagerly embraced by the superstitious & stupid. Occasionally it emerges from the subterranean domain to captivate normally sane people, unleashing the most destructive impulses in mankind. Such a time is now, again, unfortunately. The Internet is facilitating this phenomenon.

Cohn sees the origins of the myth of a Jewish world conspiracy in the 2nd to 4th centuries in Chrysostom and Augustine. Before them was Melito of Sardis. The "Church Fathers" invented the idea that the antichrist would be Jewish. Cohn is silent about those notorious passages in the New Testament that are so thoroughly examined by William Nichols. The next wave of demonization hit in the 12th century, same time that the cult of the Black Madonna resurfaced. The outbreak from about 1850 was a blend of ancient subconscious terrors & anxieties triggered by modernity's fruits of democracy, liberalism & secularism.

Leftist antisemitism of a different nature existed in the French & German socialist movements but the root of the Protocols go back to Barruel's 1797 book about a Judeo-Masonic conspiracy. The phenomenon became more antisemitic with Hermann Goedsche's 1868 pulp novel Biarritz that contained a chapter first published in Russian newspapers in 1872. Interaction between Russian & French perpetrators like Gougenot des Mousseaux, an extreme traditionalist catholic, was pivotal. Edouard Drumont & the Archbishop of Port Louis on Mauritius made major contributions, as did the publication La civiltá cattolica - more on this in Kertzer's book The Popes Against the Jews. In Russia where Judeopathic propaganda was officially sponsored, prominent perps include Braffman, Lutostansky, Osman Bey and Sergey Nilus above all.

Put together in Russia between 1894 & 1899, the tract was distributed by the instigators of pogroms, the proto-Fascist Black Hundreds, supported by the Russian government & Orthodox Church. Three themes predominate: Hatred of the free society, Description of methods to achieve world domination, Description of resulting global government in a lurid prose style teeming with contradictions & illogic. The various editions made wildly conflicting claims as to its origin. The Times of London & Spectator gave it some credence in 1920 as a German-Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy! The next year The Times thoroughly exposed it as forgery & plagiarism of a book by Maurice Joly. This killed it in Britain.

Disillusion after the War prepared the climate so it became popular in Germany in 1919, with many editions and selections printed in newspapers plus a plethora of supporting commentaries. At the time, 6 organizations & 12 periodicals/newspapers dedicated to Judeopathic hate literature arose. Some disseminators were paranoids who genuinely believed it to be true but really contemptible individuals like Ernst Reventlow knew it was a forgery yet cynically used it. The hate epidemic led to the murder of foreign minister Rathenau. The Russian revolution was supposedly proof of the Protocols but there were more Jews in the Menshevik faction, most killed by Bolsheviks in the 1920s while most Bolshevik Jews were murdered in the 1930s. The civil war from 1918 - 1920 was characterized by massacres of Jews.

After Hitler gained power in 1933 it was distributed by German Nazi associations and sympathizers worldwide. In the USA, Henry Ford marketed it & the book the International Jew through his paper The Dearborn Independent. In America, the Freemasons were excluded but the German party line was followed in which the UK & France were controlled by the Elders of Zion. President Woodrow Wilson protested most eloquently against it. The author thinks Henry Ford, more naïve than evil, genuinely believed the nonsense. In Poland it was promoted by the Church and in France by Russian émigrés, many newspapers, the Catholic Prelate Mgr. Jouin and the royalist Roger Lambelin.

The cultic aspect of German nationalism first surfaced with Paul de Lagarde who popularized a mythical antiquity whilst the racist aspect arrived with the pseudo-scientific theories of Wilhelm Marr & Eugen Dühring spread by propagandists Theodor Fritsch & Houston S Chamberlain. In both Austria & Germany, antisemitic literature was created by academics & intellectuals and consumed by university students, artisans and small retailers. Like all Secular Salvationist Cults it was impervious to reason & inspired fanaticism. The quotes from Hitler's writings reveal a Messiah Complex; although he despised Christianity as an offspring of Judaism, he made full use of its imagery and symbolism. Ultimately, the Nazis modeled themselves on the fictitious "elders" of the Protocols.

Alfred Rosenberg, a true believer, was the first Nazi mythmaker whilst Goebbels was a deliberate liar. Opinion surveys conducted by Michael Müller-Claudius amongst Nazis in 1938 & 1942 reveal an interesting phenomenon: the percentage of murderous fanatics stayed the same but the proportion of those indifferent to the fate of the Jews increased from 32% to 69%. Cohn confirms a 1946 observation of Michael Polanyi about the romantic nihilist: the murderous impulse in the fanatics took complete possession of their psyches, leading to an utter loss of humanity and conscience.

The Protocols were exported in order to create an international network. In the 1930s this led to famous trials in South Africa & Switzerland; in both cases the fraud & plagiarism were exposed. In Canada it led to the formation of the Quebec Blueshirts whilst in the USA it was embraced by the Catholic "Father" Coughlin and the Protestant "Reverend" Gerald Winrod. Its toxic fruits in Argentina, Japan, Italy & Hungary are discussed, and in France with reference to Ferdinand Céline amongst others. In all cases a weird apocalyptic atmosphere characterized those involved.

There are indices demonstrating different aspects of the Protocols like the plagiarism and the connections to Antichrist & apocalypse. The bibliographical note includes lists of editions published in about 17 languages up to 1945, not including Arabic editions. Black & white illustrations enhance the text and the book concludes with an index. I also recommend A Rumor about the Jews by Stephen Eric Bronner.