The Transfer Agreement--25th Anniversary Edition: The Dramatic Story of the Pact Between the Third Reich and Jewish Palestine Kindle Edition

Edwin Black (Anglicised name) is the son of a Holocaust survivor and is therefore part of the unique group of 1st generation offspring of Holocaust survivors. He recommends reading The Transfer Agreement Last of his many books, and I am reviewing it after reading all of his other books, and fortunately the 25th anniversary edition. When published in 1984, this book raised quite a commotion because the theme of the book is quite daunting--an actual negotiation between the Jews in German and the National Socialist government to emigrate about 60,000 German Jews to Palestine per the Balfour declaration of Palestine as a Jewish homeland in about 1923, and financed by Germany, partially and significantly. This runs completely counter to the narrative that Adolf Hitler was on a one way track to eliminate all Jews worldwide per his declaration in the book "Mein Kampf".

As a background, Black also described the activities of the 3 major American Jewish organizations to the coming of the National Socialist takeover of the government under the emergency powers of Paul von Hindenburg when they failed to gain a majority in the Reichstag in the elections of 1933. The coalition, slim majority that Hitler had to work with as chancellor eventually led to the "Machtergreifung" (seizing of power) and the buildup of atrocities mainly carried out by the SA (brownshirts). I will spare the reader comparisons to what is going on the US today. The 25th anniversary edition predates the Antifa (which is different from the 1980s German Antifa movement) and the various divisions in America that have resulted partly from the the 8 years of the administration of a pretender to the throne, which undid much of the marvelous and hard work of Dr. Martin Luther King, who wanted to find America colorblind...which in 2008, was in sight. It is no longer in sight, in my opinion. And as stated in my profile, I went to an Ivy League school at a time when it was not predominately leftist and populated by 60s radicals who had moved up the professorial ladder. I studied with real professors in real fields at a time when distribution requirements (humanities, science, mathematics and literature) were in effect--in other words, a classical liberal (the old liberal term) American education.

So, from my perspective, we can see that the Jews in America were quite fearful of antagonizing Germany, and it was only the Jewish War Veterans who announced and promulgated boycott of German goods--which if widespread, might have had an effect on the buildup of the German war economy. Representatives of German Jewry met with Hermann Goering more than once and were placated. I haven't studied Goering deeply enough to have an opinion about this but I will study him now.

What is vitally important from my reading of The Transfer Agreement is that blind criticism of the National Socialist movement as it developed in Germany is rather evidence of being misinformed, and not understanding how Germany emerged from the Depression faster than the U.S. did.
Roosevelt was largely unconcerned with Jewish matters when he should have been, and with the attitude of organized German Jews in America, Hitler could see no impediment to his policies coming from across the Atlantic, and the SA, and ultimately the SS forged ahead with the SS being responsible for the "final solution" which was announced at a multi-departmental summit in January, 1942 at Wannsee.

Edwin Black's books are always well written and referenced, and this is no exception. He asks readers only to read his books from start to finish, which is reasonable considering how complex they are, and how he builds his arguments and conclusions. This is one of the best in the series, so you can look forward to reading it after digesting all the others. What you come out with is the result of a lifetime of scholarly writing of the best order, and a clear understanding of how Germany rose from the ashes to launch a war of world conquest. I believe Germany failed only because of the unwise decision to initiate a two-front war when the western front was really not secure, and the defeat at Stalingrad was the beginning of the end. Germany assured that the main cause of death in the 20th century would be by democide (death by government) whether civilian or military.
"The Transfer Agreement" is the most profound, puzzling, and controversial of all of his books, and by far, the most thought-provoking. I highly recommend it.

Haavara abkommen or transfer agreement is embarrassing account of Zionist collaboration with National socialist government of Germany.

Disturbing and eye opener

Graet and rigorously researched scholarly work. Black's books are astounding and brilliant. Like 'IBM and the Holocaust', 'Farhud'- expulsion of Iraqi Jews, etc.

Very informative book. Eye opener.

A fascinating read. Although the author says to start with his later books, and then read The Transfer Agreement, I dove into this book instead. I now what to read Mr. Black's other books.

Amazing, this will leave you Speehless and forever bewildered by the choice.

A MUST READ IN AN ATTEMTP TO BEGIN TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WEIMAR GERMANY, MUSLEM BROTHERHOOD 1924, NAZI GERMANY, PALESTINE,POST WW II, ISRAEL 1947, SUEZ, 1956, 1968, 1973, BLACK SEPTEMBER, ALFATAH, ALKIADA, 1991, GULF 1, PRE 911, POST 911, GULF WAR II, ARAB SPRING, ISIS, DISMEMBERMENT OF SYRI, IRAQ 2014-2015 G. LA TOURNERIE, WEXFORD SYSTEMS, LLC.