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Bryan Mark Rigg
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Hitler's Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military (Modern War Studies) Paperback – May 6, 2002

by Bryan Mark Rigg (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 136 ratings
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On the murderous road to "racial purity" Hitler encountered unexpected detours, largely due to his own crazed views and inconsistent policies regarding Jewish identity. After centuries of Jewish assimilation and intermarriage in German society, he discovered that eliminating Jews from the rest of the population was more difficult than he'd anticipated. As Bryan Rigg shows in this provocative new study, nowhere was that heinous process more fraught with contradiction and confusion than in the German military.

Contrary to conventional views, Rigg reveals that a startlingly large number of German military men were classified by the Nazis as Jews or "partial-Jews" (Mischlinge), in the wake of racial laws first enacted in the mid-1930s. Rigg demonstrates that the actual number was much higher than previously thought-perhaps as many as 150,000 men, including decorated veterans and high-ranking officers, even generals and admirals.

As Rigg fully documents for the first time, a great many of these men did not even consider themselves Jewish and had embraced the military as a way of life and as devoted patriots eager to serve a revived German nation. In turn, they had been embraced by the Wehrmacht, which prior to Hitler had given little thought to the "race" of these men but which was now forced to look deeply into the ancestry of its soldiers.

The process of investigation and removal, however, was marred by a highly inconsistent application of Nazi law. Numerous "exemptions" were made in order to allow a soldier to stay within the ranks or to spare a soldier's parent, spouse, or other relative from incarceration or far worse. (Hitler's own signature can be found on many of these "exemption" orders.) But as the war dragged on, Nazi politics came to trump military logic, even in the face of the Wehrmacht's growing manpower needs, closing legal loopholes and making it virtually impossible for these soldiers to escape the fate of millions of other victims of the Third Reich.

Based on a deep and wide-ranging research in archival and secondary sources, as well as extensive interviews with more than four hundred Mischlinge and their relatives, Rigg's study breaks truly new ground in a crowded field and shows from yet another angle the extremely flawed, dishonest, demeaning, and tragic essence of Hitler's rule.
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  1. Print length
    460 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Univ Pr of Kansas
  4. Publication date
    May 6, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0700613587
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0700613588
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
136 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched and interesting. They describe it as a must-read and the definitive work on the subject. The writing style is described as easy to read and detailed, providing insights into the setting of pre-WWII and WWII.

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Research qualityWriting styleStory qualityDetail
19 customers mention "Research quality"19 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's research quality good. They say it's well-researched on a little-known aspect of World War II history and the definitive work on the subject. The mini-biographies are complex and full of detail, and the book provides great documentary evidence of those who served during the conflict.

"...Rigg goes on longer than he needs to. But the topic is so engrossing, the mini-biographies so complex and full of contradictions, and the writing..." Read more

"...A must read." Read more

"This is a scholarly, well researched book on a little known aspect of World War II: Germans with Jewish blood (Mischling) who fought for Hitler's..." Read more

"...Still, I found the voluminous details supplied by Rigg to be extremely impressive and highly descriptive of the complexity and confusion of German..." Read more

7 customers mention "Writing style"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and easy to read. They say it opens up new insights and is interesting.

"...-biographies so complex and full of contradictions, and the writing style so clear and enthusiastic that I am wanting more...." Read more

"...Bryan Mark Rigg has written a book that is detailed, fascinating, highly readable, and will likely remain the definitive work on the subject." Read more

"...I though that he was unique. This well written and documented volume opened up a whole new piece of history to me." Read more

"A companion to Lives of Hitler's Jewish Soldiers, very well-written and researched. Goes into more details,..." Read more

6 customers mention "Story quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the story engaging and detailed. They say the mini-biographies are complex and full of contradictions.

"...But the topic is so engrossing, the mini-biographies so complex and full of contradictions, and the writing style so clear and enthusiastic that I..." Read more

"...Bryan Mark Rigg has written a book that is detailed, fascinating, highly readable, and will likely remain the definitive work on the subject." Read more

"Unusually heartbreaking and also inspiring saga of people trying to protect their loved one in a world gone mad. Well researched andwritten" Read more

"Fascinating and Well Written..." Read more

5 customers mention "Detail"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book detailed and fascinating. They appreciate the insights into pre-World War II and World War II settings.

"...The author describes these men well and in great detail far greater than Alan Abrams, especially in regards to Werner Goldberg...." Read more

"...Bryan Mark Rigg has written a book that is detailed, fascinating, highly readable, and will likely remain the definitive work on the subject." Read more

"...details supplied by Rigg to be extremely impressive and highly descriptive of the complexity and confusion of German attempts to deal with..." Read more

"...provided fascinating details about these soldiers, and additional insights into the setting of pre WWII and WWII." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Dr. Ray Cannata, author Rooted: The Apostles' Creed
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond belief
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    Best thing I have read in awhile.

    Author Bryan Mark Riggs was in his late twenties when he wrote this a couple of years ago. He is a (Reform?) Jew. At that point he had already earned a PhD at Cambridge, served as a volunteer in the Israeli Army and US Marines, and was teaching at SMU. This book grew out of his (undergraduate!) thesis at Yale. He found and interviewed a huge number of "Mischlinge" -- half or quarter-Jews who served in the Nazi military during WWII, sometimes with as high a rank as general.

    Rigg improbably estimates there may have been as many as 150,000 such soldiers under Hitler.

    Many of these men served to escape death. Some were just strong German nationalists.

    The interesting part is that both Jewish halakah and Nazi law regarded many of these men as Jews, while most themselves did not! By Nazi law anyone who was 25% Jewish was a Jew whether or not he was baptized, a Nazi Party member, practiced another religion, etc. But those who had already shown loyalty to the German military often were given special exemptions if they continued to serve. Remarkably, most of those part-Jews were proud Germans, with roots in the nation hundreds of years back, who did not practice Judaism. Some were even somewhat anti-Semitic, looking down on the culturally, economically and educationally less advanced (and religiously more Orthodox) East European Jewish immigrants (Ostjuden) as inferior.

    Sadly most fought bravely for the very government that was murdering their relatives, and would surely murder most of them when the war was over and they were no longer needed. (Some lost their exemptions even during the war).

    The madness and the vicious absurdity of the Nazis is portrayed very skillfully by Rigg.

    Rigg goes on longer than he needs to. But the topic is so engrossing, the mini-biographies so complex and full of contradictions, and the writing style so clear and enthusiastic that I am wanting more. I will read everything he writes in the future.

    The next book Rigg wrote last year, BTW, I just started -- its about how the Lubivitcher Rebbe was rescued from Warsaw during Nazi occupation and smuggled out of the country by cooperation between American spies and a part-Jewish Nazi intelligence agent! That book is the most unbelievable story I have ever read. (A Past in Hiiding by Mark Roseman being a close second).

    Any WWII buff MUST read both of these.
    37 people found this helpful
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  • Michael N. Ryan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mischling
    Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    Having read Alan Abram's Pioneering work Special Treatment, I saught out addtional material and found this work mentioned on the internet not yet published.

    I purchased it as soon as it caem onto the market. And I consider my money well spent.

    It's contents make it a dynamo. Liberals using it to justify homosexuals in the military. Neo nazi revisionists fregquently mentioning it along with the acts of various Jewish kapos and collaborators for use to trivialize the Holocost. All of which is morally repugnant to me. As repugnant as mentioning the Confederacy's Judah Benjamin to justify anti-semitism in the US which the nazis did before world war two.

    This book does not give these people any material.

    What the author reveals and details is that for all Hitler and his cronies neo pagen and new age insanity, they readily employed men of ancestry they loathed, mostly as cannon fodder, and perahps to kill them off in battle rather than send them off to the gas chamber later. Often to bizar lengths with the rules they created swith their crackpot minds. The author describes these men well and in great detail far greater than Alan Abrams, especially in regards to Werner Goldberg.

    This is their story. And he describes it well.

    These men faught for Hitler. Bled for him. Some died for him, while he planned to have them sent to the gas chambers or sterilized once he finished off their full Jewish relatives.

    After the war, they got to be treated to bigotry by the Jews who survived who saw them as not Jewish enough to care about, or never let them forget the master they had served.

    He also mentions the notorious Stella Goldschlag, the Gestapo's best Jew Catcher, who helped the nazis catch hundreds of her co-religeonists to send to the camps to murder in her place. Though he does not mention that there were many Jews among the Fascists of europe, such as Italy's facists, the Dutch NSB, the British Fascist Union, and in France.

    A must read.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Lee Mandel
    5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive work on the subject
    Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    This is a scholarly, well researched book on a little known aspect of World War II: Germans with Jewish blood (Mischling) who fought for Hitler's Third Reich. The author conducted numerous interviews that allow the reader to get into the mindsets of people who were caught in the nexus between religion and nationality in a country where the two didn't mix if the religion was Judaism. Whatever their motives, whether it was an attempt to protect family members, or because they were loyal Germans above all, the Mischling had to submit paperwork to request their Aryan status and it could only be granted with the personal approval of Hitler himself, even in the final days of the war as the Third Reich was crumbling. Bryan Mark Rigg has written a book that is detailed, fascinating, highly readable, and will likely remain the definitive work on the subject.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • David Lee
    4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile read
    Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Overall, this book was book was an eye opener, but it also confirmed my belief that some German Jews were active participants in the war effort. Given the degree to which Jews were integrated into German society and culture, including the military it shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Still, I found the voluminous details supplied by Rigg to be extremely impressive and highly descriptive of the complexity and confusion of German attempts to deal with the"Jewish question". The only reason that I didn't give this book five stars is because I found some sections to be repetitive. Regardless, I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in the topic.
    7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Mark Hawkins
    5.0 out of 5 stars First thing I noticed.. Good packaging
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 2, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Like the above packaging good, especially from the US to UK. Book condition was described as very good and was. No complaints here. Recommended
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  • Heinrich
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on June 24, 2016
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    This book is a must have for every WWII historian.
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  • Alessio M.
    5.0 out of 5 stars controversial, but quite true
    Reviewed in Italy on June 3, 2014
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    Very interesting books, finally somebody that shows how the jews in nazi germany were not all zionists, some married the german cause and were granted freedom for it.
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  • Decletian
    5.0 out of 5 stars Erstaunliche Thematik...
    Reviewed in Germany on December 27, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Wenige wissen, dass es in der Wehrmacht auch viele Juden gegeben hat, die sich dort, natürlich voller Angst, äußerst vorsichtig bewegen mussten. Das Perfide ist, dass die Führer der Nationalsozialisten mitunter Juden auch schützten: Hitler selbst schützte ja bekanntermaßen den jüdischen Arzt, der seine krebskranke Mutter behandelt hatte und ein Freund der Familie gewesen war.

    Der Luftwaffengeneral Milch war sicherlich der prominenteste jüdische Offizier der Wehrmacht.
    Aber es gab - wie dieses Buch aufzeigt - unendlich viele, die nicht so bekannt sind.

    Man sollte vielleicht einmal darüber nachdenken, ob der Medienbegriff ''Nazi-Deutschland nicht alle diese verfolgten Leute verunglimpft. Es gab eben nie ein sogenanntes Nazi-Deutschland, sondern ein Land, in dem die Nazis die totale Macht hatten: Es gab aber in ihm Sozialdemokraten, Juden, Kommunisten, Schwule, Zeugen Jehovas usw, die in der Wehrmacht und in der Gesellschaft zu überleben suchten. Diese alle werden durch den Begriff ''Nazi-Deutschland beleidigt, der leider - seit Einführung des Privatfernsehens - immer häufiger Verwendung findet.Unsere Gesellschaft wird eben immer undifferenzierter und die Medien tun viel dafür, dass alle nur noch platt stigmatisieren können.

    Aber unabhängig davon - das Buch ist auf jeden Fall zu empfehlen, für alle, die so gern pauschalisieren.
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  • J.
    4.0 out of 5 stars Une monographie passionnante
    Reviewed in France on May 13, 2004
    Verified Purchase
    Il est toujours difficile pour le profane de juger de la valeur scientifique d'un livre comme celui-ci, qui demeure un ouvrage à prétention universitaire. On peut néanmoins donner son avis de simple lecteur intéressé. Malgré des longueurs et redites où transparaissent certaines contraintes commerciales, l'ouvrage me semble être intéressant pour le grand public avant tout en ce qu'il nous fait mieux saisir la tragédie individuelle qu'ont représenté les persécutions raciales pour des milliers d' "Allemands ordinaires", puisque c'est bien ainsi qu'il convient, semble-t-il, de qualifier ces hommes poursuivis par leur généalogie, qu'ils avaient encore moins de raisons d'assumer que leurs concitoyens proprement juifs ; l'absurdité de la logique raciste poussée jusqu'au bout avec un acharnement singulier ; le poids des conditionnements sociaux, qui empêcha la plupart d'entre eux de voir leur salut dans la fuite hors de ce système mortifère, comme en témoigne leur lutte pathétique pour recouvrer leur place dans une société dont ils n'ont pas compris ou pas voulu comprendre que les forces qui la travaillaient ou s'imposaient à elle, la poussait à les vomir. On pourrait ainsi dire que ces hommes furent les témoins impuissants et les victimes immédiates du naufrage du système de valeurs aristocratique dans l'Allemagne nazie, où l'attachement à la respectabilité et aux médailles devenait, dans une société dont les repères venaient de changer radicalement, contre-productif et proprement aveuglant, jusqu'à la mort.
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