Bauer offers an eye-opening look into the following question: Could
Jewish leaders in America, England, Palestine, and occupied Europe
itself have ransomed significant numbers of their brethren? Bauer
(Holocaust Studies/Hebrew Univ., Jerusalem; coauthor, A History of
the Holocaust, 1982) examines carefully the motives of both Nazi
figures (particularly SS head Heinrich Himmler) and various Jewish
counterparts. His focus is on four ransom efforts: the Ha'avera (or
"transfer") agreement by which considerable numbers of German Jews
were permitted to emigrate to Palestine between 1933 and 1939 in
exchange for large-scale purchases of German goods; the "Europa
Plan," advanced by Slovak Jewish leaders in 1943 to halt
deporations to the death camps in exchange for a multimillion
dollar payment; the famous "Joel Brand affair" of 1944, which was
(inaccurately) said to have involved a proposed exchange of a
million Jews, most in Hungary, for 10,000 trucks; and some far more
modest, but also more successful, ransom efforts during the war's
final months. After combing German, English, and Hebrew sources,
Bauer concludes that Jewish leaders within and outside of occupied
Europe achieved "only partial and marginal successes" in trying to
rescue the ever-shrinking remnant of European Jewry. The Allies,
bent on driving the Germans to an unconditional surrender, balked
at cooperating with Jewish ransom efforts. For their part, the
Nazis were ambivalent, at times committed to murdering every last
European Jew, at times willing to make exceptions, particularly
when it became clear that they would lose the war. Finally, some of
the Jews who transmitted messages to and from the Nazis, and in
rare cases dealt directly with them, were what Bauer terms "shady
underworld figures" trusted neither by "establishment" Jewish
leaders nor by the Allies. Bauer also looks at several key rescue
efforts by non-Jews. Throughout this exemplary work of scholarship
and clear historical narrative, Bauer's historical judgments are as
balanced and fair-minded as his research is meticulous. A
pathbreaking, superb contribution to Holocaust studies. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The world has recently learned of Oskar Schindler's efforts to save
the lives of Jewish workers in his factory in Poland by bribing
Nazi officials. Not as well known, however, are many other equally
dramatic attempts to negotiate with the Nazis for the release of
Jews in exchange for money, goods, or political benefits. In this
riveting book, a leading Holocaust scholar examines these attempts,
describing the cast of characters, the motives of the participants,
the frustrations and few successes, and the moral issues raised by
the negotiations. Drawing on a wealth of previously unexamined
sources, Yehuda Bauer deals with the fact that before the war
Hitler himself was willing to permit the total emigration of Jews
from Germany in order to be rid of them. In the end, however, there
were not enough funds for the Jews to buy their way out, there was
no welcome for them abroad, and there was too little time before
war began. Bauer then concentrates on the negotiations that took
place between 1942 and 1945 as Himmler tried to keep open options
for a separate peace with the Western powers. In fascinating detail
Bauer portrays the dramatic intrigues that took place: a group of
Jewish leaders bribed a Nazi official to stop the deportation of
Slovakian Jews; a Czech Jew known as Dogwood tried to create an
alliance between American leaders and conservative German
anti-Nazis; Adolf Eichmann's famous "trucks for blood" proposal to
exchange one million Jews for trucks to use against the Soviets
failed because of Western reluctance; and much more. Tormenting
questions arise throughout Bauer's discussion. If the Nazis were
actually willing to surrender more Jews, should the Allies have
acted on the offer? Did the efforts to exchange lives for money
constitute collaboration with the enemy or heroism? In answering
these questions, Bauer's book-engrossing, profound, and deeply
moving-adds a new dimension to Holocaust studies.
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