Defeat in World War I left Germany desperate and on the brink of collapse, fertile ground for a Nationalistic movement.

by Rabbi Eliyahu Ellis and Rabbi Shmuel Silinsky

Click to Enlarge
World War I

Allied Soldiers In World War I
photo courtesy of Yad Vashem

Germany did not lose World War I in a decisive military defeat. They saw the writing on the wall and opted for a treaty, an armistice. The treaty that came out of World War I was the "Versailles Treaty."

Versailles Treaty

Representatives Of The "Big Four"
At Versailles

Absolutely nobody was happy with it. The French and the English, who had done a great deal of the fighting and bleeding, felt that Germany got off too easy. On the other hand, Germany felt penalized too much and unjustly.

One of the stipulations was that Germany had to pay $23 billion in war reparations. This was a fraction of the actual damage, which totaled more than $200 billion. But considering that Germany was $100 billion in debt at the end of the war with its resources mortgaged for the next 20 years, it was an impossible demand and it broke the economy. The result: Germany went into hyper-inflation, unemployment soared out of control, and the country went wild with rival factions fighting in the streets.

German Postage Stamps

Postage Stamps During The German "Hyper-Inflation": From 30 Thousand Up To An Incredible 20 BILLION Marks

The political situation in Germany was extremely unstable. The writings of Trotsky and Lenin reveal the efforts that the ‘communist international’ was putting into Germany. Everyone was sure that Germany was the next country to go communist.

Propaganda

Propaganda Equating Jewry With Communism

 

 

In this climate, suddenly, small nationalist folk parties started to spring up. All of them had similar agendas on their platform: Democracy had to go to get some law and order back again. These parties claimed that it was not that Germany lost World War I; rather, the boys on the front lines had the rug pulled out from under their feet.

Who did that?

Those wheelers and dealers back home – the Jews.

Published: December 31, 1969
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Visitor Comments: 89

(88) marasd, July 1, 2011 9:37 AM

absolute justice

Germany got served justice it is what they deserve after they tortured and killed 6 million jews.

Perri, February 2, 2012 11:01 PM

no, this was BEFORE world war II. becasue of this, they ended up torturing and killing not just six million jews, but it isn't right for you to forget about the other 6 million people of various backgrounds, either. Their loss is just as unfortunate. Effectively, World War II and the holocaust may have not happened if not for the treatment of ermany in regards to the Traty of Versailles.

(87) Shaun, August 17, 2010 9:08 PM

Good, Concise Information

Great piece. Many people did and still do associate the first communist movements with Judaism. As Karl Marx was Jewish, it was generalized that all Jews believed in communism. Thus, if they didn't like communism, they thought they should not like the Jews. This was or is prevalent in former areas of the USSR (Ukraine, Moldova, Southern Russia) where the "Red Terror" imprisoned and executed civilians during the Bolshevik revolution. Unfortunately many of the families of these victims associated the communist movement with Judaism and became anti-semitic. We must continue to help educate gentiles of what Judaism really is so they have their facts straight.

(86) NAQEEB, January 12, 2010 6:22 PM

COOL

IT WAS COOL

(85) Zoe, January 11, 2010 9:22 PM

wow!

thats really interesting!

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About the Author

Rabbi Eliyahu Ellis

Rabbi Eliyahu Ellis studied biology and geology at Northern Illinois University. In addition, he spent time as a deep-sea diver in the oil fields in the North Sea between Scotland and Norway and has circumnavigated the seas of the world in a sailboat. Rabbi Ellis received rabbinic ordination from Aish HaTorah where he is a senior lecturer at the Discovery and Essentials programs.

Rabbi Shmuel Silinsky

Rabbi Shmuel Silinsky received his BS from Cornell with a major in Communication Arts and a minor in Archeology, and did post-graduate work at UCLA in the field of Desert Plants and Natural History. Prior to moving to Israel, he worked in the field of Urban Ecology including several years as a landscape designer in Beverly Hills. Rabbi Silinsky received rabbinic ordination from Aish HaTorah and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He currently teaches at the Yeshivat Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.

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