Hitler's motivation rediscovered

Interesting to have a noted historian confirm what anyone familiar with "Mein Kampf" would know -- that Hitler's antisemitism was largely a response to the actual prominence of Jews in many things that Hitler disapproved of. The author is however mistaken in saying that Hitler's views were formed AFTER WWI. Hitler's antisemitic views were already extreme by the time he wrote the Gemlich letter in 1919 and Hitler himself (in "Mein Kampf", chapter 2) describes his transition to antisemitism as pre-war



Adolf Hitler's obsessive hatred for Jews was sparked by his experiences after World War One, according to a new book. Respected historian Ralf-George Reuth argues the dictator blamed them for both the Russian revolution and the collapse of the German economy. The claim is a stark contrast to previous theories that Hitler's anti-Semitism was spawned on the back streets of Vienna when he was a down-and-out in the lead up to 1914. Historians have even speculated that he was partly-Jewish himself – or even that his mother died at the hands of an inept Jewish physician.

'Hitler’s Jewish Hatred; Cliche and Reality’ draws on numerous archives to pinpoint the reasons behind the Holocaust, which claimed six million lives. Reuth argues that what was probably lower middle-class bigotry shared by many at the time, morphed into murderous hatred for Hitler after 1919.

At the time almost half of all German private banks were Jewish owned, the stock exchange dominated by Jewish stockbrokers, almost half of the nation’s newspapers were Jewish run as were 80 per cent of chain stores. It became fashionable to decry the loss of the war on Jewish financiers.

But Hitler, according to Reuth, also blamed Jews for the Russian revolution, citing Leon Trotsky’s faith, as well as that of Marx whose theories he followed and even Lenin, who was one-quarter Jewish. When a Soviet republic was declared briefly in Munich that year, argues Reuth, the die was cast for Hitler to demonise the Jews as bearing responsibility for the world’s ills.

'With World War One lost and Germany in financial ruin, with revolution threatening, he came to see the Jews as solely responsible for stock-exchange capitalism, which caused acute poverty and suffering when it faltered, and Bolshevism,' said Reuth. 'These two events were pivotal in shaping his views of Jews and his subsequent plan to murder them all. 'He bought into the rumours and the whispers that blamed Jewish capitalists for stabbing Germany in the back.

'Then he saw that many Jews played prominent roles in the brief Soviet republic founded in Munich in 1919, against everything Hitler the nationalist stood for. 'The two events, together with the Russian revolution, coalesced to turn them, in his mind, into scapegoats for everything. 'But it was only after World War One, not before. I show that he had many Jewish acquaintances in Vienna, despite his writing in Mein Kampf that he was sickened by the sight of the Jews he saw there.'

Reuth draws on a wealth of archival material showing how Hitler fed off the intellectuals of the day to shape his belief. He quotes Nobel prize-winning novelist Thomas Mann who wrote in 1919 that he equated the Bolshevik revolution in Russia with the Jews. Ernst Nolte, a Berlin historian, expounded this theory over 20 years ago in a paper that was not given much credit at the time.

Reuth is a distinguished Nazi-era biographer who wrote an acclaimed book about Third Reich propaganda master Josef Goebbels.

SOURCE

A major omission above is that it was the prominence of Jews among the Marxist agitators of prewar Vienna that particularly alienated Hitler. The Marxist notion of class war and idealization of the proletariat cut right across Hitler's idealization of ALL Germans. The Marxist class-based ideology clashed with Hitler's race-based ideology but, typical of Leftists, both thought only in terms of groups. In the light of the current high rate of Leftism among American Jews, one hopes that a realization of where that led last time will one day dawn. That the facts of what happened last time are now slowly being acknowledged is hopeful.

Note that, as in prewar Germany, people still feel strong partisanship towards their own ethnic and national group for all that Leftists try to demonize it. For a "right now" example of that in action, see here. And for the "right now" hatred of Jews in Britain, see here and here. I give a much fuller account of Hitler's motivations here

While I am talking about Hitler and his times, I might mention briefly a rather strange article by an Italian writer Fabio Paolo Barbieri which claims to refute the idea that Nazism/Fascism was Leftist even though he appears to know virtually nothing about Nazism and Fascism. He says that Marx was primarily a Prussian rather than a socialist. But if Marx was not the quintessential Leftist, who would be? He also says that Fascism/Nazism was not Leftist because Fascists/Nazis murdered and went to war against other socialists. He has obviously never heard of sibling rivalry, which can easily be murderous. Witness the icepick to the head which Trotsky got from Stalin

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The Gathering Storm over the Dollar

Obama is running the dollar printing presses like a Third-World dictator, which always leads to near worthless money

At the end of the day, the U.S. dollar, and assets denominated in dollars, may not be worth the paper they’re printed on as storm clouds gather over the nation’s future prosperity. And the world is taking ominous note.

At the recent BRIC summit in Yekaterinburg, the U.S. requested to be an observer, and was refused. In the lead-up to the conference, signals from both Russia and China indicated both are seeking alternatives to the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, as explained in a recent backgrounder from Americans for Limited Government.

Proclamations from central banks and heads of state concerning the safety of dollar assets are occurring almost daily. And even when such a statement is in favor of the dollar, such as Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano’s recent declaration, it is hardly believable. He said, “We have complete trust in the fact that the U.S. views its strong-dollar policy as fundamental. So our trust in U.S. Treasuries is absolutely unshakable.” Why? Because, he said, “We have complete faith in U.S. economic and fiscal policy.”

That, of course, is a scary thought. Is he talking about the same fiscal policy that now projects a $1.85 trillion budget deficit, spit out a $787 billion “stimulus” with no money in the bank to back it, just approved a $108 billion expansion of the IMF, and now proposes a trillion-dollar health care plan—all this year alone? The same monetary policy where the Federal Reserve is printing fiat greenbacks to purchase more than $300 billion of U.S. treasuries to finance the debt? The same entitlement policy that has produced more than $104 trillion in unfunded liabilities to Medicare and Social Security?

“The U.S. dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency isn’t under threat,” Mr. Yosano trumpeted. It isn’t? Then what does he make of China and Russia beating the drums for the dollar to be replaced with Special Drawing Rights (SDR)-denominated bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? As ALG News has previously reported, the dollar is in danger.

Somewhat curious is that Mr. Yosano’s statement was issued just days after two Japanese men were caught attempting to cross the Italian-Swiss border with what appeared to be $134.5 billion worth of U.S. treasuries. Although they have turned out to be apparent fakes, is it possible the statement was made to preempt suspicions that Japan was dumping its bonds on to the black market?

If so, then the dollar may be in a more precarious position than officials like Mr. Yosano will care to admit. And even if Mr. Yosano’s statement had no connection to the Italian incident, they were still out of necessity because to date Japan remains overly exposed to dollar assets to the tune of $685.9 billion as of April. Certainly, they are in response to his counterparts in China and Russia who have overtly questioned the safety of the dollar.

Now China and Russia have said they want the yuan and ruble added to the basket of currencies that constitute the SDR. Their proposed reforms also including adding gold, the Australian, and Canadian dollars. The effect? Diluting the impact of a fall in dollar assets upon the value of the SDR. In addition, both China and Russia have recently agreed to deal with each other in rubles....

The fact is, if the dollar declines in value, the biggest losers are holders of U.S. assets, namely, countries like China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and others. And that’s one reason why the rest of the world is so eager to stop playing Monopoly with U.S. money. Though, of course, to be politic, they are—at least verbally—hedging their bets at this point.....

Significantly, China’s holdings in U.S. treasuries dropped in April by $4.4 billion while it continued stockpiling precious metals. Its state-run aluminum corporation, Chinalco, was even willing to pay $19.5 billion for Chilean aluminum company, Rio Tinto, a deal which collapsed despite Chinese concessions offered. Really, they just desperately wanted to get rid of the $19.5 billion as quickly as possible, and in return for something valuable: resources. The fact is: foreign governments now know that in a post-dollar world, U.S. currency may not be worth the paper it is printed on. What will be worth something are tangible goods.

And that’s what these nations see on the horizon—as the once mighty U.S., following Obamanomics to wrack and ruin, disappears into the Abyss.

More HERE

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ELSEWHERE

Unemployment at highest level in 25 years: "The turmoil ravaging General Motors and Chrysler generated big jumps in joblessness last month throughout the Midwest, sending Michigan's unemployment rate above 14 percent and pushing three nearby states into double digits. Jobless rates in Illinois and Indiana surpassed 10 percent, while Ohio's approached 11 percent, according to data released Friday in a Labor Department report. The half-percentage-point jump in the national unemployment rate rippled throughout the country as 48 states and the District of Columbia reported increases in their jobless rates in May. The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 8.9 percent in April to 9.4 percent in May, its highest level in more than a quarter-century. The rate was 10.8 percent near the end of 1982.... The jobless rate in California, which faces a staggering $24 billion budget deficit in the fiscal year beginning in less than two weeks, climbed to 11.5 percent as the Golden State shed 68,900 jobs last month, the most of any state."

Saving phantom jobs: “Since coming into office President Obama and the members of his administration have repeatedly justified government stimulus spending as ‘creating or saving’ jobs. William McGurn wrote in The Wall Street Journal (June 9, 2009) that the President announced the stimulus has already ‘created or saved’ 150,000 jobs, that an additional 600,000 jobs will be ‘created or saved’ in the summer, and that as many as four million jobs will be ‘created or saved’ in the next two years. Mr. McGurn points out that the promise to ‘create or save’ jobs is inherently specious because there is no way to determine how many jobs are ’saved.’ Economists do not have a method for measuring the net number of jobs saved. No matter how bad unemployment levels get, administration officials can always say that even more jobs would have been lost without the stimulus.”

Oregon driving business away with billions in tax hikes: "The Labor Department reported yesterday that Oregon's unemployment rate soared to 12.4% in May, the nation's second highest after Michigan's 14.1%. What to do? If you're the geniuses in the state legislature in Salem, you naturally raise taxes. Last week the legislature approved a $2 billion tax hike on personal income and small businesses that haven't already left the state. The highest tax rate on income above $500,000 would climb to 11% -- up from an already high 9%. Oregon will soon boast the second highest income tax rate in the nation, moving ahead of California (10.55%), and only slightly behind New York City (12.6%). Corporations will pay a 7.9% tax on gross receipts, up from 6.6%. But that isn't the worst of it. Another revenue raiser will tax hospitals and private health insurance premiums. That's a good way to encourage private employers to drop their health coverage for workers."

Suit accuses TSA of unreasonable airport detention: “A lawsuit filed Thursday against the Transportation Security Administration alleges a Ron Paul supporter was unreasonably detained at the St. Louis airport because he was carrying about $4,700 in cash. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit on behalf of Steven Bierfeldt, director of development for the Campaign for Liberty, an organization that grew out of Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign.”

After $196 billion, no proof UN programs help: "“In the last two decades, the world has spent more than $196 billion trying to save people from death and disease in poor countries. Millions of people are now protected against diseases like yellow fever, sleeping under anti-malaria bed nets and taking AIDS drugs. But there isn’t much proof that pricey programs led by the United Nations and its partners are responsible, according to two studies published Friday in the medical journal, Lancet.”

The costly comedy club at Turtle Bay: “The United Nations and human rights do not belong in the same sentence. In early June the UN Human Rights Council praised Cuba’s human rights achievements. The Council was far more concerned about the U.S. embargo against Cuba than the Cuban government’s brutality towards its own people. The UN long has claimed to represent the greatest aspirations of humanity, running back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was approved more than six decades ago. But the UN’s Commission on Human Rights routinely embarrassed the ‘international community.’”

Dodd's Irish Luck: "Irish property prices have plummeted since 2002. But a "cottage" in County Galway owned by Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd has tripled in value during the same period, according to a financial disclosure form filed by the Senator this month. There are two possible explanations for this remarkable turn of fortune. Maybe Mr. Dodd is luckier than a leprechaun. Or could it be that he paid well below the market price when he bought out a co-owner in 2002 and had undervalued the property accordingly? If it's the latter, then Mr. Dodd received a "gift," in IRS parlance, and should have declared it on his financial disclosure form that year. He did not. Oh, and by the way, the seller at that low, low price has been the business partner of a man for whom Mr. Dodd lobbied to receive a Presidential pardon. It's also been nearly a year since a former loan officer at Countrywide Financial charged that the mortgage lender had classified Mr. Dodd as a "very important person" (a.k.a., a "friend of Angelo" Mozilo, Countrywide's then-CEO)... The SEC charged Mr. Mozilo with fraud and insider trading earlier this month"

A response to Digital Britain: “The government has announced ‘plans to help secure Britain’s place at the head of a new media age.’ We should be cautious whenever we see governments combining future visions with the word ‘plan.’ Not surprisingly, the headline measures involve the use of force to construct a ‘transformation’ — in Gordon Browns words — of the distribution of digital broadband, comparing it with what he calls ‘essential services such as electricity, gas and water.’ This is an upside-down policy approach. Technology, delivery methods and service product innovations are changing rapidly under private initiative, individual traders are juggling for profitable commercial position and the industry is moving on fast. Now leviathan wants in on the act to re-invent a commanding height in the economy that they control. That’s mad. If ever there was the case for getting out of the way, this is it.”

Defective maintenance in Russian military equipment again: "RUSSIA'S air force lost its second fighter plane in three days today when an Su-24 crashed in southern Russia, but both pilots survived. The air force immediately grounded its fleet of Su-24s, a Soviet era plane also known by the NATO reporting name Fencer, Interfax news agency said. The crew tried to land several times, but technical problems prevented them from doing so, Interfax quoted a military source as saying. "Flight control then gave the command to leave the aerodrome area for a safe place and eject". Another SU-24 plane crashed on Wednesday while coming in to land in the northern Murmansk Region, Russian media reported. Both pilots survived. The commander of Russia's air force said last August that the nation's air defences were in disarray and needed huge investment to keep up with the West."

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The Big Lie of the late 20th century was that Nazism was Rightist. It was in fact typical of the Leftism of its day. It was only to the Right of Stalin's Communism. The very word "Nazi" is a German abbreviation for "National Socialist" (Nationalsozialist) and the full name of Hitler's political party (translated) was "The National Socialist German Workers' Party" (In German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)

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