In 1941 and especially 1942 as the German Army appeared to be victorious in North Africa against the British and in the Caucasus against the Russians, specific plans were being considered at the highest levels in Berlin to bring about the genocide of the Jews in Palestine. With the invasion of Egypt now in sight, Arab nationalists seeking to eliminate the British and French mandates over Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria had found a leader and key spokesman in the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hadj Amin Al Husseini. The Mufti visited the Axis capitals and had several meetings with Adolf Hitler in Berlin. Not only did the Nazi regime promise to wipe out the European colonial presence that had replaced the Ottoman Empire after 1918, but also to exterminate the Jews who had settled in Palestine since the beginning of the Zionist movement in the nineteenth century and most recently since the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised Jews a national home in the Holy Land. The process of extermination was being actively planned, and SS officers who were to be in charge had been appointed for the task. They were to become active behind the lines and could count on the cooperation of those in the region who agreed to become part of the murderous task force. The authors have found the documents and analyzed the racist, ideological, political, and religious underpinnings of the planning and the potential realization of that program within the context of another holocaust in the Middle East. AUTHOR: Dr. Mallmann is the Director of the Research Center, University of Ludwigsburg and Professor of History at the University of Stuttgart. He is the author of several important studies on the Holocaust. 20 b/w illustrations
