After Adolf Hitler seized power on January 30, 1933, the threat to Jews in Germany increased massively and many were forced to flee. From today's perspective, emigration occurred in three waves:
1. directly after the National Socialists seized power (1933 – 1935)
2. after the passing of the “Nuremberg Laws” in 1935
3. after the Kristallnacht of 9/10 November 1938
In Search of a New Home
In 1933, the Jews who had fled early on still hoped that they would be able to return to Germany quickly and that National Socialism would soon end. Many therefore initially fled to neighboring European countries. However, this hope was dashed by the passing of the "Nuremberg Laws" on September 15, 1935. At that time, there were several German and Jewish emigration aid organizations that offered help with emigration. After the annexation of Austria and the Kristallnacht, many of the remaining Jews were finally forced to flee.
But the search for a new home was often difficult . People had to submit many documents and certificates in order to obtain permission to enter another country. According to the Anne Frank House, a total of around 130,000 Jews were able to leave Germany between 1933 and 1937. In addition to Palestine, South Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America were also the destinations of the emigrants. However, many also stayed in Northern and Western Europe.
However, many countries imposed increasingly strict entry regulations for Jewish refugees from Germany , including Palestine, which was under British Mandate. According to the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BpB) , 55,000 Jewish emigrants from Germany nevertheless managed to enter Palestine between 1933 and 1940. But there were conflicts there too. For this reason, a third of the entry applications were rejected.
The Road to Palestine
One way to get permission to enter Palestine was a so-called work certificate . This was valid for important jobs, for example in agriculture. Nevertheless, Palestine was one of the few countries willing to accept a large number of Jews. After seizing power, the National Socialists also pushed for them to leave the country.
In 1933, the Reich Ministry of Economics and the Jewish Agency, the representative of the Jews in Palestine, agreed on the Haavara Transfer Agreement . The agreement was intended to make it easier for Jews to take property and assets with them to Palestine. The emigrants could pay money into a special account via a transfer company. Goods of the same value were delivered to Palestine and the emigrants received the same amount after entering Palestine.
German products in Palestine via Haavara Transfer Agreement
The agreement was supported by the NSDAP in the first few years, but criticism from the National Socialists increased from 1935 onwards. The Reichsbank had hoped to earn foreign currency through the agreement, but this was hardly successful. The National Socialists also wanted to stimulate the German economy in this way. From today's perspective, it was probably not a fair agreement.
From 1937 onwards, the possibilities offered by the Haavara Agreement were increasingly restricted. The agreement was officially terminated in 1941. Nevertheless, according to the Federal Agency for Civic Education, by 1939 over 50,000 Jews had been able to emigrate to Palestine on the basis of the Haavara Agreement, taking with them property worth around 140 million Reichsmarks.
As far as we know, the Jews who emigrated to Palestine had to spend their money on German products. For example, the villa of the well-known businessman and publisher Salman Schocken , built between 1934 and 1936 and designed by the architect Eric Mendelsohn, was largely built with materials from Germany.
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