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The history of the NAZI Holocaust is vast and varied greatly from country to country. Some countries cooperated with the NAZIs. Others resisted with varying degrees of success. We have collected the following information on the Holocaust in the mostly European countries that were occupied by Germany and Italy or came under Axis influence. We have also added several countries that were threatened by the Axis, but not actually occupied.
The story of the Hungarian Jews is one of the most tragic in the sad history of the Holocaust because they almost survived. The Hungarian Governent, allied with the NAZIs, introduced anti-semitic measures (April 1939). The Government cancelled the benefits awarded the veterans and widows and orphans of Jewish World War I veteransho had fought in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Prohibitions were enacted on Jewish employment. They were barred from the civil service, newspapers, movies and theater. Nor could Jewish laborers participate in working associations. Liberals in Parliament attempted to descredit Prime Minister Bela Imredy. When it was found that he had Jewish ancestors, he resigned. The new Prime Minister Count Paul Teleki oversaw the enactment of these laws, but did not go further. Hungarian Jews were not forced into ghettos. The pro-NAZI Arrow Cross demanded futher measures, but were in a minotity in Parliament. Hungarian Jews despite the ecoonomic privations, until 1944 they were relatively untouched by the NAZI violence and there had been no transports to the death camps. The Hungarin Jews were the last to be killed at Auschwitz before it was demolished and evacuated as the Red army approached. SS commander Adolf Eichman went to Hungary in 1944 to personally oversee the liquidation of the Hungarian Jews. Eichmann supervised the collection and transport, rushing to accomplish his mission before the Germans were expelled by the Red Army. Despite the pressing war time needs. Priority was given to the transports of the Hungarian Jews to Auchwitz.
Current Iranian officials claim that their country was not involved in the Holcaust and now are involved in an effort to prove that the Holocaust necer occurred. Like much that comes out of Teheran, there is often some accurate statements mixed in with outlandish lies and convuluted reasoning. It is true that Iran was not involved in the Holocaust, but left unsaid is that this is because the Allies deposed the pro-NAZI Government at the beginning of the War. Persia which the country was called when Hitler seized power in Germany, developed links with the new NAZI regime. The basic factor here was the anti-British attitude of the Persian Government. Reza Shah Pahlavi proved to be an earlier admirwe of Adolf Hitler anbd the NAZIs. The NAZIs were seen as a powerful rival to British colonialism.
As in the Arab world, the Shah Prsian leaders do not seem to have considered what would have happened to their county in a NAZI-dominated world. The Shah was also attracted to the NAZI concept of a master race to which he included Persians. The Shah even renamed his country Iran, which in Farsi means Aryan. This was a pointed linage to the Proto-Indo-European lineage that NAZI racial theorists and Persian ethnologists concocted. Persia admitted Gestapo agents and other German operatives who p[erated openly in Tehran. The NAZIs saw Persia as a potentially useful base to cause trouble for the British as well as to persue their campaign against Jews. The most notable NAZI agent was Fritz Grobba, Germany's primary spokesman in the Middle East. He is sometimes referred to the "the German Lawrence" because he proposed a new Caliphate state stretching from Casablanca to Tehran.
Pan-Arab nationalism grew in Iraq during the 1930s. A major factor was the British role in Iraw as well as British and French control of severa Arab states. Another factor here was the abti-Zionist agitation in nearby British-controlled Palestine. The influence of Arab nationists was growing, both in government circles and the Army. A series of coups after 1936 in particular strengthened the influenece of extreme nationalists in the army. Arab agitation in Palestie against both the British and Zionists affected Iraq creating resentment toward both the British and Iraqi Jews.
Re;ations between Arabs and Jews were basically amicable. The reports of Zionist expansion in Palestine began to become an issue in Iraq after the Paestinian disorders and British attempos to restore order.
Iraq's Jewish comminity played an important role in the economy. The Government moved to marginalize the Jewish community. Arab nationalists charged that Iraqi Jews were Zionists. The trends were exacerbated as Palestinians who attacked the British abns Zionists sought refuge in Iraq, acting to radicalize the Iraqis. The Grand Mufti of Jeursalem, Amin al-Husaini, who played a major role in promoting the attacks on the British and Jews was one of those refugeees (late 1939). The Grand Mufti became influebntial in both government and military cirrcles. He played a major role in making anti-Semitism an important element in Iraqi pan-Arab nationalism. Another development in the 1930s was the risw of NAZI Germany.
This provided a potential European country withe power to help evict the British and French from Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. The Granbd Mufti's role in making anti-Semitism an important aspect of Aran nationalism made the NAZIs an even more attractive potential ally.
Iraqi Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Kailani was a Iraqi nationalist who resented Britain's role in Iraq. I'm unsure as to his attitudes toward the Jews. Four officers known as the ”Golden Square” ;largely controlled the Army. Even before arriving in Iraq, the Grand Mufti had attempted to obtain NAZI assistance. The Fall of France (June 1940) was a turning point for the Iraqi nationalists. They were convinced that The NAZIs would win the War and they could drive a weakened Britain out of the Niddle East. The result was a military revolt seeking to break ties with Britain and join the Axis. This was potentially critical and the British Dessert Army and Naval forces in Egypt relied on Iraqi oil. Defeat of the Deset Army would have exposed the Jews of the Middle East to the NAZI Holocaust.
Mussolini was not strongly committed to anti-semitism. Mussolini only imposed the first anti-Jewish regulations in 1938, after prompting from Hitler. Italy had a relatively small Jewish popularion of only about 45,000 people. The Italian people and Catholic clergy, however, managed to hide most of their Jews fron the NAZIs and Fascists. Italian Jews were thus spared the full force of the Holocaust and many managed to survive. The worst time came after Mussolinin was deposed and Italy surrenderedc to the Allies. The Germans quickly disarmed the Italian Army and occupied the country. They used the opportunity to begin rounding up and transporting Jews to the death camps. The Germans only managed to deport and kill about 15 percent of Italy's Jews, the lowest ratio in among occupied countries. This is especially surprising given the fact that Italy was an Axis partner. The lack of commitment on the aprt of Mussolini to genocide and the realtively short paeriod of German occupation are factors in the survival of Italian Jews. Considerable controvery surrounds the role of Pope Pious XII. Despite considerable anti-semitism among Catholic clerics, the clergy played a major role in saving Italian Jews. Ilalian priests, nuns, and monks hid Jews in monasteries, convents, schools, and churches. Jewish families were sheltered and fed at great risk to the individuals involved. One historain describes "massive support" on the part of the clergy often without orders from their superiors for the rescue effort.
Japan, an Axis nation, was ironically a country where some Jews found refuge during World War II. Perhaps because Jaoan had such asmall Christian and Muslim population, as well as few Jews, anti-Semitism was virtually unknown. Jews were able to find refuge primarily because of a remarkable diplomat in Kaunas, Lithuania. Chiune Sugihara, the first representative of the Japanese consulate in Lithuania, who arrived days before the NAZI invasion of Poland, assisted Jewish refugees for no other apoarent reason than compassion. The NAZis blocked any escape west for Polish Jews. But there were routes east and south, however, difficult. One was the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Soviet Union which ended at the Pacifuic port of Vladivostok. An estimated 10,000 Polish Jews managed to enter neutral Lithuania before it was seized by the Soviets (May 1940). About 5,000 of those Jews were able to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway and reach Japan. Sugihara disobeying orders from the Japanese Foreign Minister issued an estimated 10,000 Japanese visas. And Soviet officials hinored these visas allowing the Jewish refugees to cross te Soiviet Union. As many as 10,000 Jews may have been saved. While Sugihara's actions vilated the Ministry's direct orders, when the Jews reached Japan the Gocenment as well as individuals treated them with cinsiderable compassion. NAZI officials attempted to convince the Japanese to adopt anti-Semitic policies, but had little success.
The holocaust in Latvia began with the NAZI invasion of the Soviet Union. Within dys the Wehrmacht swept through Lithiania and reached Latvia. Both Germans and Latvians, who participated in the murder of Jews. Many of the The Latvian Jews were killed before the NAZI death camps in Poland were opened. Jews at Rumbula were killed November 30, 1941. The Jews in Riga were killed December 8, 1941. The SS Einsatzgruppen entered Latvia with clear orders to kill as many Jews as possible. Einsatzgruppe A coomanded by Brigadefuhrer Walther Stahlecker entered Latvia. In Latvia the Einheimische (locals) playeda major role in the killing. Heydrich ordered Stahlecker to instigate local pogroms, this desguised the NAZI holocaust as local actions against Jews and Bolsheviks. When this did not produce the desired results After the pogrom policy failed to produce the desired results, the NAZIs took more direct measures. The Arajs SD Commando was organized by Brigadefuhrer Stahlecker to kill Jews. Numerous other Latvian auxiliary police units also played a role. Most of the Latvian Jews were killed by the Arajs unit. Not all NAZI government agncies had identical plans for the Jews of the Soviet Union. Reichskommissar of the Ostland, Hinrich
Lohse ordered Jews to be concentrated and used for slav labor. Stahlecker and the Einsatzgruppen began killing Jews in lage numbers as soon as they entered the Soviet Union.
Italy occupied Libya in 1911. After World War I, Mussolini oversaw a vicious military action using poison gas to quell an Arab revolt. Jews in Italy had full civil rights and the small Jewish community prospered under Italian colonial rule. This changed as Mussolini aftter the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935) moved closer to Hitler and NAZI Germany. . Mussolini’s anti-Jewish regulations imposed in 1938 theoretically applied to Libyan Jews. They were unevenly applied, but gradually severly affected Libyan Jews. Italy after the Germans had essentially defefeated France, declared war on Britain and France (June 1940). A massive Italian Army invaded Egypt from Italy (September 1940). The British smashed the Italians and drove into Libya (December 1940). The Germans arrived in Libya to bolster the Italias (February 1941). Rommel's Afrika Korps waged a sea-saw campaign with the British 8th army until defeat at El Alemaine (October 1942). Eventually about 5,000 Jews in Libya were interned. Conditions in these camps was very harsh. [Arbitol] Some Libyan Jews were deported to the death camps. [Ward] Defeat of the Axis and British occupation saved the bulk of the Libyan Jewish community.
This small principality is situated between Austria and Switzerland. Traditionally it was associated with Austria, but after World War I because of economic problems fomed a customs union with Sitzerland. This is presumably why the NAZIs did not seize the principality along with Austria during the Anschluss or later during World War II. I have little information about conditions for Jews in Liechtenstein. I do know that NAZI secruity authrorities complained to Liechtenstein officials about Jews using hotels and restaurants. They complained hat they had received complints from German and Swiss tourists. I have no information on actions taken againt Liechtnstein Jews, nor do I know how Jewish refuges were treated. There were reports of stolen Jewish property being laundered through Liechtenstein during and after the War.
Lituania was annexed by the Soviets in 1940 under the terms of secret protocols in the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. Sempo Sugihara, the Japanese Consul in Kaunaus (the inter-war capital of Lithuania), issued over 1,600 transit visas to Jewsish refugees fleeing Poland, allowing them to transit the Soviet Union. The NAZIs occupied Lithuania in June 1941 in the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa--the invasion of the Soviet Union. The specialized killing units the Eizenstazgrupen were deployed with chilling effiency. Almost at the inception of NAZI occupation ther were mass executions of Jews.
The first was the killing of about 1,000 Jews at Vilijampole (June 25-26, 1941). Lithuanian collaborators enthusiastically embraced NAZI anti-Semitic propaganda. The attempted to identify Jews with Communism and the attrocities committed by Stalin during the Soviet occupation (1940-41). Many insisted that undoing Soviet rule and Communism required liquidating Jews. They began the same process persued in Poland by the NAZIs. While the NAZIs were unavle to find collaborators in Polnd, they were able to do so in Lithusnia. The local authorities subjected the Jews to a series of repressive measure designed to humiliate them, marginalize them. steal their propery, and ultimately kill them. Those not likked immeiately after the NAZI invssion were hearded into gettos like those formed in Poland. Most of the country's 240,000 Jews were killed. This was 90-95 percent, the highest mortality rate in NAZI occupied Europe.
Germany occupied Luxenbourg in May 1940 as part of its Western Offensive. Occupation authorities applied the Nuremburg Laws to Luxembourg (September 1940). The NAZIs had not yet fully commited themselves to genocide. German authorities encouraged the Grand Duchys’ 3,500 Jews to leave during the first months of the occupation. This was of course very difficult. A few manged to get visas for refuge in Portugal. Others were able to find temporary sanctuary in unoccupied (Vichy) France. The Jews who stayed in Luxembourg where confined in a concentration camp near the railway junction of Ulfligen and were deported to death camps in Poland where almost all perished.
Abitbol, Michel. History of the Jews of Arab Lands (In Hebrew, Merkaz Shazar).
Cohen, Frederick. The Jews in the Channel Islands during the German Occupation.
Eizenstat, Stuart. Imperfect Justice.
Fraser, David. The Jews of the Channel islands and the Rule of Law, 1940–1945.
Gilbert, Martin. A History of the Twentieth Century Vol. 2 1933-54 (William Morrow and Company, Inc.: New York, 1998), 1050p.
Goñi, Uki. The Real Odessa (London, 2002).
Gumble, Peter.
Laskier, Michael. The Jews of the Maghreb in the shadow of Vichy and the Swastika (Hebrew, Univ. of Tel Aviv, 1992).
Michaelis, Herbert and Enst Schraepler. eds. Ursachen und Folgen, Vol. 18. (Belin Dokumenten-Verlag Dr. Herbert Wendler & Co, undated).
Noakes, Jeremy and Geoffrey Pridham. ed. Documents on Nazism, 1919-1945.
Ward, Seth. "The Holocaust in North Africa," May 10, 1999.
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