Jody - # 6 Martin

Title:

Dean, Martin. Robbing the Jews: The Confiscation of Jewish Property in the Holocaust, 1933-1945(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008)

Question:

How did Nazi confiscation of Jewish property factor into genocide? What and how much was seized? Who was involved? And, how did this process play out? (11)

Method:

Archival documents, testimonies, trial documents (especially Nuremberg sources) and secondary sources are utilized to place more stress implementation of Nazi actions by bureaucracy and the impact upon Jewish lives. Numerous sources allow for them to "talk to each other" and therefore opens analysis from several perspectives. (7)

Summary of Argument:  

Dean attempts to reveal the mechanisms by which the Nazis (and their collaborators) seized and utilized Jewish property during their rule. This developed through steps and did not come in one swoop. Both top/bottom are revealed to compete for Jewish possessions. Generally [which is always problematic]: W.E. experienced decrees against Jews through legal and administrative measures; whereas E.E. saw authoritarian/nationalistic state governments (and therefore collaborationist) adopt the Nazi program and thus excluding Jews from economic (and social) life. Then in turn they were able to seize their property. Afterward, stolen possessions were typically sent to Berlin, especially from annihilation sites. At the same time, lesser valued items were handed to local allies as financial support or for reward. Thus, in the end, Dean concludes that theft was a catalyst for genocide that pushed the progression from pogrom to mass murder.

Comment:

If "confiscation leads to genocide (8)," how is confiscation of "enemies of the state" (non-Jewish) property then not lead to genocide [of course, rhetorical]? Clearly, robbery can be (and is) a process in genocide, but to push the old argument that greed is a catalyst for mass murder is difficult since genocide (at least in this case) is typically determined BEFORE confiscation. Does Dean's argument seem to say that those seen (or perceived) as rich would naturally be killed? Where does that leave Roma/Sinti or Poles? Or is this exclusively a Jewish issue for the Nazis, which would then mean ideology was the factor, not greed. Intent is important - is Dean saying that the Nazis did not allow businesses to be liquidated by Jews because they wanted to murder Jews OR because they wanted the $? Thus, the argument would go that the Nazis enacted economic decrees to KEEP Jews since they "knew" that they would not leave and thus be ripe and at disposal for killing. [?!?!?] Then the question arises: how could 25,000 German Jews leave? It may be that I am missing some major point here.  Generalization for Dean is highly problematic as well - E/W Europe [what is that?] and "history of Romanian A/S dates back centuries (325)" mixes A/S & A/J, and does not separate or differentiate government or social A/S. Overall, however, this work does a great job in laying out the confiscation process historically.

Argument (Chapter Outlines):

PART I - Economic Persecution inside the Third Reich, 1933-1941

1. The Nazis' Initial Confiscation Measures
2. Mounting Obstacles to Jewish Emigration, 1933-1939
3. The Anschluss and Kristallnacht: Acceleration Aryanization and Confiscation in Austria and Germany, 1938-1939
4. Blocking Jewish Bank Accounts and Preparation for Mass Confiscation, 1939-1941

PART II - Jewish Property and the European Holocaust, 1939-1945

5. Destruction and Plunder in the Occupied East: Poland, the Soviet Union, and Serbia
6. Settling Accounts in the Wake of the Deportations
7. "Plunder by Decree": The Confiscation of Jewish Property in German-Occupied Western Europe
8. Sovereign Imitations: Confiscation Conducted by States Allied to Nazi Germany
9. Receiving Stolen Property: Neutral States and Private Companies
10. Seizure of Property and the Social Dynamics of the Holocaust

Notes:

• April-June '38: Göring orders the registration of Jewish property in the Reich (1)
• Collaborative countries : V.France, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia and Hungary.
• Confiscation and economic gain is a necessary facilitating step in genocide (8)
• Comparison reinforces that confiscation leads to genocide (15)
• Confiscation from State began against "enemies" of State (24)
• Denaturalization in '33 was a major step (33) - usually enemies though, not about property at this time
• '37 -> link to race/confiscation (39)
• Initially from "enemies of the state" to Jews, then strip them from emigration for confiscation (53)
• Jewish bodies to leave but $ stays (54)
• Offices in Germany = decentralized Austrian - central (61)
• 295,000/525,000 Jews emigrated from Germany to 1939 (79)
• Most stayed because  business not able to be liquidated (82)
• Noose tightens with Kristallnacht - Quicker and more harsh in Austria
• Jewish businesses were mainly liquidated rather than Aryanized in Austria (96)
• All Austrian Jews to be concentrated in Vienna May '39 (105)
• "Austrian Model" not so much planned as steered by state/party (108)
• Aug '39 - limit of 300RM: Point of loss for German Jews (133)
• Sept '39 - Oct '41: 25,000 Jews emigrated from Germany (142)
• RV (156) 11th Decree (161) Oct '41 - Large Deportations (165)
• Blocking measures Aug '39 -> Denaturalization for revenue (168)
• Reich confiscation of New Polish area [Including Oswiecim] (183)
• Most seized property used locally -> most valuable to Berlin (142)
• Glebokie case study example / locals receive valuables (205-6)
• Latvia local consumption (207) incentive for local collaboration (212)
• Most property confiscated "legally" (229)
• Deportation waves -> destination/periods (237) Same for Roma/Sinti (243)
• West - occupied - Aryanization  measures (258)
• Netherlands - emigration for businesses (279) overall local views (283)
• European cases - similar but different [same, same, but different] (chpt 7)
• Local complicity for inflation and social policy (317)
• Similar but different in other countries - all varies (355)
• E. E. - part of assertion of soveriegnty (357) (386)
• plunder as catalyst for genocide (379)
• Vienna "Austrian model" (381)
• (Collaborating) Countries may not have killed Jews but definitely took their $ (389)
• "Insuring" camps/ghettos [always stunning!] (373)

5 Main Points:

• Jewish bodies to leave but $ stays (54)
• Jewish businesses were mainly liquidated rather than Aryanized in Austria (96)
• Most seized property used locally -> most valuable to Berlin (142)
• (Collaborating) Countries may not have killed Jews but definitely took their $ (389)

• Seizure and Confiscation: W.E. - through laws and decrees / E.E. - collaborative actions of authoritative/nationalistic governments [what does E.E. mean to Dean? -> problematic for Poland]