ZIONISM AND NAZISM
There exists striking similarities between the Nazi nationalism movement of the Imperial Germany and Zionism. These two movements worked in line with the aim of most nationalist movements that seeks to draw masses together to resist attempts of segregation, discrimination and persecution1. A keen study of Zionism indicates that the driving force behind Zionism was that all Jews were supposed to return to their land of origin in order to alleviate the cases of discrimination, persecution and exclusion2. On the other hand the Nazi movement sought to enhance national survival by empowering those they thought superior in ideologies and wealth.
The strategy used by the Zionists included striving for security and an insistence on the continuity of the nation3. This culminated into the discouragement against assimilation in the neighboring nations. Contrary to the Zionists strategy was the Nazi philosophy. The Nazi movement insisted on the optimal operation of their superior race commonly referred to as the Aryan master race4. With a strict observance of perfection, the Nazi movement encouraged the termination of the lame and those who were weak including the mentally disturbed.
A striking similarity between these two nationalist movements is striving for space5. The Zionists claimed that Palestine is the Promised Land given to their ancestors as recorded in the bible. To the Zionists, the idea to return and occupy Palestine tops the list of priority. The effect of this idea has led to masses of Jews forming settlements in different places in Palestine. The Nazi case involves the promotion of the expansionist agenda6. To the Nazis, space was vital for the sake of national growth. The space gained bythe Nazi was used to store materials, food and other necessary items that would support national development.
Another key similarity is depicted in the wrangles that arose within the ranks of the nationalistic movements7. The Nazi movement had a big share of it when Hitler opposed the adoption of the word socialist. Hitler had a preference for Social Movement and because his idea was not accepted, he implemented his desire when he took over the leadership of the Nazi movement. The Zionist case involved the rise of Sabbatai Zeebi who claimed that he was the anticipated messiah8. His declaration swayed a considerable number of the Jews to his side.
Several instances of betrayal dot the history of these two nationalist movements. On one hand, the Zionists were openly betrayed by most reformed Jews who rejected the idea of returning to Zion9. For instance the conference of 1845 in Frankfurt ruled that all prayers to the effect that the Israel be restored should stop. This idea shook the very foundations that setup the movement.
Another key betrayer was BohdanKhmelnytsky who converted publicly to Islam10. This was an added insult because of the number of people Bohdan had facilitated to terminate. The Nazi side involved the propagation of hate against the bourgeois party. The Nazi thought the bourgeois party was an insignificant group of reactive people. The Nazis were also extreme in their desire and implementation of nationalism. For example, the Nazis facilitated a lot of violent activities and also promised a lot of “economic experiments” in case the Nazis managed to clinch power11. Hitler also displayed a lot of non-solid stands in the presence of Nazism. He partially supported capitalism though the Nazi believed that socialism was their best shot. Hitler also had a fluid stand on the issues of property ownership though he supported destruction of capitalist developments.
With this view of nationalist movements, we draw that there exists a lot of similarities than contrasts in the way things are run in nationalist movements. The Nazi and the Zionists portray similar characteristicsbecause of the opposing views they had hence a desire to cleanse their systems of persecution discrimination and to acquire as much space as possible12.
Bibliography
Howard Morley Sachar.A history of Israel: From the rise of Zionism to our time. A.A.
Knopf.1996
Nahum Sokolow.History of Zionism 1600-1918.Adegi Graphics LLC.1999.
Neil Gregor.Nazism.Oxford University Press.2000.
Nicholas Goodwick-Clarke.The occult roots of Nazism: Secrets Aryan cuts and their influence
on Nazism.Schocken Books.2004.
Richard Geary.Hitler and Nazism, Routledge Publishing. 2002.
Walter Laqueur.A history of Zionism.2003. Cengage Publishing
